Sussex Butterfly Conservation : Species

Butterfly Species in Sussex

Ringlet resting on Bracken – photo by Douglas Neve

Ringlet

Aphantopus hyperantus

Description

Ringlet is a quintessential butterfly of the woodland ride and glade, where it can find cool, moist, still conditions, which it clearly prefers. It can be found in a more open habitat but only where there are bushes or hedgerows to shelter it from the full glare of the sun. It is one of the few British species that will sometimes fly around in a light drizzle. Self-contained colonies vary from just a handful to many hundreds, or even thousands, along a few favoured woodland rides.

In flight, it could easily be mistaken for a male Meadow Brown, especially if seen over a wildflower meadow. However, the wings of a Ringlet are a darker brown and unlike a male Meadow Brown, there is never a hint of orange in the wings. Fresh Ringlets have a very distinctive thin white border, but this does fade with age. Once perched, the eye-spots or “ringlets” on the undersides show well and are unmistakable.

Between 2006-2024 an “average first sighting” was June 17th (range, June 3rd to June 29th) and an “average last sighting” of August 10th (range, July 26th to August 24th). The record for 03/06/2019 was very early and just 6 days after Meadow Brown was first spotted. Ringlet is one of those species that seems to be around, and then sometime in August it just disappears! Falls “off a cliff” rather than gently fading away.

Where to find

This species is very widely-distributed throughout Sussex and may be found in woodland rides, along hedgerows, and clumps of bushes; anywhere that offers shelter, and shade from full sunshine. Where Speckled Woods are found, we can also find Ringlets, as they share the same requirements of dappled sunshine, shelter and shade.