Welcome to Bulgaria BMS
In this tab, you will find specific information about the Bulgarian butterfly monitoring scheme.
About the Bulgaria BMS
The Bulgarian butterfly monitoring network started operating in 2020, and then officially started collecting transect and 15-minute count data in 2021, collecting data on over 120 species of diurnal butterflies. This BMS continues to grow and support butterfly conservation thanks to the efforts of the scheme's main coordinator, Zdravko Kolev.
Getting started - Contact us
Are you new to butterfly counts? Do you need help identifying butterflies?
Please contact the coordinators before starting a transect, they can help you place your transect and give advice on butterfly monitoring.
Please contact Zdravko Kolev: [email protected]
If you have problems or suggestions specifically regarding the eBMS app or website, please contact eBMS by writing [email protected].
Join the community
If you’re new or would like to keep up with the monitoring scheme’s updates, consider joining other like-minded citizen scientists on the Bulgaria BMS social media platforms.
- Пеперудите в България - Butterflies and moths of Bulgaria: Here you can share your butterfly photos, find out which species you've captured, and stay in touch with our close-knit and welcoming community of over 3,800 people.
- Butterfly Monitoring Bulgaria - Monitoring of butterflies in Bulgaria: Facebook page for registered members of the Bulgarian Butterfly Monitoring Network.
About Bulgarian Butterflies
Did you know that Bulgaria is in fifth place in Europe in terms of the number of species of diurnal butterflies found in our country (almost 220)? And in first place among the countries in Europe without a true Mediterranean climate zone! But, at the same time, our butterflies are much less known than in most European countries - we lack data on the state of their populations, on changes in them over the years, and on possible factors that threaten the habitats and populations of butterflies.
Supporting materials and resources
Below are field guides and other useful resources to help you identify the butterflies present in your geographical area. If you are instead looking for materials about broader butterfly group identification or about butterfly count methodologies, please visit the materials tab.
Resources
http://www.butterfliesofbulgaria.net : The main source for online information about diurnal butterflies in Bulgaria, available in Bulgarian and English.
European Butterfly Group's Guide to Bulgarian Butterflies: A detailed downloadable PDF by the European Butterfly Group on Bulgaria's butterflies with an extensive bibliography, details of where to go and what to see. It includes some information on Bulgarian butterfly conservation efforts. Please note that the included contact information may be outdated.