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| UK Status |
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| Resident |
A species which is continually Resident in the UK with stable breeding populations. |
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| Migrant |
A species which occurs as a Migrant in the UK. It may be able to breed here although they are usually unable to survive our winter months. Migrants are normally reported in the UK every year. |
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| Rare Migrant |
A species which occurs as a Rare Migrant in the UK. It may able to breed here although they are usually unable to survive our winter months. Rare Migrants may not be seen for many years. |
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| Extinct |
A species which is Extinct in the UK, usually as a result of habitat loss. |
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| Introduction |
A species which ocurs in the UK as an accidental introduction. |
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Description
The Speckled Wood is a common species found in woodland and scrub where dappled sunlight and areas of lush grass grow in damper areas. The male will often be seen perched with wings wide open in areas of sunlight chasing intruders and females which wander by. Both male and female butterflies feed on honeydew in tree tops only occsionally being seen feeding on flowers.
Habitat
The Speckled Wood breeds in woodland habitats lanes and tracks between tall hedgerows parks, gardens, and scrub. It seems to prefer slightly damp areas where there is tall grass and some dappled shade.
Larval Food Plants
The larvae of the Speckled Wood feed on a variety of grasses including False Brome (Brachypodium sylvaticum) Yorkshire-fog (Holcus lanatus) Common Couch (Elytrigia repens) and Cock's-foot (Dactylis glomerata).
British Subspecies
The following sub-species of the Speckled Wood occur in the UK.
 Speckled Wood - Pararge aegeria insula (Howarth, 1971) - Occurs on the Isles of Scilly only.
Speckled Wood - Pararge aegeria oblita (Harrison, 1949) - Occurs in Scotland only.
Speckled Wood - Pararge aegeria tircis (Godard, 1821) - Occurs in England, Ireland and Wales but is absent in Scotland and the Isles of Scilly.
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| Stock Photography Library |
| We have 21 photographs of the Speckled Wood in the British Butterflies photo library |
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BB1717 - Speckled Wood
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BB1169 - Speckled Wood
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BB1168 - Speckled Wood
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BB1167 - Speckled Wood
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BB706 - Speckled Wood
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BB705 - Speckled Wood
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BB704 - Speckled Wood
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BB569 - Speckled Wood
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| Distribution |
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| The Speckled Wood has spread since the 1920s following a contraction in its range during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It continued to spread during the 1980's and 90's recolonizing many areas in eastern and northern England and Scotland where it continues to spread northwards as a response to global warming. |
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| Where to see the Speckled Wood |
| The Speckled Wood has spread since the 1920s following a contraction in its range during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It continued to spread during the 1980's and 90's recolonizing many areas in eastern and northern England and Scotland where it continues to spread northwards as a response to global warming. |
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| Population Trends |
| species status |
the Speckled Wood is a resident species in Britain |
| population trend1 |
(1995-2004)  up by 66% |
(1976-2004) up by 160% |
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1Fox, R., Asher. J., Brereton. T., Roy, D & Warren, M.
(2006) The State of Butterflies in Britain & Ireland, Pices, Oxford. |
| UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) Status |
| UK BAP status2 |
not listed (link) |
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| 2 For more information about the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) species status, visit www.ukbap.org.uk. |
| IUCN Category Status |
| IUCN category3 |
 least concern4 |
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3 Fox, R., Warren, M & Brereton, T.
(2007) New Red List of British Butterflies. Butterfly Conservation, Wareham.
4 More information about IUCN categories available here. |
| Find Out More Online* |
| More information about the Speckled Wood can be found on Peter Eeles excellent UK Butterflies web site. |
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Aberrations and Forms |
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| We currently know of 8 named aberrant forms of the Speckled Wood. More information about aberrants can be found here. |
 ab. bilinea - Verity (1953) |
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| ab. cockaynei - Goodson (1951) |
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| ab. conjuncta - Schnaider (1950) |
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| ab. infranigrans - Verity (1920) |
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| ab. kulczynskii - Prüffer (1921) |
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| ab. latefasciata - Lempke (1957) |
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| ab. saturatior - Crombrugghe (1911) |
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| ab. venata - Lempke (1957) |
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| References |
| The information on this web site comes from a variety of freely available resources including books, academic reports and web sites alongside my own personal observations of butterflies. The species descriptions are currently in the process of being edited (spring 2009) to include new data, recent personal observations and referencing following a major update to the site.
A complete list of references mentioned in the text on this web site is available here. |
| * External Links Disclaimer |
| This web site includes links to information provided by external web sites which are not in any way under the control of www.britishbutterflies.co.uk. We cannot, therefore, be held responsible for the content of external web pages. |
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46-56mm
