CRASH COURSE IN BUTTERFLY IDENTIFICATION
© Tomás Murray 2015
Photograph/catch and releaseOne of the fastest ways of gaining confidence with identification. To avoiddamaging the butterfly, make sure you place enough tissue paper in thecontainer to ensure the butterfly crawls, rather than flies, within.
For help with identification:
1. Email your butterfly photo to:
2. Post a photo to our Facebook page:
Monitoring Ireland’s Insects
3. Buy an identification swatch:
http://www.biodiversityireland.ie/home-page/shop/
4. There’s a smart phone app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.biodiversityireland.butterfly
Andrew Fenner has developed a freely available Android smart phone app –download from Google Play
Once you know what species you’ve seen, not matter how common or rare…..
Don’t forget to submit the record!http://records.biodiversityireland.ie/
Bits of a butterfly
Head Antenna
Thorax
Abdomen
Eyespot Forewing
Hindwing
© Rodney Daunt
Hindwing
Forewing
Bits of a butterfly
Outer margin
© Fionn Moore
Hairstreaks & Coppers
Brown Hairstreak – Thecla betulae Green Hairstreak – Callophrys rubi
© Isobel Abbott © Clare Heardman
Purple Hairstreak – Quercusia quercus
© Sander van der Molen
Small Copper – Lycaena phlaeas
© Liam Lysaght
The species in this group range from being widespread to rare, but
in all cases are never abundant in any one
location.
Hairstreaks & Coppers
Brown Hairstreak – Thecla betulae
© Isobel Abbott
Purple Hairstreak – Quercusia quercus
© Sander van der Molen
Confined to scrub areas around the Burren and
Lough Corrib.
Very elusive, flies in the canopy of old oak trees.
Probably under-recorded.
Hairstreaks & Coppers
Green Hairstreak – Callophrys rubi
© Isobel Abbott © Clare Heardman
Small Copper – Lycaena phlaeas
© Liam Lysaght
Always rests with wings closed showing green
underside. Larval foodplantis Gorse, Broom and Bird’s-
foot Trefoil
Fast flying, so normally spotted on flowers.
Larval foodplants are Sorrel and Docks.
http://butterflies.biodiversityireland.ie
Don’t forget to submit your records!
http://records.biodiversityireland.ie/
Thank you to all the recorders who kindly allowed us to use their photographs for this guide!