Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) in Ireland

Donnóg bheag an fhraoigh in Gaeilge. The Small Heath, Coenonympha pamphilus, is a small brown of dry grassland and dune whose Irish decline is now well documented.

Identify it in four steps

1. Upperside pale sandy-orange with a small black eyespot near the forewing tip, wings held closed at rest.
2. Underside forewing warm buff with a single ringed eyespot; underside hindwing pale grey-brown with a faint diagonal band.
3. Always perches with wings closed, unlike the Meadow Brown, which will hold wings open in sun; the diagnostic behavioural cue in the Irish field.
4. Wingspan 28 to 33 mm; flight is a low, jerky skip through short turf, easy to lose among grass stems.

Habitat in Ireland

The Small Heath occupies short, dry, unimproved grassland: dune slack, calcareous turf, road verge, and upland heath edge. Larvae feed on fine grasses including Sheep’s-fescue (Festuca ovina), Red Fescue (Festuca rubra), and Bents (Agrostis spp.).

Two broods in Ireland in most years. The species has declined markedly on the Irish Butterfly Monitoring Scheme since 2008, driven by grassland improvement, verge cutting during flight periods, and encroachment of coarse grasses in undergrazed sites.

Where to see it

• Bull Island, Dublin: dune grassland and machair edges hold reliable populations from May to September.
• the Burren, County Clare: short calcareous turf and green roads with fine fescues.
• Rosslare dune system, County Wexford: coastal dune grassland with abundant fescues.

Related species

• Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina)
• Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus)
• Large Heath (Coenonympha tullia)