Corfu Butterfly Conservation

Green underside Blue

Glaucopsyche alexis

Photo © 2019-2023 Dan Danahar

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Swallowtail

Papilio machaon

Photo © 2016-2023 Bob Giles

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Lang's short-tailed Blue

Leptotes pirithous

Photo © 2017-2023 Dan Danahar

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Nettle-tree Butterfly

Libythea celtis

Photo © 2020-2023 Steven Cheshire

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Southern White Admiral

Limenitis reducta

Photo © 2020-2023 Steven Cheshire

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Plain Tiger

Danaus chrysippus

Photo © 2017-2023 Dan Danahar

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Krueper's Small White

Pieris krueperi

Photo © 2020-2023 Dan Danahar

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Submit your Corfu Butterfly and Moth Sightings...

to Corfu Butterfly Conservation

Submit your sightings

A total of

23736

butterflies have been recorded
in 2023

2023 Chart

A total of

3010

records have been submitted on line in 2023

2023 Chart

A total of

320

moths have been recorded
in 2023

2023 Chart

A grand total of

57746

individual butterflies recorded

View Chart

A grand total of

7783

records have been submitted on line

View Chart

A grand total of

703

individual
moths
recorded

View Chart

There are 123 records awaiting verification.

There are 184 registered recorders.

Welcome to Corfu Butterfly Conservation

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

Please help us in our efforts to conserve Corfu’s butterflies

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

Latest Records

ID	Date	Recorder
8103	20/09/23	Jane Barry
8102	20/09/23	Jane Barry
8101	20/09/23	Jane Barry
8100	20/09/23	Jane Barry
8099	19/09/23	Jane Barry
8085	18/09/23	Jane Barry
8078	18/09/23	Jane Barry
8077	18/09/23	Jane Barry
8076	18/09/23	Jane Barry
8075	18/09/23	Jane Barry

Due to the sensitive nature of many species on the island of Corfu, we do not divulge location data at the present time.

