Lundy list of Butterflies and Moths

This is the definitive list of Butterflies and Moths recorded on Lundy to the end of 2023.

Moths

The list presented here represents the cumulative list of moth species recorded on Lundy, extracted from various sources and recent trapping by the warden, Dean Jones.

Butterflies

The UK has 59 species of butterflies in five families. By contrast, Lundy has had up to 25 species in three families. Currently there are 20 species that can be found on the island.
The early references are to undated and unattributed lists in:

Chanter, 1877 - Lundy Island

Loyd, 1925 - Lundy its History and Natural History

Palmer, 1946 - Ilfracombe Flora and Fauna

The first record of named butterflies in the LFS Annual Report was in 1967 when C Garret-Jones stayed on Lundy from 6th to 9th July 1968 and in the LFS AR Vol 19 reported only five species.

When Nick Dymond was employed as warden in 1972 he began systematically to list his sightings throughout the year and in the 1972 Vol 23 AR his list is very similar to the current one. He notes the first Holly Blue and also the absence of Comma, Clouded Yellow and Orange Tip and the extinct species Pearl-bordered and Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries and Brown Argus. These and Speckled Wood remain as unusual sightings that would be welcome entries in our log book.

For butterflies, the abundance categories are 1 or 2 occurrences = Rare, < 10 = Occasional, 10-99 = Common, >100 = Abundant.

An analysis of Lundy butterfly records used for the article in the LFS Journal volume 9 is available in Excel format for download here.

A total of 468 species (or forms) are listed here.

List alphabetically by common nameList in taxonomic order