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BUTTERFLY REPORT 2022
James Corton
2022 SUFFOLK BUTTERFLY REPORT JAMES CORTON
Speckled Wood, Spring brood. Introduction This is my second report as County Butterfly Recorder (CBR) for Butterfly Conservation and Suffolk Naturalist Society, following on from the 2021 report where, for continuity’s sake, I followed the layout of the previous CBR. Here I wish to bring in some changes to the format to reflect the way other CBRs report and how textbooks and field guides group species into families. I hope that it is reader friendly while still offering enough information for those who wish to study data and trends etc. A full report will follow in the New Year, published by Suffolk Naturalists’ Society and will contain additional data, maps and charts. An amazing 104,000 individual butterflies were sighted and recorded in over 31,000 recordings by approximately 600 recorders. In truth, there were more sightings because not all could be confirmed and, also, estimates for large numbers tend to underestimate. Additionally, some records are system-rejected for various reasons. Butterflies were spotted from New Year’s Day through to Boxing Day. I would like to give a big thank you to all who took the time to record their sightings. It takes your time and sometimes there are IT related issues, but your perseverance is appreciated and contributes to the long-term conservation of our butterflies. The lifting of COVID-19 restrictions may have helped in reporting so many sightings, particularly with those more remote species which could not be visited many times, if
Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 60 (2024)