Sussex is one of the best counties in the UK to see a wide range of butterfly species. Its southerly location ensures plenty of sunshine and warmth, and its rich variety of habitats encourages an extensive list of butterflies, with around 50 species recorded, annually.
The thin soils of the South Downs create ideal conditions for floral diversity, and the best of our chalk turf wildflower meadows are able to support an eclectic mix of uncommon or rare species. The major river valleys of the Arun, Adur, Ouse, and Cuckmere provide an interesting mixture of habitats, and they also play their part in facilitating a northern passage, for migratory species from mainland Europe. There are heather-rich commons on Wealden Greensand, and in the northern half of Sussex the Low and High Weald possess a diverse landscape of farmland, forestry and heathland. Well-managed woodland can support a long list of butterfly species and not only does Sussex have extensive tracts of woodland it also retains a reasonable amount of precious, well-preserved, “ancient woodland”.
There are 46-47 resident butterfly species in Sussex. The 47th possible “resident species” is Clouded Yellow, which is known to over-winter, but not necessarily every year. In addition to the resident species, there are three annual visitors, Painted Lady, Long-tailed Blue and Clouded Yellow, all of which are regular breeding species. Continental Swallowtails visit most years and are known to breed occasionally, but with observers “thinly-spread” it is inevitable that many breeding attempts will go un-recorded. Queen of Spain Fritillary appears to be a rare visitor but is probably under-recorded as it is not that easy to identify, and even an experienced butterfly enthusiast could easily mistake it for a Wall Brown. In the first 25 years of the 21st century it has been recorded in six years with just the one known attempt at breeding, in 2009, when there was a small colony in some fields, west of Chichester. Camberwell Beauty may be seen every other year, whilst other species such as Scarce Tortoiseshell, Pale Clouded Yellow and Monarch are only recorded, very occasionally.
