Here comes the rain again
Raining in my head like a tragedy
Tearing me apart like a new emotion
(Annie Lennox, Dave Stewart)
One topic that we rarely tire of is the weather. In the colloquial sense, Ireland does not have a climate; it has weather. Our weather influences every living thing in Ireland, and the irascible unpredictability of conditions permeates our national obsession with the rain, sunshine, wind, and temperature that exerts such influence over our experience of life.
Met Éireann, the state’s meteorological service, describes Ireland’s climate by referring to just two seasons: ‘Winters tend to be cool and windy, while summers (when the depression track is further north and depressions less deep), are mostly mild and less windy.’ (1) So, cool and windy and mild and less windy. As Father Ted says when giving directions, ‘The field with fewer rocks than most fields you see.’
Another constant, aside from unpredictability, is rainfall. Cold, bitter, splashy, severe, gentle, soft, relentless, intermittent, you name it, we get it, sometimes more than one form simultaneously. We are an island, surrounded by wet stuff, so, unsurprisingly, it is soaked into our national consciousness.
The rain and its best friend, the grey sky, are the reasons we love to holiday abroad. I doubt many of us like trusting our lives to Ryanair, but to get off this island to sunny climes, we need to escape by air to get our annual doses of Vitamin D.
Hay meadow and scrub in the Burren National Park, Co. Clare. Free-draining soils might suffer from increasing summer heat and dryness. Photo J. Harding.
Even this is becoming a problem. Anyone who has holidayed in southern Europe in June, July or August over the last decade will know how unpleasant the heat has become. It is intolerable. One cannot venture outdoors after 10 or 11 am, and it is not until around 4 pm that it is safe, let alone comfortable, to put a foot outdoors. In July 2019, I arrived in Malta at two in the morning. It was 27 degrees Celsius. Many of us are now booking our sun holiday for April, and September and October for this reason. This ensures that you get the desired sunshine while temperatures are like those in a ‘nice’ Irish summer.
But will this change? Met Éireann thinks so. According to its climate change page, summers will be hotter and drier with temperatures possibly rising by more than 2°C, and rainfall decreasing by approximately 9%. Winter will be hotter and wetter, with temperatures possibly rising by more than 2°C, and rainfall possibly increasing by up to 24%. These are not baked in certainties but will depend on the degree of future climate warming.
At present, we are seeing increases in summer and winter precipitation of 2.71mm and 4.05mm per day, respectively. An increase in the global temperature average of 1.5 °C will see a 1.37% decline in summer precipitation and a rise of 11.24% in winter precipitation. By winter, Met Éireann means December, January and February. Summer is June, July and August. We are at 1. 3 °C above pre-industrial levels. Projections are made for +2 °C, +3 °C and +4 °C, if you can bear to look. (2) The magnitude of rainfall events is also expected to increase. (3)
These increases are probably partly due to natural causes, but not only to these. Science has pointed strongly at human behaviour as a leading cause of climate change.
Natural factors that influence climate are altitude, latitude, distance from the sea, ocean current, direction of prevailing winds and El Niño, which affects wind and rainfall patterns.
Another natural factor is vegetation, and human behaviour is altering the planet’s vegetation cover, especially by removing trees, adding to emissions of gases that heat the planet’s atmosphere. Human activities, especially modern farming and burning fossil fuels, add to anthropogenic global warming.
Some of the changes exceed the ability of living things to adapt. For example, decreased rainfall means that some plants that require an adequate store of water in underground tubers during their dormant periods could struggle to survive. The decline in soil moisture might have caused the likely extinction of the orchid Yellow Spider Orchid (Ophrys lacaitae) on Malta. Increased windiness causes tall flowering plants to sway, making them less accessible to pollinators. Species like the Bee Orchid Ophrys apifera, is taller, reaching up to 70 cm in height, and might be less visible to pollinators as well as harder for pollinators to reach in windier conditions. (4)
Marsh Fritillary larvae clustered together on Moor-grass. The Marsh Fritillary larvae are highly vulnerable to summer flooding.
In southern Europe, the Meadow Brown (and other species) show adaptive behaviour, coping with extreme summer heat by retreating to woods and scrub during intense summer heat and emerging later to lay eggs. If Ireland ever experiences such heat in the future, where are the woods for it to retreat to?
Some conditions do not allow for survival. Intensive farming has a major impact on wildlife by simply removing habitat or modifying it beyond the ability of plants and animals to survive. The impact of artificial fertilisers on the survival of some moth and butterfly larvae is already known. The effect of nitrates on water, air, vegetation and climate change is also well established.
Unfortunately, we tend to react when changes we don’t like are already occurring. ‘Why weren’t we warned?’ cried those badly impacted by recent flooding in Dublin and the southeast. Warnings have been published for years. It is only when the warned event happens that we ‘know’ it’s true.
A call to build flood defences was made by Dr Clare Bergin, Maynooth University, to deal with climate change-induced flooding. (5) Most of our drainage measures are designed to remove water from land asap. In fact, these measures are everywhere. Drainage ditches are found almost everywhere in Ireland, along roads, the edges of fields, alongside rivers, and in deepened and dredged rivers and streams. Bogs and fens had drainage channels dug to drain water before peat cutting could proceed. In most state-owned bogland that has been cut for peat, those not gravity-drained are kept drained by using pumps. On most state-owned peatland these pumps are still in operation, delivering vast quantities of water to rivers. Before our lowland bogs were bogs, they were lakes. Following peat extraction, they will return to being lakes, holding water rather than swelling rivers, if pumps were switched off. Here is one solution to flooding. But I don’t hear anyone mentioning it.
The way it should be; Clara Bog, County Offaly. Bogs hold enormous quantities of water. Sphagnum moss acts as a sponge; plants may hold 16 to 26 times as much water as their dry weight, depending on the species. (Bold, H. C. 1967. Morphology of Plants. Second ed. Harper and Row, New York. p. 225–229.)
Farmland must also be allowed to flood. Time was when every farm had a pond. These were filled in, and water pushed off land as fast as possible. The movement of water must be slowed, not accelerated. This water moves to the coasts. Most of Ireland’s population lives in the low-lying east, in coastal areas, near estuaries. Nowhere is more likely to see flooding.
Restoration of wetlands (marshes, both freshwater and salt, fens, bogs, wet meadows, lakes, ponds, reed beds) must be applied to both abate flooding and absorb warming gases. Our wildlife will benefit hugely too.
