List of butterflies of Ireland

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

EX	Extinct	No reasonable doubt that the last individual has died.
EW	Extinct in the wild	Known only to survive in captivity or as a naturalized populations well outside its previous range.
CR	Critically endangered	The species is in imminent risk of extinction in the wild.
EN	Endangered	The species is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
VU	Vulnerable	The species is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
NT	Near threatened	The species does not meet any of the criteria that would categorise it as risking extinction but it is likely to do so in the future.
LC	Least concern	There are no current identifiable risks to the species.
DD	Data deficient	There is inadequate information to make an assessment of the risks to this species.

Family Hesperiidae (skippers)

Subfamily Hesperiinae (grass skippers)

Essex skipper - Thymelicus lineola NE County Wexford only. Origin uncertain.
Small skipper - Thymelicus sylvestris NE Confirmed in County Kildare in 2011 and 2012.

Subfamily Pyrginae (spread-winged skippers)

Dingy skipper – Erynnis tages NT Mainly Midlands and West. 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.

Family Pieridae (whites)

Subfamily Dismorphiinae

Wood white – Leptidea sinapis NT Confined to the Burren area of Co. Clare and Co. Galway (here sympatric with Leptidea juvernica)
Cryptic wood white - Leptidea juvernica NE stat. nov.^[1]^[2]^[3] All regions of Ireland. Not known in Britain.

Subfamily Coliadinae

Clouded yellow – Colias croceus LC Migrant and breeding species^[4]
Brimstone – Gonepteryx rhamni LC Burren and Midlands. The Irish subspecies is gravesi Huggins, 1956

Subfamily Pierinae

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

Family Lycaenidae (gossamer-winged butterflies)

Subfamily Theclinae

Green hairstreak – Callophrys rubi LC Scattered distribution.
Brown hairstreak – Thecla betulae LC Restricted to Burren and regions north to Lough Mask, Co. Mayo where recent spread seems to be happening.^[5]
Purple hairstreak – Neozephyrus quercus LC Restricted to a few woodland sites.

Subfamily Lycaeninae

Small copper – Lycaena phlaeas LC The Irish subspecies is hibernica Goodson, 1948

Subfamily Polyommatinae

Small blue – Cupido minimus EN Few regions. Restricted to coastal dunes, limestone grasslands and quarries.
Common blue – Polyommatus icarus LC The Irish subspecies is mariscolore (Kane, 1893)
Holly blue – Celastrina argiolus LC Found across most of Ireland having spread significantly north and west.

Family Nymphalidae (brush-footed butterflies)

Subfamily Nymphalinae

Red admiral – Vanessa atalanta LC resident reinforced by migrant populations.
Painted lady – Vanessa cardui LC Migrant.
Peacock – Aglais io LC
Small tortoiseshell – Aglais urticae LC
Comma – Polygonia c-album NE recent colonist and now found across most of island having spread from south-east.^[6]

Subfamily Heliconiinae (longwings)

Pearl-bordered fritillary – Boloria euphrosyne EN Only found in the Burren^[7]
Dark green fritillary – Speyeria aglaja VU Coastal species also inland in the Burren and Wicklow
Silver-washed fritillary – Argynnis paphia LC Scattered throughout Ireland, more common in southern regions.
Marsh fritillary – Euphydryas aurinia VU infrasubspecies hibernica Birchall, 1873. Throughout Ireland but mainly Central and West Ireland.

Subfamily Satyrinae (browns)

Speckled wood – Pararge aegeria LC
Wall – Lasiommata megera EN
Grayling – Hipparchia semele NT Coastal and limestone districts. The Irish subspecies are clarensis de Lattin, 1952 (County Clare) and hibernica Howarth, 1971
Gatekeeper – Pyronia tithonus NT Restricted to South and South-East coasts.
Meadow brown – Maniola jurtina LC The Irish subspecies is iernes Graves, 1930
Ringlet – Aphantopus hyperantus LC
Small heath – Coenonympha pamphilus NT Scattered throughout Ireland.Prefers drier grassland on well-drained soils.
Large heath – Coenonympha tullia VU Restricted to bogs and absent from most of south and east where habitats largely non-existent.

Vagrant, adventive, extinct and intercepts and exotic species

Extinct

Small mountain ringlet – Erebia epiphron EX^[8]
Large copper - Lycaena dispar EX

Vagrants

Pale clouded yellow – Colias hyale
Berger's clouded yellow – Colias alfacariensis^[9]
Short-tailed blue – Cupido argiades NE (imported on fennel from Italy)
Geranium bronze – Cacyreus marshalli NE (imported on geraniums)
Camberwell beauty – Nymphalis antiopa NE
Map – Araschnia levana NE (formerly introduced and bred)
Queen of Spain fritillary – Issoria lathonia NE
Monarch – Danaus plexippus NE
American painted lady – Vanessa virginiensis NE
Swallowtail – Papilio machaon NE

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, Colchester, UK.
K. G. M. Bond; R. Nash & 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. ISBN 0-9511514-9-5
Harding, J. & Jacob, M. (2013). "Addition of Small Skipper butterfly (Thymelicus sylvestris) to the Irish List and notes on the Essex Skipper (Thymelicus lineola) (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae)". Irish Naturalists' Journal. 32: 142-144.
Mazel, R. (2001). "Leptidea sinapis L., 1758 - L. reali Reissinger, 1989, le point de la situation (Lepidoptera: Pieridae, Dismorphiinae)". Linneana Belgica. 18: 199-202.
Nash, D., T. Boyd & D Hardiman (2012). Ireland's Butterflies: A Review. The Dublin Naturalists' Field Club, Dublin. ISBN 978-0-9530037-2-3
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.)