Do you want to become a butterfly recorder?

Butterflies are a wonderful symbol of a summers day adding extra colour to our beautiful countryside. Many of us enjoy and appreciate butterflies but by learning how to do identify and monitor butterflies, we can make a real contribution to understanding their status and distribution across Ireland. Please see below for a brief introduction to each one of the monitoring schemes, how to register your transect/garden and links to free online training for the different monitoring schemes.

We also co-ordinate the Marsh Fritillary Monitoring Scheme which requires monitoring from the end of August to September.

Orange Tip - Edward Delaney

Why monitor butterflies?

Humans are naturally drawn to nature to find solace and enjoy seeing butterflies. But why learn to identify and monitor butterflies?

By learning to identifying the 35 butterfly species in Ireland, you are increasing your own enjoyment while out in nature and increasing your scientific knowledge. By submitting the records of what butterflies you see, you helping us build really high quality scientific data to how they are responding to our changing planet.

Everyone can get involved in monitoring butterflies as we have a variety of ways of recording depending on your own time commitment and where you have access to.

Monitoring butterflies allows to build detailed analysis on how butterfly flight periods are changing in responses to our changing planet.

Irish Butterfly Monitoring Scheme

Time needed per year: 26-30 hours made up of 26 walks.

Location: A walk you enjoy that is 1-2km in length and have access to. Consider monitoring butterflies somewhere you already walk.

This monitoring scheme represents the gold-standard in terms of the information that a citizen scientist can provide to support butterfly monitoring and conservation. It builds builds really detailed analysis on butterfly phenology (the flight periods of each species and generations per species).

To take part, you will need to register a transect (a walking route) where you are recording. Please fill in and email the transect set up form to butterflies@biodiversityireland.ie

Painted Lady - Edward Delaney

Five Visit Monitoring Scheme

Time needed per year: 5-6 hours made up of five 1-hour walks.

Location: A walk you enjoy that is 1-2km in length and have access to. Consider monitoring butterflies somewhere you already walk.

The Five Visit Monitoring Scheme allows us to estimate the size of butterfly populations along a transect and how this changes over time.

To set up your transect, please fill in the transect up set up form and email to butterflies@biodiversityireland.ie

Comma

Garden butterfly monitoring scheme

Time needed per year: 6 hours made up of 15-minute weekly counts.

Location: Your garden

The Garden Butterfly Monitoring Scheme determines how important our gardens are for our 20 most commonly recorded species during a 15-minute count.

If you would like us to register your garden for the Garden Butterfly Monitoring Scheme, please email your Eircode to butterflies@biodiversityireland.ie

Distribution map of Wall Brown

Casual recording

Time commitment: 1-2 minutes

Location: Anywhere

Casual recording are once-off records and can be done in any location through the Biodiversity Data Capture App or through Ireland’s Citizen Science Portal. It only takes a few minutes and when casual recording is done throughout the country by many people, we can build distribution maps.

Important: The Biodiversity Data Capture app is for in the field recording, it can not be used retrospectively or when you return home. It automatically generates the location for you and you must record where you see the species. You do not need internet access to record and can upload the records when you have internet access. Ireland’s Citizen Science Portal is a desktop application and can be used retrospectively to record species.

More resources for learning!

Our butterfly swatch is a small hand-held identification guide that is great to have when you are out and about. We don’t expect you to remember the features of each species and having this to hand, means you have a resource to refer to.

We have a ‘Butterflies of Ireland poster’ which you are welcome to bring to your local printing shop to get a hard copy.