Latest News
14 December 2025
The results are in for this year's butterfly and moth of the year awards in the West Midlands -
We are pleased to announce the winners (and losers) of the 2025 Butterfly Oscars. We have added up everyone's votes for this year's awards with a big thank you to all those who voted. In an exceptional year for butterflies and moths it is good to highlight the species that in the view of our supporters stood out.
Awards are presented in four categories: Butterfly of the Year for the species that attracted most overall votes; Most Improved Performance of the Year for the species that people felt showed the most marked improvement on the previous year; Wooden Spoon for the worst performing butterfly of the year and a new award for the Day-flying Moth of the Year. The results for 2025 are as follows:
Butterfly of the Year: Large White Runner-up Marbled White and Speckled Wood
Most Improved Performance: Brown Argus Runner-up Common Blue
Wooden Spoon: Small Tortoiseshell Runner-up Grizzled Skipper and Brimstone
Day-flying Moth of the Year: Scarlet Tiger Runner-up Hummingbird Hawkmoth
27 November 2025
Chance to double the size of Trench Wood nature reserve -
WM-BAMS are supporting the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust to purchase 45 hectares of woodland and meadow adjacent to the joint WWT/BC reserve at Trench Wood near Droitwich. The Wildlife Trust have launched an appeal to raise the money needed to complete the purchase. Any donations made between 2-9 December will be doubled in value as part of the Big Give Christmas Challenge!
Trench Wood has been a joint reserve since 1988 and has developed into a fantastic wildlife reserve with important butterfly species like White Admiral, Wood White, Silver-washed Fritillary, White-letter and Brown Hairstreaks and now Purple Emperor making it one of the best areas of butterflies and moths in all of the West Midlands. The new extension will make the site the largest woodland reserve in Worcestershire and provide the opportunity to improve the biodiversity of the reserve still further by tree planting, restoring meadows, creating new habitats and connecting the woodland to the surrounding countryside. The new acquisition includes the wonderful flower-rich Oddingley Banks with a range of grassland species including Marbled White and Burnet moths. All in all an exciting opportunity and please support if you can.
22 November 2025
Take part in this year's Butterfly Oscars -
Each year we seek nominations for Butterfly of the Year in the West Midlands. Submit your entries by 30th November.
There are three categories of Award: Butterfly of the Year (BOTY) for the species that has performed over the course of the year; Most Improved Performance (MIP) for the species that has shown the most marked imptovement on the previous year; and the Wooden Spoon (WS) for the species that has turned in the worst performance. You can nominate by visiting the West Midlands Butterflies and Moths Facebook group page or by emailing wmbutterflies@gmail.com Winners (and losers) will be announced on this website some time in December. For the award winners in 2024 see below.
4 September 2025
Large Coppers sighted in the region - A very surprising find in the heart of the Black Country. Considerable excitement has resulted in recent weeks following the discovery of Large Coppers at Bumble Hole nature reserve near Netherton.
First seen on 3rd August they have caused interest from far and wide featuring in the local press and on Midlands Today. The Large Copper became extinct in Britain around 1860 but still occurs on parts of the continent so this is an unauthorised and illegal release by an unknown breeder. Certainly a very beautiful butterfly which breeds on plants in the dock family which occur on site although the chances of long term survival are very slim. There has been evidence of breeding and it will be interesting to see whether any of the early stages of the butterfly get through the winter. There have been official attempts to reintroduce the Large Copper back into the UK but so far without success.
6 August 2025
How to find your own Clouded Yellow - It looks as if it is going to be a good year for the Clouded Yellow with a number of reports coming in. Rather than go racing halfway across the country only to be disappointed, why not have a go at discovering new sites close to home.
Clouded Yellow is one of the few butterflies to benefit from arable farming fields that have been planted up with crops like clover and lucerne aimed at restoring nitrates to the soil.
Photographing them is never easy, with the males spending a lot of time undertaking fast patrols up and down the field in search of females, while the latter, especially when egg-laying, fly low to the ground and lay a single egg on the top of the leaf. The whole process takes a split second before the butterfly flies on to the next plant.
You may still be disappointed but at least you have the satisfaction of not having contributed to global warming! The feelings of excitement at finding your own Clouded Yellow should not be under-estimated and if you witness egg-laying behaviour then make a note to return around the end of September when you may find yourself a real 'Field of Gold'.
See also the Facebook post for reaction from our group.
26 July 2025
Earliest ever Brown Hairstreak in Worcestershire -
This stunning female Brown Hairstreak was spotted by a sharp-eyed member of the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust.
Records show that this was the earliest sighting by 10 days! These elusive butterflies usually fly high in the tree canopy from the end of July but this one was seen at eye level on 9 July 2025.
