Isle of Man

Butterflies and moths of the Isle of Man

This site is made on the Isle of Man, so here’s what flies on our own island, from Manx Wildlife Trust’s guides.

Nineteen butterflies

The Isle of Man has 19 butterfly species to look out for. Manx Wildlife Trust: Butterfly count · checked 30 Oct 2026

They are: Large White, Small White, Clouded Yellow, Common Blue, Green-veined White, Orange-tip, Holly Blue, Small Copper, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Comma, Dark Green Fritillary, Small Heath, Meadow Brown, Grayling, Wall and Speckled Wood. Manx Wildlife Trust: Butterfly count · checked 30 Oct 2026

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Photos show the species but weren’t necessarily taken on the island. Four on the list (Green-veined White, Small Copper, Dark Green Fritillary and Small Heath) aren’t pictured yet. Photographers are credited on the credits page.

Four to look out for

Manx Wildlife Trust asks people to look especially for four easy-to-identify species: Orange-tip, Holly Blue, Comma and Wall. Manx Wildlife Trust: Butterfly count Holly Blue numbers rise and fall in a cycle over a few years, thought to be caused by a wasp whose only host is the Holly Blue. Manx Wildlife Trust: Butterfly count

A guide in two languages

Manx Wildlife Trust’s fold-out guide was the first to cover all 19 regularly occurring Manx butterflies. It is fully bilingual in Manx and English, with help from Culture Vannin. Manx Wildlife Trust: identification guide to Manx butterflies The guide’s local details are based on over 150,000 local records. Manx Wildlife Trust: identification guide to Manx butterflies

Most fold-out guides cover the 60 species found across Britain and Ireland. Manx Wildlife Trust: identification guide to Manx butterflies · checked 30 Oct 2026

Visitors and stay-at-homes

On the island you may find Small Tortoiseshells hibernating inside houses, and Clouded Yellows sometimes fly in off the Irish Sea. Manx Wildlife Trust: identification guide to Manx butterflies Red Admirals now regularly spend the winter in the UK, thanks to milder conditions. Manx Wildlife Trust: Butterfly count · checked 30 Oct 2026

Moths

The island has fewer than two dozen butterfly species but many hundreds of moth species, including the rare Scarce Crimson and Gold at the Ayres National Nature Reserve. Manx Wildlife Trust: identification guide to Manx butterflies Moths recorded on the Isle of Man include the Six-spot Burnet, Cinnabar, Emperor Moth and Peppered Moth. Butterfly Conservation: Six-spot Burnet

Hummingbird Hawk-moths are reported to Manx Wildlife Trust every year by people who think they have seen the little American bird. Manx Wildlife Trust: identification guide to Manx butterflies

Fewer than before

Manx Wildlife Trust reports that butterflies have declined greatly across the island; loss of green spaces and habitat has cut sightings of some species. Manx Wildlife Trust: Manx State of Nature 2024, invertebrates · checked 30 Oct 2026

80% of UK butterfly species have decreased in numbers, range, or both since 1976 (State of the UK’s Butterflies 2022). Butterfly Conservation: Butterflies · checked 30 Oct 2026

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