Species Distributions
This page contains a summary of the distribution of each species.
Alignment with the Checklist
The distribution categories are based on A Checklist of the Lepidoptera of the British Isles (Agassiz, Beavan & Heckford, 2024) which contains 3 lists of species:
- Main. This list comprises resident and transitory resident species, species believed to be extinct, immigrants and some species that have probably been imported but have been found in the wild. A UK Butterflies refinement, based on Life Cycles of British and Irish Butterflies (Eeles, 2019) and British and Irish Butterfly Rarities (Eeles, 2023) is as follows:
- 1.0 Resident or Regular Migrant. The species is a resident of, or a regular migrant to, Britain and/or Ireland.
- 1.1 Extinct. The species is known to have occurred in Britain and/or Ireland but is now considered extinct.
- 1.2 Rare Migrant. The species is occasionally recorded in Britain and/or Ireland and is believed to arrive unassisted in the direction of its migration
- 1.3 Vagrant. The species is considered to be a stray or wandering individual.
- 1.4 Uncertain. The species has been recorded in Britain and/or Ireland and may have been a resident or had the potential to arrive unassisted, but any records are few in number.
- Adventive. This list comprises species that have been recorded in Britain and/or Ireland, but cannot be regarded as part of our fauna, and are probably unlikely to recur, such as those imported on produce.
- Questionable. This list comprises those records that are either erroneous or cannot be confirmed.
Main Species Distributions
