Most people might recognise some of our large and distinctive UK butterfly species, such as the red admiral and peacock. However, thanks to our management of the reserve, many other species can be relatively easily found and identified at Brockholes throughout the spring and summer months. Here we'll point you in the direction of some of the species to look out for, including one that is a little bit special. Why not try a butterfly safari on your next visit and see how many species you can spot?
Which butterflies can you see at Brockholes nature reserve?
White letter hairstreak by Vaughn Matthews
Tom Irvine, Brockholes Reserve Officer takes us on a small scale safari; visit Brockholes nature reserve to spot a wide range of butterflies, including an elusive few that might require a bit of planning and patience.
Orange tip butterfly at Brockholes (c) John Cobham
Orange-tip butterfly
A good, but maybe not obvious, location to start is around the car park and play area. Here the grassland habitat is being enhanced to improve wildflower diversity and attract pollinating species. First out, in April, is the distinctive orange tip, a small white butterfly with black tips to its forewings. The males also have bright orange on their forewings, so are easy to identify.
Small copper butterfly at Brockholes (c) Ken Hayes
Small copper butterfly
The small copper will be next out in May and is diminutive in size but displays bright orange forewings, with black spots.
Meadow brown butterfly at Brockholes (c) Alison Wellby
Meadow brown butterfly
From June you can spot the meadow brown which is larger and predominantly brown but has orange patches on the forewing and a black eyespot with a single white dot in the centre.
Common blue butterfly at Brockholes (c) Jim Beattie
Common blue butterfly
Strolling towards the Visitor Village, look to your right where common blue butterflies are often numerous from May onwards, feeding on flowers on the sunny bank. These are small creatures, but the male’s blue wings are conspicuous when open.
Large skipper butterfly at Brockholes (c) Pat Aitchison
Large skipper butterfly
Large skipper is another species to look for. With its rotund hairy body and small, hairy brown and orange wings it visually resembles a moth.
Speckled wood butterfly at Brockholes (c) Paul Lambert
Speckled wood butterfly
Continue your butterfly safari by walking from the Visitor Village to the Lookout, joining the Ribble Way and Guild Wheel. Stroll north towards Boilton Wood to find speckled wood butterflies favouring the dappled shade provided by the hedgerows and trees. Notably, this species feeds on honeydew, a sugar-rich liquid excreted by other insects.
Purple hairstreak ©Philip Precey
Purple hairstreak butterfly
Reaching the woodland, beautiful purple hairstreak are only on the wing briefly from July to August and remain high around the canopies of the mature oak trees, so take binoculars for a rare sighting.
And our star species... the white-letter hairstreak butterfly
White-letter hairstreak butterfly at Brockholes (c) Ken Hayes
Finally, if undertaking your safari between late-June and late-July, a key destination is bramble thickets at the entrance to Boilton Wood. Here, with patience, you may see Brockholes’ star butterfly species; the white-letter hairstreak. This elusive species has a distinctive white W shaped marking on the underside of its wing.
This special sighting is rare because Brockholes is at the northern extent of the white-letter hairstreak’s UK range. Also, it is only on the wing for one month of the year and the caterpillars’ exclusive foodplant is unfortunately elm trees. In the 1970s Dutch Elm Disease devastated the UK elm tree population and white-letter hairstreak suffered a severe decline too.
Wych elm is the host tree at Brockholes, particularly along the sunny southern edge of Boilton Wood. Adult butterflies have a weak flight so flutter down from the trees to feed on the bramble flowers below, then fly back up to lay eggs on the elm. Sadly, mature elm trees still succumb to disease, so we are managing the woodland to enable the hairstreak population to persist. Diseased trees are felled and removed to prevent the disease spreading and their loss is mitigated by planting replacement Wych elm trees most years, to give a broad age span for the future. Excitingly, we have also planted disease resistant elm cultivars in winter 2024-25, so we hope to see this elusive butterfly at Brockholes for many years to come.