Now get on with it. But don’t blame nature, don’t blame the Freshwater Pearl Mussel Margaritifera margaritifera. Blame what we did to nature and reverse the damage.
The new Red List of European Butterflies was published in December 2025. It highlights the deterioration in the population status of a large proportion of European butterflies, including common species such as the Essex Skipper Thymelicus lineola (Vulnerable), the Small Skipper Thymelicus sylvestris (Endangered) and the Small Tortoiseshell Aglais urticae (Near Threatened). The primary reason for this deteriorating trend is habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation, followed by climate change, nitrogen deposition and pesticides, such as neonicotinoids.
The following article summarises the key overall findings of the report and states its recommendations, and, as an exemplar, details the causes of decline of one of Europe’s rarest butterflies, the Nevada Blue Polyommatus golgus.
Europe has 501 butterfly species. For the European Red List, Europe spans the entirety of the European continent, extending from Iceland, Svalbard and Franz Josef Land in the north (islands north of Scandinavia) to the Canary Islands in the south, and from the Azores in the west to the Urals in the east, including the European part of Turkiye and most of the European parts of the Russian Federation. Cyprus, the European Macaronesian islands (the Canaries, Madeiran and the Azores archipelagos), the Spanish North African Territories (Ceuta, Melilla, and the Plazas de soberania, all bordering Morocco) are included in the assessment region.
Of the 442 species assessed (excluding 59 regarded as ‘Not Applicable’ because these are vagrants or introduced since 1500), one species is extinct: the Madeiran Large White Pieris brassicae wollastoni, a species that was restricted to the island of Madeira (Portugal), which has not been reported since 1986 and is excluded from all further percentage calculations. Of the 441 extant species, 14.7% (65 species) are considered threatened at the European level; comprising 1.4% (6 species) Critically Endangered, 7.9% (35 species) Endangered, and 5.4% (24 species) Vulnerable. A further 13.6% (60 species) of species are classified as Near Threatened. Most of these are declining rapidly in parts of their range and are in urgent need of conservation action. Within the EU27 region, there are 431 extant species, 15.8% of these (68 species) are threatened with extinction, of which 1.2% (5 species) are Critically Endangered, 9.0% (39 species) are Endangered, and 5.6% (24 species) are Vulnerable.
In addition, 15.1% (65 species) of species are considered as Near Threatened. Comparing the present Red List with the previous one (Van Swaay et al., 2010), the number of species assessed has increased from 435 to 442, due to the recognition of a few butterflies as new species. However, the percentage of species that are now threatened has increased significantly over the last 14 or so years between assessment periods. The percentage of threatened species has increased by 73% (from 8.5% to 14.7%). In pure numerical terms, this equates to an increase of 76% (from 37 to 65 species). When Near Threatened species are included, the number of species listed has risen by 54.3% (from 81 to 125).
This means that 28.3% (125 species) of extant (existing) butterflies are now threatened or Near Threatened at the European level and almost one-third (30.9%) in the EU27. These changes are partly due to some Near Threatened or Least Concern species becoming threatened in the last 10+years but also because some of the newly identified species are extremely range-restricted and declining, so immediately fall into a threatened category. The threat level of a few species has decreased since the previous assessment, often because they went through a period of rapid decline in the 1990s to qualify last time, but their rate of decline has slowed in the last decade, so they do not now reach the threshold to be assessed as threatened (at least a 30% decline in the previous 10 years).
The situation is even worse when it comes to endemic species (found only in one part of the world) for which Europe has a unique responsibility. Of the 148 extant endemic species, 19.6% (29 species) are threatened and 21.6% (32 species) are Near Threatened. Thus, over 40% of Europe’s endemic butterflies are now threatened or close to being so. Within the EU27, that proportion rises to nearly half of all endemic species (47.5%: 38 of 80 extant species). This compares to the last assessment, when 23.2% of European endemic species were threatened or nearly so and 29.5% in the EU27.
Threats to Butterflies
The biggest threats to butterflies in Europe now and in the past are habitat loss and degradation. The primary causes of these changes are agricultural intensification, wetland drainage, land abandonment and overgrazing from livestock.
As a result of these changes, many species are now suffering from the consequences of habitat fragmentation, which greatly increases the chances of local extinction.
Over the last few decades, climate change has had a major impact on European butterflies. In this new assessment, 52% (34) of all threatened species in Europe are threatened by climate change, and this number is expected to grow in future.
Species that live solely on mountain tops are especially threatened, for example, three Endangered endemic species in the mountain ranges of southern Spain: Zullich’s Blue Agriades zullichi, Nevada Blue and Andalusian Anomalous Blue Polyommatus violetae. Eight montane (mountain) species in Spain have also been added as Near Threatened because recent climate models predict that they will lose most of their climate space in the next 50 years (Romo et al., 2023). Some endemic species are extremely rare.
The Piedmont Anomalous Blue Polyommatus humedasae, ranked Critically Endangered, occurs in the Coyne Valley in North-west Italy, with five or fewer populations. It lives on scrubby slopes between 800-1000m and uses Common Sainfoin Onobrychis viciifolia as its larval foodplant.
Climate change is also threatening another suite of mainly Holarctic species in the northern Alpine/Boreal zones where warmer and drier conditions are allowing scrub to spread and encroach on sensitive bog and tundra habitats. Several species are now classed as Endangered as a result, including Arctic Blue Agriades aquilo, Freija Fritillary Boloria freija, Arctic Ringlet Erebia disa and Arctic Grayling Oeneis bore (which were assessed as Least Concern in 2010); Arctic Fritillary B. chariclea, Lapland Fritillary Euphydryas iduna (Near Threatened in 2010); Polar Fritillary B. polaris (Vulnerable in 2010); and Dusky-winged Fritillary B. improba (Endangered in both assessments). In the Mediterranean region, climate change is adding new threats to species because of the increasing frequency of extreme drought and wildfires. This is threatening several endemic species that are confined to islands such as the Critically Endangered Karpathos Grayling Hipparchia christenseni (on Karpathos), as well as the Endangered Gran Canaria Grayling H. tamadabae (Gran Canaria), La Palma Grayling H. tilosi (La Palma), and Canary Brimstone Gonepteryx cleobule (Canary Islands).
Other threats that require further research include nitrogen deposition and new pesticides such as neonicotinoids, which persist in the environment.