View Records

Butterfly First Sightings 2023

Name	Genus / species	First record	Recorder
Sage Skipper	Muschampia proto	30/06/2023	Jane Barry
Cardinal	Argynnis pandora	18/06/2023	Tony Gould
Purple Hairstreak	Favonius quercus	17/06/2023	Tony Gould
Pygmy Skipper	Gegenes pumilio	16/06/2023	Tony Gould
Sloe Hairstreak	Satyrium acaciae	09/06/2023	Jane Barry
Great Banded Grayling	Brintesia circe	07/06/2023	Jane Barry
Eastern Rock Grayling	Hipparchia syriaca	05/06/2023	David Storm
Ilex Hairstreak	Satyrium ilicis	04/06/2023	Giannis Gasteratos
Lattice Brown	Kirinia roxelana	27/05/2023	Konstantinos Zagkas
Two-tailed Pasha	Charaxes jasius	27/05/2023	Anne Sordinas
Silver-washed Fritillary	Argynnis paphia	23/05/2023	Jane Barry
White-letter Hairstreak	Satyrium w_album	15/05/2023	Jane Barry
Balkan Marbled White	Melanargia larissa	15/05/2023	David Shearan
Mazarine Blue	Cyaniris semiargus	13/05/2023	David Shearan
Mediterranean Skipper	Gegenes nostrodamus	13/05/2023	Steve Mathers
Small Blue	Cupido minimus	07/05/2023	Dan Danahar
Oberthür's Grizzled Skipper	Pyrgus armoricanus	06/05/2023	Jane Barry
Spotted Fritillary	Melitaea didyma	06/05/2023	Judith Barnard
Lulworth Skipper	Thymelicus acteon	05/05/2023	Jane Barry
Small Skipper	Thymelicus sylvestris	05/05/2023	Jane Barry
Eastern Baton Blue	Pseudophilotes vicrama	05/05/2023	Jane Barry
Large Skipper	Ochlodes sylvanus	04/05/2023	)(JulieAnne
Grizzled Skipper	Pyrgus malvae	27/04/2023	Brian Heasman
Hungarian Skipper	Spialia orbifer	26/04/2023	Jane Barry
Southern Swallowtail	Papilio alexanor	25/04/2023	Maggie Malcolm
Southern White Admiral	Limenitis reducta	25/04/2023	Konstantinos Zagkas
Comma	Polygonia c_album	23/04/2023	Konstantinos Zagkas
Glanville Fritillary	Melitaea cinxia	19/04/2023	Jane Barry
Meadow Brown	Maniola jurtina	17/04/2023	Chris Little
Eastern Orange Tip	Anthocharis damone	04/04/2023	Wurzel
Southern Small White	Pieris mannii	04/04/2023	Wurzel
Brimstone	Gonepteryx rhamni	31/03/2023	Dan Danahar
Small Heath	Coenonympha pamphilus	31/03/2023	Dan Danahar
Oriental Marbled Skipper	Muschampia orientalis	30/03/2023	Dan Danahar
Green underside Blue	Glaucopsyche alexis	30/03/2023	Tony Gould
Large Wall Brown	Lasiommata maera	30/03/2023	Dan Danahar
Brown Argus	Aricia agestis	22/03/2023	Jane Barry
Common Blue	Polyommatus icarus	22/03/2023	Jane Barry
Orange-tip	Anthocharis cardamines	20/03/2023	Jane Barry
Grecian Copper	Lycaena ottomana	19/03/2023	Ida Dickson
Green Hairstreak	Callophrys rubi	19/03/2023	Anne Sordinas
Camberwell Beauty	Nymphalis antiopa	12/03/2023	Jane Barry
Green-veined White	Pieris napi	09/03/2023	Jane Barry
Mallow Skipper	Carcharodus alceae	01/03/2023	Jane Barry
Holly Blue	Celastrina argiolus	27/02/2023	Rob Kesseler
Scarce Swallowtail	Iphiclides podalirius	27/02/2023	Rob Kesseler
Wood White	Leptidea sinapis	27/02/2023	Jane Barry
Southern Comma	Polygonia egea	20/02/2023	Jane Barry
Eastern Dappled White	Euchloe ausonia	17/02/2023	Anne Sordinas
Nettle-tree Butterfly	Libythea celtis	17/02/2023	Jane Barry
Peacock	Aglais io	16/02/2023	Ida Dickson
Eastern Bath White	Pontia edusa	16/02/2023	Jane Barry
Swallowtail	Papilio machaon	15/02/2023	Jane Barry
Small Copper	Lycaena phlaeas	06/01/2023	Jane Barry
Speckled Wood	Pararge aegeria	05/01/2023	Marina
Long-tailed Blue	Lampides boeticus	04/01/2023	Anne Sordinas
Lang's short-tailed Blue	Leptotes pirithous	04/01/2023	Marina
Wall Brown	Lasiommata megera	04/01/2023	Jane Barry
Large Tortoiseshell	Nymphalis polychloros	04/01/2023	Giannis Gasteratos
Large White	Pieris brassicae	03/01/2023	Katerina Kyriaki
Small White	Pieris rapae	02/01/2023	Jane Barry
Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	01/01/2023	Jane Barry
Clouded Yellow	Colias croceus	01/01/2023	Jane Barry
Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	01/01/2023	Konstantinos Zagkas
Cleopatra	Gonepteryx cleopatra	01/01/2023	Giannis Gasteratos
Southern Festoon	Zerynthia polyxena	19/02/2021	Giannis Gasteratos
Geranium Bronze	Cacyreus marshalli	20/08/2019	Max Anderson
Delattin's Grayling	Hipparchia volgensis	17/08/2019	Max Anderson

View First/Last Sightings

Butterflies on the wing in September

The butterfly species listed below have been reported during the month of September in previous years.

