List of butterflies of Ireland

This is a list of Irish butterflies, past and present. Details on specific species are relevant to the Irish populations and some details may not be consistent with the species in other parts of its range.

Family Hesperiidae (skippers)

Subfamily Hesperiinae (grass skippers)

• Essex skipper - Thymelicus lineola NE County Wexford only. Origin uncertain.
• Small skipper - Thymelicus sylvestris NE Confirmed in County Kildare in 2011 and 2012.

Subfamily Pyrginae (spread-winged skippers)

• Dingy skipper – Erynnis tages NT Mainly Midlands and West. The subspecies baynesi Huggins, 1956 is recorded from the Burren region of Co. Clare and Galway. The populations elsewhere in Ireland are presumably the type subspecies.

Family Pieridae (whites)

Subfamily Dismorphiinae

• Wood white – Leptidea sinapis NT Confined to the Burren area of Co. Clare and Co. Galway (here sympatric with Leptidea juvernica)
• Cryptic wood white - Leptidea juvernica NE stat. nov.^[1][2][3]All regions of Ireland. Not known in Britain.

Subfamily Coliadinae

• Clouded yellow – Colias croceus LC Migrant and breeding species^[4]
• Brimstone – Gonepteryx rhamni LC Burren and Midlands. The Irish subspecies is gravesi Huggins, 1956

Subfamily Pierinae

• Large white – Pieris brassicae LC
• Small white – Pieris rapae LC
• Green-veined white – Pieris napi LC The subspecies britannica (Muller & Kautz, 1939) is only found in Ireland. The British subspecies is sabellicae (Stephens, 1827)
• Orange tip – Anthocharis cardamines LC The Irish subspecies is hibernica (Williams, 1916)

Family Lycaenidae (gossamer-winged butterflies)

Subfamily Theclinae

• Green hairstreak – Callophrys rubi LC Scattered distribution.
• Brown hairstreak – Thecla betulae LC Restricted to Burren and regions north to Lough Mask, Co. Mayo where recent spread seems to be happening.^[5]
• Purple hairstreak – Neozephyrus quercus LC Restricted to a few woodland sites.

Subfamily Lycaeninae

• Small copper – Lycaena phlaeas LC The Irish subspecies is hibernica Goodson, 1948

Subfamily Polyommatinae

• Small blue – Cupido minimus EN Few regions. Restricted to coastal dunes, limestone grasslands and quarries.
• Common blue – Polyommatus icarus LC The Irish subspecies is mariscolore (Kane, 1893)
• Holly blue – Celastrina argiolus LC Found across most of Ireland having spread significantly north and west.

Family Nymphalidae (brush-footed butterflies)

Subfamily Nymphalinae

• Red admiral – Vanessa atalanta LC resident reinforced by migrant populations.
• Painted lady – Vanessa cardui LC Migrant.
• Peacock – Aglais io LC
• Small tortoiseshell – Aglais urticae LC
• Comma – Polygonia c-album NE recent colonist and now found across most of island having spread from south-east.^[6]

Subfamily Heliconiinae (longwings)

• Pearl-bordered fritillary – Boloria euphrosyne EN Only found in the Burren^[7]
• Dark green fritillary – Speyeria aglaja VU Coastal species also inland in the Burren and Wicklow
• Silver-washed fritillary – Argynnis paphia LC Scattered throughout Ireland, more common in southern regions.
• Marsh fritillary – Euphydryas aurinia VU infrasubspecies hibernica Birchall, 1873. Throughout Ireland but mainly Central and West Ireland.

Subfamily Satyrinae (browns)

• Speckled wood – Pararge aegeria LC
• Wall – Lasiommata megera EN
• Grayling – Hipparchia semele NT Coastal and limestone districts. The Irish subspecies are clarensis de Lattin, 1952 (County Clare) and hibernica Howarth, 1971
• Gatekeeper – Pyronia tithonus NT Restricted to South and South-East coasts.
• Meadow brown – Maniola jurtina LC The Irish subspecies is iernes Graves, 1930
• Ringlet – Aphantopus hyperantus LC
• Small heath – Coenonympha pamphilus NT Scattered throughout Ireland.Prefers drier grassland on well-drained soils.
• Large heath – Coenonympha tullia VU Restricted to bogs and absent from most of south and east where habitats largely non-existent.

Vagrant, adventive, extinct and intercepts and exotic species

Extinct

• Small mountain ringlet – Erebia epiphron EX^[8]
• Large copper - Lycaena dispar EX

Vagrants

• Pale clouded yellow – Colias hyale
• Berger's clouded yellow – Colias alfacariensis^[9]
• Short-tailed blue – Cupido argiades NE (imported on fennel from Italy)
• Geranium bronze – Cacyreus marshalli NE (imported on geraniums)
• Camberwell beauty – Nymphalis antiopa NE
• Map – Araschnia levana NE (formerly introduced and bred)
• Queen of Spain fritillary – Issoria lathonia NE
• Monarch – Danaus plexippus NE
• American painted lady – Vanessa virginiensis NE
• Swallowtail – Papilio machaon NE

See also

• List of moths of Ireland

References

• Emmet, A.M.; J. Heath; et al. (Ed.), 1990. "The Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland". The Moths and Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland. Vol. 7 Part 1 (Hesperiidae to Nymphalidae). Harley Books, Colchester, UK.
• K. G. M. Bond; R. Nash & J. P. O'Connor, An Annotated Checklist of the Irish Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera). The Irish Biogeographical Society in association with the National Museum of Ireland, Dublin, 2006. ISBN 0-9511514-9-5
• Harding, J. & Jacob, M. (2013). "Addition of Small Skipper butterfly (Thymelicus sylvestris) to the Irish List and notes on the Essex Skipper (Thymelicus lineola) (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae)". Irish Naturalists' Journal. 32: 142-144.
• Mazel, R. (2001). "Leptidea sinapis L., 1758 - L. reali Reissinger, 1989, le point de la situation (Lepidoptera: Pieridae, Dismorphiinae)". Linneana Belgica. 18: 199-202.
• Nash, D., T. Boyd & D Hardiman (2012). Ireland's Butterflies: A Review. The Dublin Naturalists' Field Club, Dublin. ISBN 978-0-9530037-2-3
• Wilson, C. J.; Goodwin, J. & Bond, K. 2007. "New Irish record of the small skipper butterfly Thymelicus sylvestris (Poda) (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae)". Irish Naturalists' Journal. 28 (9): 385-386. (Erroneous and later corrected by the authors. Refers to Essex skipper Thymelicus lineola.)

Footnotes

External links

• Irish Butterflies
• Butterflies and Moths of Northern Ireland
• Butterfly Ireland
• NHM Images of Ireland forms and subspecies on this site. Type Ireland into the search box.
• Wexford Naturalists' Field Club ^{[permanent dead link]} Essex Skipper
• Regan, E.C., Nelson, B., Aldwell, B., Bertrand, C., Bond, K., Harding, J., Nash, D.,Nixon, D. and Wilson, C.J. Ireland Red List No. 4: Butterflies^{[permanent dead link]}
• Database of Irish Lepidoptera.1 Macrohabitats, microsites and traits of Noctuidae and butterflies
• Ireland Red List No. 4: Butterflies

This page was last edited on 10 March 2024, at 23:32