Pearl-bordered Fritillary (Boloria euphrosyne)
Surveys 2025
The Pearl-bordered Fritillary is one of Scotland’s more elusive butterflies and has long been a priority for conservation. Flying earlier in the season than its close relative (and look-a-like) the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary, it inhabits woodland edges, clearings, glades and track-sides.

Scotland is a stronghold for the butterfly, which has undergone significant UK-wide declines, particularly as woodland management has moved away from the traditional coppicing and small-scale felling practices that helped the species thrive.
Most people only see the Pearl-bordered Fritillary when they make a special effort to seek it out, no doubt in part due to its early season emergence in mid-May. We know the butterfly has been thriving in recent years at Mabie Forest and monitoring on some Forestry and Land Scotland sites has been established at a number of woodlands in Perthshire, Strathspey and Lochaber. The butterfly has also been rediscovered at Loch Katrine in the Trossachs, where it was once feared lost, and now appears to be doing well.
However, for most Pearl-bordered Fritillary colonies in Scotland, we receive very few records. The last major coordinated survey was back in the late 1990’s and many sites have not been visited since. This is an issue as the butterfly could be declining at certain sites, or even across landscapes, and without knowledge of records and habitat condition, we can’t target our conservation action to help. We would like to start changing that!
Survey Results 2022-24

Our Pearl-bordered Fritillary survey has been ongoing since 2022. In that time 99 different colonies have been visited by surveyors with the butterfly being confirmed as present at only 44 of those. However we have been afflicted by a series of poor springs with few sunny days to observe the butterflies, and combined with the sometimes tricky nature of the sites, it is likely that the butterfly may still be present at many of these sites. Overall since 2022 and including ad-hoc records, Pearl-bordered Fritillary has been seen at 105 locations in Scotland, representing about 25% of known colonies.
There have been notable successes in the survey, with several new sites found for the butterfly in Glen Lyon, Easter Ross, near Dumfries and around Loch Ness. The butterfly has also been confirmed at two locations on the Black Isle after an absence of records since 2010. The surveys have confirmed that Deeside is a major stronghold, no doubt due to consistency of suitable habitat right through the landscape.
Elsewhere, the effects of disjointed landscapes and changing land uses are having a noticeable effect. The butterfly appears to have been lost from the Culbin-Forres area with no positive sightings since 2007. Significant loss of range is also apparent in Dumfries & Galloway with the butterfly now seemingly restricted to a handful of sites. Many sites where the butterfly appears not be present anymore are due to loss of habitat through shading as woodland glades fill in with regeneration or conifer crops grow tall.
There still remains much to achieve from surveys, with large parts of the west coast having not been surveyed in many years. Is the butterfly present on Mull? - there have been tantalising sightings over the years but recent searches haven't been successful. Efforts will continue to build our knowledge right across the butterfly's Scottish range.
We are very grateful to everyone who has helped with these surveys by taking part and sending in their findings.
Surveys in Highland Perthshire in 2024 were delivered through the Recovering Highland Perthshire's rare butterflies and moths project, which was supported by the Scottish Government’s Nature Restoration Fund, managed by NatureScot. Surveys since 2022 have been supported by NatureScot.
Training workshops
We are looking for willing volunteers to take on a local site to survey for Pearl-bordered Fritillary.
Surveys will need to take place on a sunny day during the butterfly’s flight period of mid-May to mid-June.
To help with this we will be offering a free zoom training workshop and several field training workshops.
The zoom training workshop will be held on - TBA
There will also be a field workshops as follows:
- TBA
Survey locations map (to be updated for 2025)
The Google map below shows the Pearl-bordered Fritillary sites that we have identified as survey priorities for 2024.
If you zoom in and then click on a marker, information on that site will appear in a box. It is also possible to navigate to different parts of the country and change the background map from aerial to terrain.
The map shows sites where there have been several previous Pearl-bordered Fritillary record, but no records since 2015, as well as some sites for which there may be conservation concerns.
If you would be willing to survey any of these sites please contact David Hill [email protected] and we will provide further information on the site, previous records plus survey forms and guidance.
There are many other Pearl-bordered Fritillary sites in Scotland and information from surveys of these would also be gratefully received.
Links for more information
Butterfly Conservation Scotland’s Learn About the Pearl-bordered Fritillary leaflet