Butterflies are a magical part of the experience of Corfu, so captivatingly portrayed in the books by my late husband, Gerald Durrell, about his childhood on this enchanting island.

We know now that butterflies and moths are a vital part of our wildlife heritage and are valuable as sensitive indicators of the health of our environment. So, given that declines in insects are now to be seen around the globe, it begs the questions; are similar trends to be found in the Corfiot butterflies? And, if so, are the butterflies of Corfu endangered?

Corfu Butterfly Conservation

Corfu Butterfly Conservation is a project initiated by concerned residents, island visitors and scientists from all over the world. Our goal is to stimulate informed interest and produce robust scientific data that can be used to influence policy and protect habitat for the benefit of Corfu’s butterflies and the wider natural environment, on which we all depend. Our immediate aim is to record the distribution of butterflies on the island, and we would be delighted if you would help us in this effort. Ultimately, we intend to publish an atlas of Corfu Butterflies based on this information.

How can you help?

We invite you to learn more about the butterflies of Corfu and to submit your sightings to the Corfu Butterfly Survey in order to create a knowledge base that will protect them for the future. Please join our Facebook page and use this website to learn more and send us your sightings.

Our vision

Our vision is one we share with Gerald Durrell, who wrote in 1988:

We hope there will be fireflies and glow-worms at night to guide you and butterflies in hedges and forests to greet you.
We hope that your dawns will be filled with an orchestra of bird song to enchant you.
We hope there will still be extraordinary creatures sharing the planet with you to enrich your lives as they have done for us.
We hope you will be grateful for having been born into such a magical world.

The Corfu Butterfly Survey will start on the 1st January 2021 and the projected end date is 31st December 2025, which would have been the centennial year since Gerald Durrell’s birth. Please join us in doing something very special for Corfu to celebrate this exceptional event!

Lee Durrell
Corfu, 7th January 2020

Corfu Butterfly Conservation (CBC) started when a few interested individuals began sharing their photos of Corfiot butterflies on Facebook. Now it is a project designed to survey the butterflies of Corfu and in our most recent international Zoom meeting (joined by 13 members of the CBC team – from Corfu and the UK) the major item on the agenda explored how our project could turn into a charitable organisation.

Although still embryonic, this project is making substantial steps towards its goals. Whilst the Covid 19 pandemic slowed our progress and forced us to relaunch the Corfu Butterfly Survey, it still gave us plenty of time to think about how this work is to develop. In addition, we have spent a lot of time applying for funding to help further our aims.

However, it is well to remember that this effort is not one that has the backing of a range of multi-national corporations, with the unlimited time and funding that would bring. All the work you see here is provided, for the most part, by volunteers who are happy to give their time free of charge, on a pro bono basis.

So, if you can’t wait to get your hands on the Corfu Butterfly Atlas please remember that to make it, we need records. Your records will be as valuable as anyone else’s in making that happen, so please help us by submitting your sightings to this website.

If for some reason you think our website could be better, please let us know by contacting us with suggestions for improvements. If you think our project could move a little faster and you are in a position to donate to our cause, please consider doing so.

This work started because a few individuals were interested in Corfu’s butterflies. Now that we are on the verge of turning this project into a charitable organisation, it becomes increasingly less about a few individuals’ dreams and more about a community’s opportunity to work together to make a positive contribution towards conserving Corfu’s butterflies and more broadly its entire natural heritage.

I guess my point is that the more we work together the more likely it is that the goals of CBC are going to be accomplished.

We invite you to join us and would love to hear from you.

Dr Dan Danahar
1st January 2021