Recommendations
This report shows that the number of butterfly species under threat in Europe has increased considerably since the last assessment (from 81 to 125 species threatened or Near Threatened). It is clear that far greater effort is needed urgently to conserve butterflies in Europe.
Butterfly Conservation Europe has published a list of Do’s and Don’ts for the species protected under the Habitats Directive (Van Swaay et al., 2012). The main recommendations for these and other butterflies are to:
1. Manage at a landscape scale (because butterflies usually exist as networks of populations across the landscape and cannot survive in the long term unless habitats are connected).
2. Maintain active pastoral systems (that are essential for many butterflies).
3. Manage for variety (as each species has its own special requirements).
4. Avoid uniform management, especially in hay meadows (as cutting can be harmful if done at the wrong time of year, but the best time varies from species to species and year to year).
5. Maintain habitat mosaics (to create a variety of habitats for different species to breed).
6. Maintain active management in woodland, as this is often essential for threatened woodland butterflies.
7. Have monitoring in place (to inform decisions on management and evaluate conservation progress).
Recommended Action
Butterfly species in Europe would benefit from a range of research and protection, such as the inclusion of threatened species in legislation, the protection and management of Prime Butterfly Areas, and the production of Species Action Plans.
Further research should include targeted surveys for species with unclear distributions, continuing to monitor butterfly populations across Europe through the European Butterfly Monitoring Scheme and ecological research to identify habitat management preferences of threatened species to underpin conservation programmes. It is also important to consider how land can be sustainably managed. For this, it would be helpful to produce and disseminate advice for the management of relevant European Priority Habitats for butterfly species.
Butterflies would also benefit from the development of measures aimed at conserving entire landscapes in Europe to reduce the impact of habitat fragmentation and isolation. Continuing to highlight threatened butterfly species in various contexts and sustaining and strengthening the network in Europe to coordinate and implement conservation is also recommended.
Site protection: 1) Take European threatened butterfly species into account when revising relevant national and regional legislation; 2) Protect and manage the network of Prime Butterfly Areas that have been identified in Europe as a priority (Van Swaay & Warren 2003). 3) Improve the protection of butterfly habitats throughout Europe, at both the site and landscape scales.
Survey, monitoring and ecological research
Species conservation: 1) Draw up Species Action (Recovery) Plans (SAPs) for threatened European species, prioritising those where an SAP has been identified as an urgent conservation action; 2) Develop and implement conservation projects for Europe’s most threatened butterfly species.
Land management: 1) Produce and disseminate land management guidance for relevant European Priority Habitats and for relevant European threatened species; 2) Ensure that all semi-natural habitats are managed appropriately for threatened butterflies and ensure continuation of traditional agricultural and forestry management systems on which so many species depend; 3) Develop measures to conserve entire landscapes in Europe and reduce the impact of habitat fragmentation and isolation; 4) Research and develop measures to reduce the impact of climate change on threatened European butterflies.
Advocacy: 1) Use the Red List assessment data and analyses to produce a European butterfly atlas.
Partnership building: Sustain and develop the existing effective network of partners through Butterfly Conservation Europe, to enable the above conservation measures for European threatened species to be coordinated and implemented.
Nevada Blue
This attractive blue butterfly is about the size of the Common Blue. The male is bright blue with a turquoise sheen on his uppersides. The female has chocolate brown uppersides with orange markings near the wing edges. The undersides are pale buff with black spots with a white halo and orange submarginal spots, better defined in the female, with males showing clear orange on the hindwing underside only. The butterfly flies in a single generation, from late June to late July. Its caterpillar eats the leaves of Kidney Vetch Anthyllis vulneraria arundana, overwintering as a small caterpillar.
The Nevada Blue (131-134 chromosomes) was separated from the Turquoise Blue Plebicula dorylus (147-151 chromosomes) in 1960, arising from chromosome analysis.
The butterfly lives on dry, steep, sparsely vegetated, calcareous rocky slopes in Sierra Nevada (Granada and Almería provinces), Sierra de Cazorla (Jaén province), Sierra Seca, Sierra Guillimona and La Sagra (north of Granada province), where it was found in just 14 10km squares. It is an endemic, confined to these areas in southern Spain where it occurs as two subspecies, Polyommatus golgus golgus (from 2400-3000m) and P. g. sagratrox (from 1900-2350m). These do not occur together and occupy different habitat types.
Nevada Blue subspecies Polyommatus golgus golgus occurs mainly on north-facing slopes and at the summits and is rarer on drier eastern slopes. Low shrubs (juniper and broom) and grassy places occur in the habitats used. P. golgus habitat at Sierra Nevada remains under the snow for at least half of the year. Snow cover protects against extreme cold and windy conditions and plays an important role in the water supply and humidity conditions of these ecosystems.
The northern populations of the Nevada Blue subspecies sagratrox live in four nearby mountains on clearings of Black Pine Pinus nigra woodlands and at higher elevations on cushion shrub communities with Hedgehog Broom Erinacea anthyllis. There are five main areas in Spain where the species is present, and they are all legally protected.
However, this does not mean the populations are safe.
The Red List of European Butterflies ranks the species as Endangered using the IUCN criteria B1ab (iii,v)+B2ab(iii,v).
B1ab(iii,v) means the extent of occurrence is severely fragmented or the number of locations is low and that a continuing decline was observed, estimated or inferred in (iii) area, extent and or quality of the habitat and (v) number of mature individuals.
B2ab(iii,v) means the area of occupancy is severely fragmented or the number of locations is low and that a continuing decline was observed, estimated or inferred in (iii) area, extent and or quality of the habitat and (v) number of mature individuals.
Threats to the species were examined in ten locations. In El Veleta, a ski slope was created, removing the habitat used by the butterfly. The ski station was enlarged, a development that has been associated with water pollution, waste accumulation and atmospheric nitrogen deposition. Visitor pressure led to trampling of vegetation, while livestock grazing, whether light or heavy, is also a threat.
La Sagra also recorded trampling and grazing as threats.
In Sierra De Guillimona, overgrazing is the chief threat detected during fieldwork. Adults of the species were recorded only in the extensively grazed areas and in the surrounding heavily grazed areas, the butterfly was not observed.
The population of Empanadas in the Sierra de Cazorla (located between the provincial borders of Jaén and Granada) is subject to extensive grazing by sheep and goats. The threat for this population would be that the grazing regime increases, but the Natural Park officers are already aware of the potential problem and will control the situation.
