The Irish Butterfly Monitoring Scheme has released its annual report for 2010.
Established in 2007 by the National Biodiversity Data Centre, this Citizen Science project aims to improve our overall understanding of Irish butterfly species, their distribution and their population dynamics. Last year the scheme involved more than 140 volunteers around the country who contributed in excess of 7,280 hours to the project.
You can download the full Irish Butterfly Monitoring Scheme 2010 report (4.5 MB PDF File – right click and “save as” to download) from the Irish Butterfly Monitoring Scheme website.
Here’s a quick snapshot of some of the highlights:
- Last year’s survey included 148 1-2km transects that were walked weekly by volunteers, spanning every Irish county apart from Louth
- Volunteers submitted more than 10,700 records covering 33 butterfly species.
- Green Veined White was the most abundant butterfly species of 2010, followed by the speckled wood, meadow brown, ringlet and small tortoiseshell
- 2 new species were recorded during 2010 – The Essex Skipper and the Purple Hairstreak
- The only Irish Butterfly that has not yet been recorded by the Irish Butterfly Monitoring Scheme is the extremely rare Pearl Bordered Fritillary
- For more information visit the Irish Butterfly Monitoring Scheme website.
