A field guide for Irish gardens and hillsides
Ireland’s 33 butterflies, photographed and identified.
A photographic reference to Ireland’s resident and migrant butterflies, with plant guides for gardeners, county sightings, and life-cycle notes from twenty years of Irish naturalist recording.
Butterfly of the month
Small Tortoiseshell
A garden regular from March to October, breeding on Common Nettle. Numbers were down through the 2010s, then partially recovered.
Ireland’s 33 butterflies, by family
Vanessids, Whites, Browns, Blues, Hairstreaks, Fritillaries, Coppers, Skippers, and the migrants that reach Ireland from continental Europe and North America. Each family has a shared set of field marks; each species has an Irish-specific distribution and status.
Habitats where Irish butterflies live
Ireland’s butterfly fauna is shaped by nine broad habitat archetypes, from Burren limestone pavement to Wicklow upland heath. Each habitat supports a distinctive species assemblage.
Wildflower meadow
18 species regularly recorded
Knapweed, scabious, bird’s-foot trefoil, and marjoram feed adult butterflies from June to September.
Oakwood
7 species regularly recorded
Killarney’s Atlantic oakwoods hold Speckled Wood, Silver-washed Fritillary, and Purple Hairstreak in July.
Coastal machair
Marsh Fritillary stronghold
Sheskinmore in Donegal and other machair systems hold Marsh Fritillary on Devil’s-bit Scabious.
Calcareous grassland
Burren specialities
Limestone pavement in the Burren supports Wall Brown, Common Blue, and Small Blue on lime-loving foodplants.
Upland heath
Wicklow and Comeraghs
Small Heath, Large Heath, and Green Hairstreak on heather-and-bilberry heath.
Hedgerow and garden
15 species regularly recorded
Nettles, buddleia, verbena, and hedgerow blackthorn support the commonest garden species.
Every sighting counts
Butterfly Conservation Ireland and the National Biodiversity Data Centre track changes in Irish butterfly populations through recorder submissions. Add a sighting, and a named contributor will verify it within seven days.