The impact of climate change on habitats is the main problem the species faces. Some of the observed consequences of this change are drought, increased temperature and reduction of snow coverage. If these impacts of climate change continue, the range of the species would be displaced to higher areas where the habitat might not be suitable. For the populations living in the highest areas of the mountains, these changes would mean their extinction. For all the other populations, the climate change impact would mean a substantial reduction in the area occupied by the population.
In 2012, a year of low rainfall in El Veleta, a drought occurred, and few butterflies were seen that year.
Illegal collecting in La Sagra and Guillimona was recorded as a cause of decline, although collecting is rarely regarded as an important cause of decline.
While the issues of urbanisation, tourist impacts, grazing and collecting are being addressed, climate change cannot be affected locally. All that can be done is to influence governments to reduce emissions.
References
Munguira, M.L., Castro, S., Barea-Azcon, J.M., Olivares, J. and Miteva, S. (2015c). Species Recovery Plan for the Sierra Nevada Blue Polyommatus (Plebicula) golgus. Butterfly Conservation Europe. https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:130477367
Van Swaay, C., Warren, M., Ellis, S., Clay, J., Bellotto, V., Allen, D.J. and Trottet, A. (2025). Measuring the pulse of European biodiversity. European Red List of Butterflies. Brussels, Belgium: European Commission. https://doi.org/10.2779/1280375
Another year has almost passed. Our environment is perhaps facing the greatest threat to its health in this island’s post-Ice Age history. 90% of Ireland’s protected habitats are in ‘unfavourable’ conservation status, while 51% are showing deteriorating trends across their national ranges, which includes sites that are designated as Special Areas of Conservation as well as the wider countryside. Only 9% of our habitats are improving. 50% of our EU-protected species are in trouble (https://www.npws.ie/news/minister-o%E2%80%99sullivan-publishes-new-report-status-ireland%E2%80%99s-eu-protected-habitats-and-species).
These assessments deal with our EU-protected habitats and species only.
This site contains elements of EU-protected habitats: Molinia meadow and a petrifying spring seepage area. Other important but non-EU-protected habitats shown here are marsh, scrub and woodland.
The conservation audit of these habitats and species will be supported by a new Red List for Ireland’s butterflies (assessing their conservation status), which is in progress and will be published in 2026.
Nature can recover. It is vital, however, that no more important habitats are lost. In this regard, Butterfly Conservation Ireland is battling hard to protect the Bog of Allen in Kildare and Offaly from a wind farm proposal that would destroy much of the region and prevent habitat recovery.
Hemp Agrimony, Purple Loosestrife and Meadowsweet are excellent for pollinators. These are growing in a marsh in Louisa Bridge, Leixlip, County Kildare.
There is positive news. The Marsh Fritillary butterfly, our only legally protected insect, has, for the first time, been accorded favourable conservation status in the 2025 reports by the National Parks & Wildlife Service. Its range has increased by 5% since 2017, and its population appears to be increasing. More farmers are pleased to see it on their farms, especially those participating in agri-environment schemes, and managers of our protected land are becoming more aware of the management needed to care for this beautiful butterfly. And measures that safeguard the Marsh Fritillary benefit habitats and other species.
Marsh Fritillary, Lullybeg, Kildare.
Please continue to support our work. You will learn more about the work in 2025 in our Annual Report 2025, which will appear in January or February.
Thanks to everyone for supporting our butterfly and moth heritage in 2025. This support, financial and practical, is greatly appreciated. The Board of Directors of Butterfly Conservation Ireland wish you and yours the happiest Christmas and a fulfilling, nature-filled 2026.
In a classic scene in Only Fools and Horses, the road sweeper, Trigger, proudly displays a medal awarded to him by the council for saving the council money. Trigger, not known for his intellectual prowess, claims to have maintained the same broom for twenty years. The broom had 17 new heads and 14 new handles in its time. So, it wasn’t the same broom. However, Trigger understood the value of caring for his broom. His proud motto is ‘Look after your broom.’ It is a pity we all don’t follow suit when it comes to our soils.
To achieve 6.5 tonnes (t) of spring barley per hectare (ha), Teagasc, the Farm Advisory Service in the Republic of Ireland, advises the application of 135 kg of Nitrogen per hectare (t/ha); for 8.5t/ha, it advises 175kg/N/ha on land classified as soil index 1 for Nitrogen. This classification, the lowest, indicates the soil has low availability of Nitrogen, typically due to overexploitation of the soil. The lowest rate of Nitrogen application advised is for soil index 4: here the advice for spring barley is 40kg, 60kg and 80 kg for 6.5, 7.5 and 8.5t/ha, respectively (https://teagasc.ie/crops/soil–soil-fertility/crop-n-p-k-advice/spring-cereals/spring-barley/).
To deal with weeds, Teagasc recommends more than 14 herbicides. ‘Weeds’ are typically plants that colonise tilled soil, such as Corn Marigold, chickweed, Common Poppy and Red Deadnettle. Several doses are advised depending on conditions. In cool weather, leaves develop a wax coating. This means that more herbicide is needed to kill the weed. If weeds show resistance, Teagasc recommends using acetolactate synthase (ALS) herbicides, which are more potent and work to reduce or prevent the production of amino acids and therefore plant growth (https://teagasc.ie/crops/crops/cereal-crops/spring-cereals/weeds/). Weeds can become locally resistant to ALS herbicides, so crop rotation is advised. Enjoy your bread.
Early Purple Orchid. Orchids are very sensitive to synthetic fertilisers. J. Harding
Crops, like most plants, attract herbivorous invertebrates such as aphids, slugs and leatherjackets (cranefly larvae). To kill aphids, Teagasc advises using chemicals such as Pirimicarb, a carbamate insecticide used to control aphids on various crops by inhibiting the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (to impair brain function). It is a selective insecticide, though some studies show it can negatively affect beneficial insects such as ladybirds, at sublethal doses.
Metaldehyde and Ferric Phosphate products are recommended to kill slugs (https://teagasc.ie/crops/crops/cereal-crops/spring-cereals/pests/). Metaldehyde is a white, crystalline powder that is also flammable and highly toxic if ingested, causing symptoms like seizures, coma, and liver/kidney damage in both animals and humans. Ferric Phosphate, while much safer, can harm pets and damage water quality. Enjoy your Weetabix.
The growth of grain crops in intensive systems uses huge and expensive and polluting fertiliser inputs, herbicides, fungicides and pesticides, usually in successive doses. Enjoy your cornflakes.
