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During the course of each year the British Isles are subject to an influx of foreign invaders - butterflies and moths arrive from continental Europe, Scandinavia, Africa and the USA. For some species, like Red Admiral and Painted Lady, this is an annual event, but others are blown ashore on strong winds and are simply vagrants. Occasionally a new species arrives and finds conditions in Britain to their liking and a gradual colonisation begins. This may happen more often if the recent increased temperatures are sustained.
The West Midlands region is hardly the best position to see all of these immigrants, but a good number do make it this far inland and the sight of exotic species is always exciting. For some people this becomes an area of specialised study, but for most of us the sightings are usually accidental.
There are currently over 420 species of Lepidoptera which have migrant, vagrant or accidental status in Britain, so which of these are we likely to see on our outings?
The regular migrant butterflies seen virtually every year are:
Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus)
Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)
Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)
Camberwell Beauty (Nymphalis antiopa)
Of the moths, the ones most likely to be noticed are:
Hummingbird Hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum)
Convolvulus Hawk-moth (Agrius convolvuli)
Death's Head Hawk-moth (Acherontia atropos)
Silver Y (Autographa gamma)
Records of migrant species seen should be sent to the relevant West Midlands region Moth Officer or to the website - njstone@hotmail.com
If you would like to know more about the other migrant species and see which migrants have been seen in the country recently then please visit the Immigration of Lepidoptera website.