List of butterflies of Ireland

This is a list of Irish butterflies, past and present.

Note that details on specific species are relevant to the Irish populations and some details may not be consistent with the species in other parts of its range.

Contents 1 Superfamily Hesperioidea 1.1 Family Hesperiidae (skippers) 1.1.1 Subfamily Hesperiinae (grass skippers) 1.1.2 Subfamily Pyrginae (spread-winged skippers) 2 Superfamily Papilionoidea 2.1 Family Pieridae (whites) 2.1.1 Subfamily Dismorphiinae 2.1.2 Subfamily Coliadinae 2.1.3 Subfamily Pierinae 2.2 Family Lycaenidae (gossamer-winged butterflies) 2.2.1 Subfamily Theclinae 2.2.2 Subfamily Lycaeninae 2.2.3 Subfamily Polyommatinae 2.3 Family Nymphalidae (brush-footed butterflies) 2.3.1 Subfamily Nymphalinae 2.3.2 Subfamily Heliconiinae (longwings) 2.3.3 Subfamily Satyrinae (browns) 3 Vagrant, Adventive, Extinct and Intercepts and Exotic Species 4 References 5 Footnotes 6 See also 7 External links

Superfamily Hesperioidea

Family Hesperiidae (skippers)

Subfamily Hesperiinae (grass skippers)

• Essex Skipper - Thymelicus lineola

Subfamily Pyrginae (spread-winged skippers)

• Dingy Skipper – Erynnis tages. The subspecies baynesi Huggins, 1956 is recorded from the Burren region of Co Clare and Galway. The populations elsewhere in Ireland are presumably the type subspecies.

Superfamily Papilionoidea

Family Pieridae (whites)

Subfamily Dismorphiinae

• Wood White – Leptidea sinapis
• Cryptic Wood White - Leptidea juvernica stat. nov.^[1][2]

Subfamily Coliadinae

• Clouded Yellow – Colias croceus
• Brimstone – Gonepteryx rhamni. The Irish subspecies is gravesi Huggins, 1956

Subfamily Pierinae

• Large White – Pieris brassicae
• Small White – Pieris rapae
• Green-veined White – Pieris napi. The subspecies britannica (Muller & Kautz, 1939) is only found in Ireland. The British subspecies is sabellicae (Stephens, 1827)
• Orange Tip – Anthocharis cardamines. The Irish subspecies is hibernica (Williams, 1916)

Family Lycaenidae (gossamer-winged butterflies)

Subfamily Theclinae

• Green Hairstreak – Callophrys rubi
• Brown Hairstreak – Thecla betulae
• Purple Hairstreak – Neozephyrus quercus

Subfamily Lycaeninae

• Small Copper – Lycaena phlaeas. The Irish subspecies is hibernica Goodson, 1948

Subfamily Polyommatinae

• Small Blue – Cupido minimus
• Common Blue – Polyommatus icarus. The Irish subspecies is mariscolore (Kane, 1893)
• Holly Blue – Celastrina argiolus

Family Nymphalidae (brush-footed butterflies)

Subfamily Nymphalinae

• Red Admiral – Vanessa atalanta
• Painted Lady – Vanessa cardui
• Small Tortoiseshell – Aglais urticae
• Peacock – Inachis io
• Comma – Polygonia c-album

Subfamily Heliconiinae (longwings)

• Pearl-bordered Fritillary – Boloria euphrosyne
• Dark Green Fritillary – Argynnis aglaja
• Silver-washed Fritillary – Argynnis paphia
• Marsh Fritillary – Euphydryas aurinia infrasubspecies hibernica Birchall, 1873

Subfamily Satyrinae (browns)

• Speckled Wood – Pararge aegeria
• Wall – Lasiommata megera
• Grayling – Hipparchia semele. The Irish subspecies are clarensis de Lattin, 1952 (County Clare) and hibernica Howarth, 1971
• Gatekeeper – Pyronia tithonus
• Meadow Brown – Maniola jurtina. The Irish subspecies is iernes Graves, 1930
• Ringlet – Aphantopus hyperantus
• Small Heath – Coenonympha pamphilus
• Large Heath – Coenonympha tullia

Vagrant, Adventive, Extinct and Intercepts and Exotic Species

Extinct

• Small Mountain Ringlet – Erebia epiphron Extinct
• Large Copper- Lycaena dispar Introduced. Extinct

Vagrants

• Pale Clouded Yellow – Colias hyale
• Berger's Clouded Yellow – Colias sareptensis^[3]
• Short-tailed Blue – Cupido argiades (imported on Fennel from Italy)
• Geranium Bronze – Cacyreus marshalli (imported on geraniums)
• Camberwell Beauty – Nymphalis antiopa
• Map – Araschnia levana (formerly introduced and bred)
• Queen of Spain Fritillary – Issoria lathonia
• Monarch – Danaus plexippus
• American Painted Lady – Cynthia virginiensis
• Swallowtail – Papilio machaon

Exotics

References

• Emmet, A.M., J. Heath et al. (Ed.), 1990. The Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland. The Moths and Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland Vol. 7 Part 1 (Hesperiidae to Nymphalidae). Harley Books, Colechester, UK. 370p.
• K. G. M. Bond, R. Nash and J. P. O’Connor, An Annotated Checklist of the Irish Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera)The Irish Biogeographical Society in association with The National Museum of Ireland, Dublin, 2006, 177 pp ISBN 0-9511514-9-5
• Mazel, R. 2001. Leptidea sinapis L., 1758 - L. reali Reissinger, 1989, le point de la situation (Lepidoptera: Pieridae, Dismorphiinae) Linneana Belgica 18: 199-202.
• Wilson, C. J., Goodwin, J. & Bond, K. 2007. New Irish record of the small skipper butterfly Thymelicus sylvestris (Poda) (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae). Irish Naturalists’ Journal 28(9): 385-386).Erroneous and later corrected by the authors. Refers to Essex Skipper Thymelicus lineola.

Footnotes

See also

• List of moths of Ireland

External links

• Irish Butterflies
• Butterflies and Moths of Northern Ireland
• NHM Images of Ireland forms and subspecies on this site. Type Ireland into the search box.
• Wexford Naturalists' Field Club Essex Skipper
• Regan, E.C., Nelson, B., Aldwell, B., Bertrand, C., Bond, K., Harding, J., Nash, D.,Nixon, D. and Wilson, C.J. Ireland Red List No. 4: Butterflies

Fauna of Ireland Invertebrates: Butterflies · Moths · Damselflies and dragonflies · Non-marine molluscs Vertebrates: Amphibians · Birds · Fish · Mammals · Reptiles Endemic species of Britain & Ireland