The information above only looks at some arable land. If we look at land managed for grazing, which is the majority of Ireland’s land surface, the advice about chemical inputs shows massive amounts of polluting synthetic fertiliser use. Just to take a single pollution example: some Nitrogen applied to soil escapes as a gas, Nitrous Oxide.
This is 265 times more warming than CO2. When deposited back onto the land, nitrogen damages sphagnum moss, causing bogs to emit CO2 rather than store it. Non-target soils are fertilised when Nitrogen is deposited from the atmosphere, removing plants intolerant of high nitrogen environments, and poisoning caterpillars feeding on plants that take up increased nitrogen. Even if some larvae can withstand increased nitrogen levels, plant communities are altered, creating greener vegetation that depresses temperatures, reducing or destroying the ability of caterpillars to digest their food, resulting in longer development times or death.
Fen and woodland, Lullybeg, County Kildare. Nitrous Oxide damages these habitats.
This is a toxic, polluting, climate-warming mass production environment. Our farmed land has had more alterations than Trigger’s Broom (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAh8HryVaeY). A fatal zone for wild plants, insects and animals. No wonder our butterfly and moth populations are crashing. No native butterfly is increasing. Enjoy your cereal.
Does it have to be this way?
No. Organic farming offers a better solution. It is less intensive, involves no artificial fertilisers, no herbicides, pesticides or fungicides. In the words of one organic farmer,
Your main cost is seed and paying a contractor to spread some cattle slurry or composted FYM (farmyard manure).
After that you close the gate. Straight organic cereal for animal feed is currently trading for about €400 per tonne, and the combination crops (mixture of legume and grain) are selling for higher.
You don’t need to be a maths genius to work out that if what you’re selling is double the price of conventional and that your yields are half that of conventional, well then the higher profitability comes from the significantly reduced input costs (synthetic fertiliser, herbicide, application costs, etc). A 10-year-old could do that calculation!
According to the European Nitrogen Assessment published in 2011, the increased use of reactive nitrogen (N-r) as fertiliser supports a growing world population but has considerable adverse effects on the environment and human health. Five key societal threats of N r are identified: to water quality, air quality, greenhouse balance, ecosystems and biodiversity, and soil quality. Cost–benefit analysis shows how the overall environmental costs of all N-r losses in Europe (estimated at €70–€320 billion per year at current rates) outweigh the direct economic benefits of N-r in agriculture. The highest societal costs are associated with loss of air quality and water quality, linked to impacts on ecosystems and especially on human health (https://www.nine-esf.org/files/ena_doc/ENA_pdfs/ENA_policy%20summary.pdf.).
Synthetic fertiliser does not improve the nutritional quality of food.[i] It increases yields. With typical additional inputs from biological nitrogen fixation (BNF), a hectare of good agricultural land in Europe can produce about 4–6 tonnes of cereal per ha, and with the addition of chemical fertiliser, about 8–10 tonnes per ha.
A great problem with these fertilisers is that most of the Nitrogen applied is not absorbed by the crops and livestock. The European Nitrogen Assessment puts it starkly:
The Nitrogen recovery (kg N taken up by a crop per kg of applied N) provides a measure of environmental N-loss in crop production. For cereals, it varies 30%–60% across Europe, indicating that 40%–70% of the fertiliser N-r applied is lost to the atmosphere or the hydrosphere (the planet’s water). The nitrogen recovery in animal farming is inherently lower than in crops, with only 10–50% of N r in feed being retained in liveweight and 5%–40% in edible weight.
Taking just one example of the damage to human health caused by excess N-r: high nitrate concentrations in drinking water are considered dangerous for human health, as they might cause cancers (colon) and (albeit rarely) infant methaemoglobinaemia. N-r level must be reduced.
This point was not mentioned in the report, but agricultural production levels are excessive, given that we throw away so much food. We are using unnecessarily high N-r in farming.
In the EU, over 58 million tonnes of food waste (130 kg/inhabitant) are generated annually (Eurostat, 2025), with an associated market value estimated at 132 billion euros (SWD (2023)).
At the same time, over 42 million people cannot afford a quality meal every other day (Eurostat, 2023).
Globally, approximately a third of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted (FAO, 2011). FAO’s Food Loss Index (FLI) estimates that globally, around 14% of all food produced is lost from the post-harvest stage up to, but excluding, the retail stage (FAO, 2019).
Households generate more than half of the total food waste (53%) in the EU (accounting for 69 kg per inhabitant) (Eurostat, 2025). The remaining 47% was waste generated upwards in the food supply chain: 19% by the manufacture of food products and beverages (24 kg per inhabitant), 11% by restaurants and food services (14 kg per inhabitant), and 8% in the retail and other distribution of food (10 kg per inhabitant).
Given that households generate most food waste, there is a huge scope for individual action to tackle this problem. We don’t simply waste food by throwing it away; we waste it by overconsumption. Many of us are overweight. EU statistics published in 2024 show that over half of Ireland’s population aged 16 and over is overweight. 50.6% of people aged 16 years or over in the EU were recorded as being overweight in 2022. The most overweight country in the EU is Malta (62% of the population), and the least is Italy (41.3%). Being overweight is bad for human health and bad for nature.
Flower-rich grassland on Lullybeg Reserve.
We are talking about individual choices. Don’t over-buy, don’t waste food, buy organic, be healthy, farm without synthetic chemicals. Then we will have clean water, clean air, flourishing biodiversity, a healthy climate and healthy soil, all helping to produce good food.
Look after your broom.
Key Reference
Trees, I. (2018). Wilding, Picador, London.
[i] Evidence exists that intensive farming strips soil of micro-organisms that make micro-nutrients available for uptake by plants. The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Texas analysed US Department of Agriculture nutritional data from 1950 and 1999 for 43 vegetables and fruits and found declines in protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, riboflavin and vitamin C over the period. A similar UK study found declines: during the period from 1940-1991, potatoes lost 47% of their copper, 45% of their iron and 35% of their calcium (Trees, 2018).
The grounds attached to Castletown House, Celbridge, County Kildare, are set to almost double in area after the state agreed to purchase 235 acres in addition to the 237 acres already in State ownership. The cost of the land deal was €11.25 million and had been approved by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform because of the strategic importance of the land to the State.
The land was needed to reopen access to the Castletown Estate after the access from the M4 motorway was closed in September 2023. Since then, a group calling themselves the ‘gatekeepers’ maintained a presence at the access from Celbridge to underline their objection to access from Celbridge.