Scarce Swallowtail Swallowtail Mallow Skipper Sage Skipper Oriental Marbled Skipper Oberthür's Grizzled Skipper Mediterranean Skipper Pygmy Skipper Small Skipper Large Skipper Wood White Cleopatra Clouded Yellow Eastern Bath White Large White Small White Small Copper Grecian Copper Purple Hairstreak Geranium Bronze Long-tailed Blue Holly Blue Lang's short-tailed Blue Brown Argus Common Blue Southern White Admiral Cardinal Silver-washed Fritillary Painted Lady Red Admiral Southern Comma Spotted Fritillary Nettle-tree Butterfly Plain Tiger Two-tailed Pasha Large Wall Brown Wall Brown Speckled Wood Lattice Brown Small Heath Tree Grayling Eastern Rock Grayling Delattin's Grayling Great Banded Grayling Meadow Brown

Moths on the wing in September

The moth species listed below have been reported during the month of September in previous years.

Hummingbird Hawkmoth

A Brief Introduction

Find out more about Corfu Butterfly Conservation in this, our first YouTube video.

YouTube Channel

Corfu Butterfly Atlas

Corfu Butterfly Atlas Corfu Butterfly Conservation intends to use all the data generated by the five-year Corfu Butterfly Survey to produce the first truly comprehensive atlas of all the butterflies found in Corfu. This atlas will review the study of butterflies in Corfu, it will contain a key to the identification of all known species and there will be individual accounts on the autecology of each butterfly species, with up-to-date distribution maps and lavishly illustrated with a multitude of full colour photographs.

The atlas will identify the best places to watch butterflies, it will make recommendations for species and habitat conservation and we hope will influence the development of biodiversity policy to help conserve Corfu’s natural heritage. We invite you to be a part of this influential project by submitting your butterfly records on this site.

Twitter

This Twitter feed is not currently working and hasn't been since early July when the Twitter organisation made changes to the rules for displaying tweets on a website.

This is a global problem which we are monitoring regularly. If a fix becomes available then tweets from Corfu Butterfly Conservation will appear here again.

In the meantime you can see frequent news and updates on our

Latest News

POWDERED BRIMSTONE - GONEPTERYX FARINOSA (ZELLER, 1847) - NOW IN THE UNCONFIRMED SECTION OF OUR WEBSITE.

369594981_7136519513029122_8705634537614028846_n

20/08/2023
Dr Dan Danahar

Furthermore, Corfu is situated very close to the known distribution of this eastern European species...

Willowherb Hawk Moth Watch

03/05/2021
Tony Pittaway

On 19th June 2014, John Denne posted our only sighting of Proserpinus proserpina - the Willowherb...

What does it take to start a conservation project in another country?

27/04/2021
Dr Sam Ellis

Dr Dan Danahar will show us the challenges and the joys, as he makes this presentation from Corfu...

More News

Butterfly Conservation Europe

In order to conserve butterflies effectively you need good information on where species occur. Only 55% of European countries have national schemes designed to record butterfly distribution and those without are mostly concentrated in southern and eastern Europe. Consequently, Butterfly Conservation Europe supports the establishment of new recording schemes which aim to fill those gaps.

We welcome Corfu Butterfly Conservation’s efforts to run a five-year survey of the island’s butterflies and later publish a Corfu Butterfly Atlas. Furthermore, plans to share the data widely means that the survey results will also contribute to the ongoing assessment of the status of all Europe’s butterflies.

Dr Sam Ellis
Chair, Butterfly Conservation EuropeButterfly Conservation Europe

Butterfly Conservation

Participating in butterfly recording schemes is one of the most effective ways members of the public can contribute to citizen science, which itself can help us understand the current status and therefore potential vulnerability of different butterfly species.

With the right training and support, butterflies can be relatively easy to identify, so potentially everyone can get involved. Corfu Butterfly Conservation does exactly that, with its informal membership - comprising of Corfiots, other Greeks, resident expats and visiting and non-visiting international contributors – that has a passion to contribute to the Corfu Butterfly Survey.

Butterfly Conservation welcomes this initiative bringing people together to record the island’s butterflies and we will support the project to enable it to realise its ambition to publish the Corfu Butterfly Atlas.

Julie Williams
Chief Executive, Butterfly ConservationButterfly Conservation