Butterfly Conservation is a registered charity dedicated to the conservation of butterflies and moths. You can find out more about the national organisation here.
The SxBC photo competition is back!
We're inviting photographers to submit their best Sussex butterfly photographs to our annual competition. Whether it's a rare species in flight or a perfect close-up of delicate wing patterns, we want to see it.
The results will be announced at the Members Day held on Sunday the 22nd November. For more information click here.
To see the 2025 winning entries click here.
We have a busy programme of working parties all over the county starting in October into March. This has been a wonderful summer for butterflies and with your help we can make 2027 even better.
Information about all the sessions can be found here.
Anyone can post photos of butterflies they have seen in Sussex. Recent sightings include:
30 Sep: A Wall today in Etchingham - more evidence of the expansion of their range in Sussex. That’s roughly 3 miles north and east respectively of my last 2 closest Sussex sightings in 2022 and 2023.
30 Sep: We did the last butterfly transect survey of the season at Horseshoe plantation and Belle Toute today. Six species seen ( Speckled Wood, Small Heath, Small Copper, Meadow Brown, Common Blue and very surprised to see a single Chalk Hill Blue). Practical conservation management is now starting on the site over the autumn and winter to maintain and hopefully enhance it for the special species of butterfly that are seen there. Conservation grazing will be more concentrated at this end of the site too to reduce the thatch on the chalk grassland and increase the area used by Adonis and Chalk Hill Blues as well as the Silver-spotted Skippers.
30 Sep: Wall on the Wall (of our house). Only the second one in 12 years, although I have seen another nearby this month. Mare Hill, Pulborough.
30 Sep: Delighted to see a Clouded Yellow f. helice visit the garden at 2.15. It landed briefly on a re-flowering buddleja before departing in a southerly direction, so not even a record shot.
29 Sep: I was surprised to see a Brown Hairstreak in the tree of a neighbouring property during early afternoon, but no chance of a photo. In my own garden the last of the Humming-bird Hawk-moth eggs are hatching, having been transferred from Red Valerian to potted Lady's Bedstraw. The attached first instar larva is a day old.
29 Sep: This morning I walked in Lancing by Widewater and later by the river Adur (as far as the footbridge). I started by going down the passage by 50 Brighton Road to the coast path. There are a couple of large semi wild and grassy gardens here. Four Common Blues and one or two Small Coppers were flying. I began to see Clouded Yellows and Small Whites - 13 of the former including a helice and 20 of the latter. One of the Clouded Yellows flew up, over the coast path and on towards the sea. Where I could, I walked off the path and along the shingle by Widewater which was more sheltered. A couple of Painted Ladies and an unexpected Speckled Wood completed the tally. The grass on the west bank of the Adur had been cut and I saw just one Small White there. On the east bank I spotted 5 more Small Whites, 4 Clouded Yellows including a helice and a Red Admiral.
29 Sep: It was warm and sunny this morning, but it turned into a gloomy afternoon. Started off with a reasonably fresh Long-tailed Blue in my garden, who seemed interested in defending territory against the persistence of my resident male Small Copper. In the adjacent chalkpit there were two more even fresher male Long-tailed Blue. Result! Also seen today were 2 Clouded Yellow, 2 Wall, 2 Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Speckled Wood, a few Small White, 3 Humming-bird Hawk-moth. I hope the Long-tailed Blue hang around, as everything else seems to be waning fast!
29 Sep: It was a taste of the Mediterranean down at the Buckle By-pass Small Blue work party today. Temperatures must have hit 27 degrees or more in the sunshine and the dedicated team in attendance were richly rewarded with sightings of four Long-tailed Blues, half a dozen Clouded Yellows, Painted Ladies, Red Admirals, Wall Browns, Common Blues, Small Coppers, Large, Small and Green-veined White and singles of Peacock, Speckled Wood and Comma. To add to the European flavour a couple of Vestal Moths, mature Humming-bird Hawk-moth larvae, singing Southern Field Crickets, Southern Green Shieldbug nymphs and other French delights were in assemblage with mature Fox Moth caterpillars, Four-spotted Spiders (one of which caught an egging Clouded Yellow) and a number of viviparous lizards that scuttled away. Thank you so much to the members of Seaford Natural History Society and Sussex Branch members who attended over the two days. You all deserve medals. A huge amount of Cotoneaster was dug up using picks and mattocks and the resulting soil disturbance will hopefully germinate some of the Kidney Vetch seedlings that have been submerged under a sea of alien invasion for the last few years. With a bit of luck the Small Blue will have a reasonable amount of new food-plant to lay on in a couple of years` time. Thank you again one and all. Dave.
Click here for more sightings.
Our branch is organising many butterfly walks in the summer across the county.
Our next events are:
22 Nov: Members Day 2026 - More details to come later.
Information on all our walks and other events can be viewed here.
Photo by Graham Hubbard
New colonies of Wood White were recently discovered in West Sussex and our branch is planning to learn more about this rare butterfly.
We are organising a coordinated survey and are looking for volunteers. For more information on the Wood White Project in Sussex click here.
Photo by Graham Hubbard
Throughout the year we receive interesting sightings records. We have started an exercise to identify notable sightings and look for patterns during a month with a little help from an AI assistant.
To read more click here.
07 Aug: Annual Cotoneaster bashing on the Buckle by-pass (A259), Seaford
30 Jun: Martin Kalaher's Open Garden Sunday 12th July.
24 Jun: Scotney Castle - More opportunity to explore
27 Mar: Butterfly Recording Training at National Trust Woolbeding
22 Mar: 2026 walks now appear on the Events Page
28 Feb: Liz Williams Butterfly Haven work day
16 Jan: A summary of Sussex BC work parties in 2026
23 Oct: SxBC Members' Day - Saturday 22nd November 2025 1.30pm – 4.30pm. Latest Update
White Admiral, photo by Maurilio Tesa
Martin Kalaher has written a very interesting article titled 'Partial broods in 2025' to read the article click here.
Last month Martin published 'Second brood Dingy Skippers'. To read that article click here.
Photo from our 2025 competition.
Sussex is one of the best counties in the UK to see a wide range of interesting butterfly species.
More information on species can be viewed here.
There are many important sites for butterflies in our county.
Information on some of them can be viewed here.
Orange-tip by Gary Faulkner
The results of the 2025 SxBC photo competition were announced at the recent Members' Day.
To see the winning entries click here.
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