The grounds of Castletown are mainly managed for biodiversity. A wonderful hay meadow habitat has been developed, which is a great draw for invertebrates, the most notable being the increasing butterfly populations in the area.
Butterfly Conservation Ireland congratulates the Minister of State for the Office of Public Works, Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran, for this important acquisition for the state and urges the extension of the hay meadow habitat onto the additional lands. Hay meadows are protected under the Habitats Directive 1992 (Lowland hay meadows (Alopecurus pratensis, Sanguisorba officinalis) [6510]). These are dry grasslands that are mown rather than grazed with little or no fertiliser application. These are increasingly rare in Ireland, becoming especially scarce during the 1980s when hay-making was replaced with silage alongside its intensive chemical inputs.
The weather on Saturday, 8 November, was a rarity in November 2025: a dry, calm day. We met on the reserve and spent our time uprooting birch saplings from flower-rich wet grassland to ensure that it remains a flower-rich grassland.
Devil’s-bit Scabious in bloom in Lullybeg, August 2025.
A major challenge for grassland butterflies and moths is land abandonment. This occurs when activities that produce favourable habitat, such as scrub control and light cattle grazing, cease. Habitats that occur in the reserve used by the Marsh Fritillary butterfly include the following EU priority habitats: wet heath, Molinia meadows and the following Fossitt habitats: wet grassland, cutover bog, wet heath and poor fen and flush.
The habitats are vulnerable to decline due to the encroachment of scrub and dense grassland growth.
We addressed dense grassland growth by introducing cattle to the reserve in September and October. The animals performed the functions we needed with height reduction and varying the sward heights, poaching and breaking up clumping vegetation.
The Marsh Fritillary needs a helping hand.
The uprooting of young birch and willow provides the chance for flora to develop, and the act of removing the saplings disturbs the soil, allowing seed to grow.
We chatted while we worked, making the day a happy, friendly time for us. Conservation work is toil, but it can and should be enjoyable, and this was a lovely time for all of us.
Added to which, we know that we have given nature a boost. Conservation management is sadly lacking in most of the Marsh Fritillary butterfly’s habitats.
Lullybeg Reserve showing semi-natural woodland containing Scots Pine, Downy Birch and Grey Willow. Scub is very important for many species, but it requires control. If allowed to develop, it can remove valuable grassland habitat.
The significant pressures affecting Marsh Fritillary in Ireland are related to habitat quality and extent, and there is no reason to expect these pressures to decrease in the foreseeable future. As the impact on the species is not direct and immediate, it may be some time before there is an observable reduction in distribution. The majority of the habitats that the Marsh Fritillary is associated with are declining and in poor conservation status.
Thanks to our members and volunteers, that is not the case in Lullybeg.
A big thanks to all who helped on Saturday and to all our excellent members.
Any time we hear and see rain in Ireland, we rarely, if ever, register a neutral response. We might be happy to see rain after a period of drought, and delight in the upsurge in growth following a soaking of the earth. Many complain about summer heat, finding it oppressive, relieved when it ends in a deluge. We don’t want rain to persist for days on end, but many feel relieved to see it return. Its return offers a reassurance of continuity. Our relationship with our environment embraces regular rainfall. Precipitation is expected, reassuring. However, others are irked when, after three dry, sunny weeks, Uisce Eireann urges water conservation and issues warnings about ‘unnecessary water use’ such as watering plants or car washing. After months of wet weather, why, after three nice sunny weeks, are we hearing about water shortages?
A flooded cutover bog in Kildare. It rains in Ireland about 20% of the time.
Other countries feel and react differently about rain. Heavy rain is considered dangerous in some parts of southern Europe. They don’t have drainage systems like those in Ireland, Britain and northern Europe, and inundation and flooding can occur quickly. Rainfall like that regularly seen here is most unwelcome. Outdoor public events are cancelled and warnings to remain indoors are issued. In the Mediterranean region, outside the winter months, dry conditions are the norm. Rainfall in a Mediterranean summer is a shock.
The steep, dramatic reduction in light during autumn and winter in our corner of NW Europe, coupled with dark, leaden skies shedding sheets of rain rarely lift spirits. Prolonged darkness might appeal to some, but most of us dislike it. Rain and darkness collude to deepen our mood of despair. Christmas offers a brief respite, but January hangs long, dark and moody. Daylight is increasing, but it doesn’t feel as though optimism has enough to light its way.
Overcast days are common in Ireland. This photo was taken in mid-October at midday.
February 2025 had 11 consecutive days with less than half an hour of direct sunlight.
If that is not depressing, what is?
Our archaeological heritage indicates our forebears recognised the importance of light. We have Newgrange’s light box (Newgrange dates from about 3200 BC), which is aligned to allow light to flood the passage and the terminal chamber with light on the winter solstice and for the following few days. Neolithic edifices elsewhere nod to human concern to embrace the return of the sun. The over 5,000-year-old Neolithic temple at Hagar Qim, Malta, lights up on the 21st of March, the day of the spring solstice. During the Winter and Summer solstices, the beams of the rising sun pass along the sides of the main doorway, hitting two decorated slabs within the first chamber in the southern building of nearby Mnajdra, another neolithic temple complex. Light and the promise of more, and drier weather, are important to us, wherever we live in Europe.
How do our butterfly populations respond to our wet climate? Aside from three migrant species, the rest of Ireland’s butterfly fauna has been isolated from the continent for thousands of years, unable to escape inclement conditions, and yet they manage to survive.
A recent study, Long‐term trends in extreme precipitation indices in Ireland sought to determine spatial and temporal trends in the frequency, intensity and magnitude of observed precipitation. The persistence of trends for varying record lengths and for two fixed periods (1910–2019 and 1940–2019) of analysis is assessed for all stations and indices. Results show increases in precipitation intensity, especially notable in the east and southeast of the island. The findings also show that the contribution of heavy and extreme precipitation events to annual totals is increasing, while there were no persistent trends in annual totals or consecutive wet or dry days.
The impact of increasing intensity of precipitation on butterfly abundance is assessed by a 2017 UK study, Sensitivity of UK butterflies to local climatic extremes: which life stages are most at risk?
It was already known that heavy precipitation events affect butterfly survival and that they cause local extinction events. Indeed, this latter impact has been observed in Butterfly Conservation Ireland’s reserve in Lullybeg in 2007, when flooding destroyed Marsh Fritillary caterpillars.
