Wall

Scientific Name - Lasiommata megera

Flight Period - May to October

Overwinters as - Larva

Habitat - Grasslands

Larval foodplants - Grasses including Tor Grass, False Brome, Cock’s-foot, Yorkshire Fog

Conservation status - Section 41 NERC species of principal importance, UK BAP priority species, BC Priority high

Northamptonshire distribution - Extremely rare and was considered extinct in the county until one was photographed in 2025 in Woodnewton

Best public sites to see them - Anywhere with suitable habitat

The Wall Brown was once one of the most widespread butterflies in the county, but sadly, at the start of the 1980s, it started to decline rapidly and by the turn of the millenium the Wall was only being recorded in low single figures. In 2009, the Wall was recorded at Chelveston Airfield, and the following year it was also seen along the disused railway track south of Ring Haw. There were no more sightings after 2010, and consequently, this species was considered extinct in the county. So it came as a big surprise when, on the 8th of August 2025, a Wall was photographed in Woodnewton, making it the first confirmed sighting in the county for 15 years. The Wall was experiencing a good third brood in neighbouring Cambridgeshire during this time, and as this species is known to wander, it may have come from there. However, considering how close this sighting is to the last record near Ring Haw in 2010, it does also suggest that there may be a population nearby which has remained undiscovered all these years.

Wall (photo taken in Dorset)

Wall (photo taken in Cambridgeshire)