Butterflies of Sark
Sark's butterfly records for 2024, from a checklist of 29 species. Twenty one were recorded during the year, in survey visits in April, May and July by Andy Smith, Butterfly Conservation's County Recorder for Guernsey, Herm and Sark, plus incidental sightings collated by La Société Sercquaise.
The best single count of the year was 22 silver-studded blues in one survey on 19 July, on the coastal heathland at L'Eperquerie and Pilcher Monument where this species keeps to on Sark.
2024 was a hard, wet year for the island's insects, and eight checklist species were not recorded at all. Treat that as one season's weather, not a verdict. The Glanville fritillary, unrecorded on Sark for nearly thirty years and believed gone, reappeared in May 2025 in a meadow at Vallon d'Or.
2024 records by month
Bars count dated records across all species, appendix rows exactly as logged.
| Species | Scientific name | 2024 | Records |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common Swallowtail | Papilio machaon gorganus | No 2024 records | |
| Orange-tip | Anthocharis cardamines | Recorded | 3 records, 22 May to 23 May |
| Large White | Pieris brassicae | Recorded | 4 records, 3 Apr to 6 Oct |
| Small White | Pieris rapae | Recorded | 1 record, 24 May |
| Green-veined White | Pieris napi | Recorded | 1 record, 6 Oct |
| Clouded Yellow | Colias croceus | No 2024 records | |
| Wall | Lasiommata megera | Recorded | 6 records, 4 Apr to 6 Oct |
| Speckled Wood | Pararge aegeria | Recorded | 15 records, 21 Mar to 6 Oct |
| Small Heath | Coenonympha pamphilus | Recorded | 2 records, 24 May to 19 Jul |
| Meadow Brown | Maniola jurtina | Recorded | 3 records, 7 Jul to 3 Aug |
| Gatekeeper | Pyronia tithonus | Recorded | 2 records, 19 Jul to 13 Aug |
| Grayling | Hipparchia semele | Recorded | 1 record, 19 Jul |
| Queen of Spain Fritillary | Issoria lathonia | No 2024 records | |
| Dark Green Fritillary | Argynnis aglaja | No 2024 records | |
| Red Admiral | Vanessa atalanta | Recorded | 9 records, 1 Apr to 6 Oct |
| Painted Lady | Vanessa cardui | Recorded | 1 record, 15 May |
| Peacock | Inachis io | Recorded | 6 records, 11 Mar to 19 Jul |
| Small Tortoiseshell | Aglais urticae | No 2024 records | |
| Large Tortoiseshell | Nymphalis polychloros | Recorded | 5 records, 5 Apr to 17 Jul |
| Comma | Polygonia c-album | Recorded | 4 records, 6 Apr to 14 Oct |
| Small Copper | Lycaena phlaeas | Recorded | 1 record, 19 Jul |
| Purple Hairstreak | Neozephyrus quercus | Recorded | 1 record, 19 Jul |
| Green Hairstreak | Callophrys rubi | No 2024 records | |
| Long-tailed Blue | Lampides boeticus | No 2024 records | |
| Holly Blue | Celastrina argiolus | Recorded | 2 records, 1 Apr to 24 May |
| Silver-studded Blue | Plebejus argus | Recorded | 3 records, 9 Jun to 19 Jul |
| Brown Argus | Aricia agestis | Recorded | 6 records, 17 May to 13 Aug |
| Common Blue | Polyommatus icarus | Recorded | 4 records, 17 May to 19 Jul |
| Geranium Bronze | Cacyreus marshalli | No 2024 records |
From Sark Butterfly records for 2024, Appendix 2 to the La Société Sercquaise Report 2024, Entomology Section, by Andy Smith, with incidental records collated by Lynda Higgins.