The study found that different species and different life stages showed different responses to extreme precipitation. Extreme precipitation during the pupal life stage affects 28% of butterflies with one generation of adults in a year (univoltine species).
For butterflies with more than one generation in a year (multivoltine), extreme heat during overwintering and extreme precipitation during first- and second-generation adult life stages are the most frequently occurring extreme variables causing population declines in multivoltine species (67%, 58% and 50% of all multivoltine species affected, respectively.
Common Blue female ‘blue’ form, also known as mariscolore. The blue colour in Irish female Common Blues is believed to correlate with cooler, overcast conditions. In dry east coast habitats, female Common Blues are brown.
Unlike univoltine species, however, multivoltine species seem to be susceptible to extremes (extreme precipitation, drought, extreme heat and cold) across all life stages, with ovum, larvae, pupae, adult and overwintering stages all affected negatively. Species’ vulnerability to extremes appears to be most prominent in the first generation and is primarily driven by exposure to extreme heat, with the exception of the negative impacts of precipitation during the adult stage.
The study found that multivoltine species had far greater sensitivity to extreme precipitation, drought, extreme heat and cold than univoltine species. One of the more prominent and consistent negative contributors to univoltine species’ population change is precipitation events during the pupal and larval periods. The negative impact of precipitation events on the pupal stage surprised the researchers. This finding highlights the need for studies to assess the impact of extreme climate events across all life stages. Interestingly, drought was not found to impact abundance in this study.
Have Ireland’s butterflies shown any ability to cope with our wetter, cooler, duller climate?
Marsh Fritillary male upperside, Lullybeg corridor, 12 May 2025. The Marsh Fritillary found in Ireland has much darker markings than those found in southern Europe.
Some of our adult butterflies are darker in colour than their counterparts in Britain and Europe, aside from those in colder, damper areas, especially in high mountains. Darker wings assist in warming the insect, helping it to prepare for flight; the darker colouration is a feature of the Dark Green Fritillary and Marsh Fritillary. Some species have later emergence times than their British and European congeners.
The Orange-tip emerges earlier in England, where it often begins to fly in March. In Ireland, mid-April is typically when its emergence begins. Some species that are double-brooded in England and Europe can produce only a single generation in Ireland. This univoltine character is not hardwired in the case of the Dingy Skipper and Small Blue in Ireland; the long period of good weather in 2025 from March to August resulted in a small second generation appearing in Ireland.
While butterflies deal with climatic conditions, when these are combined with other extremes arising from climate change, pollution and habitat loss, this will produce very different outcomes. Perhaps unexpectedly, some species will thrive, especially butterflies using nitrophilous foodplants. The sensitive species relying on nutrient-poor habitats are suffering losses. Only landscape-scale conservation can contribute to addressing their challenges.
Key References
Long, O. M. et al. (2017). Sensitivity of UK butterflies to local climatic extremes: which life stages are most at risk? The Journal of animal ecology. [Online] 86 (1), 108–116.
Ryan, C. et al. (2022). Long‐term trends in extreme precipitation indices in Ireland. International journal of climatology. [Online] 42 (7), 4040–4061. Available at https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/joc.7475
On Today With Claire Byrne on Friday, 24 October 2025, an interesting debate featuring the tension between farming and conservation was aired. The state’s plans to expand its holdings of land protected for nature are opposed by farmers, especially by the Irish Natura & Hill Farmers’ Association. According to its new president, Pheilim Molloy, the amount of land purchased by the National Parks and Wildlife Service for nature conservation from 2010-2023 was: 2020: 272 acres, 2021: 83 acres, 2022: 10 acres, 2023: 1,528 acres.
These lands were “Being bought up at the expense of young farmers…getting access to land,” according to Pheilim Molloy. The state also acquired over 600 acres near the Connemara National Park in 2025. About 7000 acres were bought by NPWS during Malcolm Noonan’s tenure (2020-2024), averaging about €4,200 an acre. This is high nature value land.
This area, located in the Burren, held limestone pavement, scrub and flower-rich grassland before it was destroyed by the landowner.
According to Molloy, the state’s greater purchasing power meant local farmers were outbid. The average farm size in Ireland is c.75 acres, so even the small parcels of land purchased by the state are hampering economic opportunities for local farmers, claimed Molloy.
Hay meadow, Burren National Park. This is a rare habitat in Ireland. It requires specific management and cannot survive intensive farming.
In response, Malcolm Noonan, responsible for NPWS in the previous administration, described the financial schemes available to farmers to support nature conservation, such as those supporting breeding waders and farming in the Burren.
Molloy wants farmers to own the land, and they would apply conservation measures in their farming practices.
Regarding the overgrazing of uplands by sheep, Molloy stated that sheep have been farmed in Ireland for thousands of years.
However, poor management is damaging our habitats, according to Malcolm Noonan. Land abandonment should be avoided, he added, calling for conservation-centred management of semi-natural grassland. Funding is key, but the funding, €3.15 billion Climate and Nature Fund earmarked for nature restoration at scale under the previous Government, has now been redirected to Metro North, a rail system to be located mainly in North Dublin, stated Noonan, who called for adequate funding for farmers to safeguard nature, water and climate.
In our view, the purchase of land to secure important habitats is important but insufficient. The amount of land purchased is tiny. We are emphatic that farmers are not the custodians of biodiversity.
Farming is a business. A business will make choices to maximise profit. Unless care for nature produces profit, most agricultural businesses will ignore it.
Pheilim Molloy’s comments about farmers (in general) taking care of habitats are contradicted by the facts. In 2020, 10% of the Republic of Ireland’s land was used for crops and about 60% was used for grassland, mostly fertilised (CSO, 2022). In the last decade, Ireland lost 30% of its semi-natural grasslands, and more than half of Ireland’s native plants are in decline (Fourth National Biodiversity Action Plan 2023-2030). Concerning farmers caring for the land, consider this statistic: 85 per cent of our internationally important and protected habitats are in poor condition. Most are in private ownership, mostly owned by farmers. Every five years, an update report on the state of Europe’s environment is compiled by the European Environment Agency (EEA). The report is a synthesis of country profiles detailing conditions in each of the 27 European Union member states and 11 neighbouring countries. With regard to biodiversity, the 2025 report on Ireland states that biodiversity “remains under threat and the state of nature is very poor” (EEA, 2025).
Beautiful orchid-rich calcareous grassland in the Burren, Parknabinnia, County Clare.
Ireland ranked bottom among EU member states for expenditure on environmental protection. The EU average was 2.2 per cent of GDP, but Ireland’s expenditure was just 0.9 per cent (EEA, 2025). And Pheilim Molloy wants the state to stop buying high nature value land for conservation purposes.
We need to buy more land for nature, not none, and continue to provide financial support to farmers who manage their land to support biodiversity objectives. We must have more land where nature conservation is the primary objective. In this regard, the purchase by the state of Cullahill Mountain SAC (Special Area of Conservation) is welcome. This land holds the priority habitat, ‘Semi-natural dry grasslands and scrubland facies on calcareous substrates (important orchid sites)’. This important site in north Kilkenny is currently grazed by Dexter cattle to enhance the quality of the habitat. Kilkenny has only eight Special Areas of Conservation, and only one other site contains similar semi-natural grassland in a county with highly intensive agriculture.
Orchid-rich grassland, The Burren.Hay meadow, the Burren. Hay meadows need to be cattle-grazed and cut at the correct times.
The correct management of high nature value land is crucial. The desire of farmers to add to their farms suggests a desire to increase profits, not to care for nature. Unless the need to farm profitably and the need to protect the environment that grows our food are sustainably aligned, our biodiversity will continue to suffer.
The Wood White requires dry, unfertilised grassland/scrub mosaics for its survival.
Imagine reporting to your company’s board that the firm’s business has only a single irreplaceable supplier, who we rarely, if ever, pay, and who is deteriorating and going out of business.
If you are lucky enough to farm high-nature-value land, cherish the treasures you have. Pay your supplier.
The very rare Scarce Crimson and Gold moth only occurs in unfertilised habitats; in Ireland, it occurs mainly in the Burren.
Key References
Central Statistics Office (2022). Environmental Indicators Ireland. Available at: https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-eii/ environmentalindicatorsireland2022/landuse/(Accessed 27 November 2023).
Butterfly Conservation Ireland manages a reserve for butterflies in Lullybeg, in northwest Kildare. The reserve holds a variety of our scarcer butterflies and moths, as well as common species. The habitats include scrub, woodland, wet grassland (including molinia grassland, a protected habitat under the EU Habitats Directive), ponds, marsh, wet heath, and poor fen and flush. The sunny weather during the spring and summer months benefited our reserve’s butterflies. Vegetation has responded to the conditions during the main growth seasons, showing dense growth that requires management.
The spring was the warmest and sunniest on record, and while summer was the warmest on record too, we received near-average rainfall. The reserve is on peat soil, and the naturally impeded drainage results in conditions that rarely dry out, so that the combined moisture and warmth stimulate a vigorous response from the wetland vegetation. With the increasing density of the grassland posing a conservation challenge, we introduced a tried and tested strategy: cattle grazing.
Cattle graze Lullybeg Reserve, October 2025.Close view of Purple Moor-grass showing evidence of cattle grazing. Note the blunt grass tips.
Eight study cattle were brought in, and these tackled the rank grassland. Cattle breeds used in farming today generally avoid tough grasses, preferring the softer, medium and thin-bladed species they find more palatable. However, cattle will ‘make do’. Our observations showed that the livestock did eat the tough Purple Moor-grass. Cattle will nibble on the leaves of Devil’s-bit Scabious, but this appears to be tentative, and the plant, used by the caterpillars of the Marsh Fritillary butterfly and Narrow-bordered Bee Hawkmoth, is left uneaten. We therefore get the benefits of sward density reduction without loss of important foodplant resources.
Devil’s-bit Scabious in bloom in wet grassland, 25 August 2025.Marsh Fritillary larval nest in Lullybeg Reserve, 25 August 2025.
Cattle do more good than reducing sward heights and maintaining sward structure. Cattle also trample dense growth, breaking it up and opening the sward. This creates bare ground and disturbs soil, especially where poaching occurs around congregation points, leading to the development of wet flushes and shallow water, adding to the small-scale diversity crucial for biodiversity. Small-scale diversity is increasingly scarce in our farmed and abandoned land, and this reduction in structural diversity is negative for nature. In addition, some wetland flora cannot withstand denser, closed swards on peat soils and are lost if near bare and sparsely vegetated soils are lost from a site. We have found that Sheep’s Sorrel and Cuckooflower disappear when bare areas are lost.
Herb-rich wet grassland in flower in Lullybeg Reserve, 3 August 2025.Narrow-bordered Bee Hawkmoth caterpillar on Devil’s-bit Scabious.
The cattle also fed on and poached the elevated, drier ground, which has ensured that these areas now have more bare soil. This action allows important plants like Common Bird’s-foot-trefoil to thrive, while surrounding bare areas heat up in sunshine, warming the soil and adjoining foodplants, increasing their attractiveness to gravid female butterflies and moths. The bare sites are also used as resting and basking sites for butterflies.
The Common Blue uses Common Bird’s-foot-trefoil in Lullybeg. This male was seen on 31 May 2025.
The cattle were happy too, enjoying a fibre-rich, unfertilised, wild diet in a quiet, sheltered grass/woodland mosaic.
This management will allow sights like those following to continue to be enjoyed.
A special thanks to Michael Jacob, Chairman of Butterfly Conservation Ireland, for arranging the grazing and to Philip Doyle for providing the livestock.
Fox Moth caterpillar on Meadowsweet, Lullybeg Reserve, 21 September 2025.A male Comma feeding on Devil’s-bit Scabious, Lullybeg Reserve, 23 September 2025.Lullybeg Reserve showing semi-natural woodland containing Scots Pine, Downy Birch and Grey Willow.A lovely male Brimstone takes a late sip from Devil’s-bit Scabious on Lullybeg Reserve, 21 September 2025.Peacock, Lullybeg, 18 July 2025. Dense grassland and scrub remove nectar sources needed by this long-lived, overwintering adult butterfly.The Small Copper foodplant in Lullybeg (Sheep’s Sorrel) needs bare ground to germinate. This Small Copper was seen in Lullybeg on 18 July 2025.A female Emerald Damselfly in Lullybeg Reserve, 18 July 2025. This species particularly likes shallow water found in Lullybeg Reserve.
Small Tortoiseshell aberration. semiichnusoides Pronin 1928. This is caused by extreme heat during the larval or pupal stage. Photo: © Kevin Healion
