2007 Magazine Version 05.indd - Butterfly Conservation Warwickshire

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Both the disease-resistant Elms we had planted were coming into leaf, so again we were pleased. We spent some time trying to pinpoint where a Turtle Dove was calling from, but we never did see it. Three Silver Y’s and a Small White were the best we could do with flying lepidoptera, but we had enjoyed the walk. Malpass Site 7th June Twelve enthusiastic people joined me to look at this site on a day that was cloudy, bright and warm. We met in Parkfield Road but relocated to Lea Crescent because we were met by new locked gates and had to use the alternative informal entrance. This had been cleared with CEMEX’s security staff. We forged our way through tall grasses, nettles and thistles to the base of the old spoil bank disturbing Banded Demoiselle damselflies. We were soon picking up numbers of Small Heath and Large Skipper, but not in the numbers I expected. We had a glimpse of a possible first Ringlet, a couple of Meadow Browns, and brilliant – a Grizzled Skipper – a first I think for Jan. John Rea discovered a Small Copper which was rather reluctant to open its wings. The day had become overcast but it was still very warm. Moth expert Martin Kennard had quietly added to the day’s count with species whose identity defeated the rest of us. The display of Orchids on the area of chalk was impressive for those who had not seen it before, but was perhaps not as vibrant as some previous years. Numbers in the glade were very much reduced despite Cyril’s coppicing of the willow to introduce a bit more light at our recent work party. We had only seen the one Grizzled Skipper up to now but had confirmed the earlier glimpse of Ringlet by a positive sighting. We headed through the long grasses and thickening hawthorn scrub to the north east corner where the day really picked up. The sun appeared. Two Grizzled Skipper chased by at a great rate. Shouts of another Large Skipper here and I’ve got a Burnet Companion, plus confusion over where the latest sighting of Grizzled Skipper had got to and how many there were added to the fun of the afternoon. Eventually we thought there were about five. One or two Common Blue, Latticed Heath, Yellow Shell, Speckled Wood and some Small Tortoiseshell larvae were found. We eventually crossed over the large flat area where the Malpass Quarry had been years ago, finding Bee Orchid, Meadow Vetchling and the first Knapweeds in flower. The increased amount of nectar sources brought an increase in sightings with more Grizzled Skipper to total seven for the day, Painted Lady, and Latticed Heath added to the list. We also found the lovely plant Grass Vetchling – a member of the pea family – its leaves look like grass and it has the most delicate pinkie/violet flower on a very long stem. The flowers only last for a day or two. The day had built up to a fine finish with lots of sunshine, butterflies and flowers. We all agreed it was a very successful walk. We appreciated CEMEX allowing us access to this site. Female Large Skipper Photograph © Steven Cheshire 2007 Phil Parr 32 Butterfly Conservation Warwickshire Branch Magazine 2007
Warwickshire Garden Butterfly Survey 2005/6 The spring/summer weather of 2005 was quite different from that of 2006 and this had quite an effect on the majority of butterfly species recorded in Warwickshire gardens. One species that showed a considerable difference was the Orange-Tip. In 2005 we had an early spring, whereas in 2006 it was about a month later. It was possibly the extra time for egg laying and larval feeding resulting from the early spring of 2005 that was responsible for the 9% increase in the number of gardens recording this species in 2006. Most people recorded Orange-Tips during the spring of last year but it was present in at least two gardens in June. It will be interesting to see if the late spring of 2006 reduces the numbers of Orange-Tips seen this year, or if the long flight season will have compensated for such a late start. Red Admirals were recorded both so early and so late in the year that they must be over-wintering in Warwickshire. This has surely now become a resident species in the midlands. The increase of 6% of gardens recording this species in Warwickshire in 2006 over 2005 would have been due to the large migration from Europe during the summer. Similarly, the migration of Painted Ladies resulted in a huge jump of 35% more gardens recording this species in 2006 compared to 2005. Comparing 2005 and 2006 as far as resident species were concerned, Large White declined by 7%, while Small White and Peacock increased by 3%. Peacocks emerging in August were not around for long as the near perfect weather meant that they could feed up for hibernation very quickly. I found one hibernating in my shed in the second week in August! Thus few Peacocks were recorded in the autumn. For Small Tortoiseshell it was quite a different story. A decline of 7% would have been much worse if some recorders had not seen their first Small Tortoiseshell of 2006 in the autumn. It seems to be the majority opinion of experts that the decimation of the Small Tortoiseshell, which started in Kent and Sussex and is now spreading westwards and northwards, is due to a parasitic fly which has reached England from Europe. Although I have not yet analysed the data from the 2006 survey for the whole country, I get the impression that there has been some recovery of this species in the south east, especially in the autumn emergence. As with White-letter Hairstreak and Dutch Elm disease there would seem to be indications that a balance is being established between the butterfly and its parasite. Whether we will ever again see Small Tortoiseshell in the numbers we used to see in the early 1990s, when often 100% of gardens would record a visit, remains to be seen. Other species to show significant increases in visits to Warwickshire gardens in 2006 compared with 2005 included Common Blue (8%), Holly Blue (6%), Speckled Wood (9%) and Small Copper (11%). Smaller increases were shown by Green-veined White (3%) and Large Skipper (4%). The only species to show a significant decline in 2006 was the Ringlet , down by 5%. Those showing smaller declines were Brimstone (1%), Comma (1%), Meadow Brown (4%) and Small Skipper (2%). Gatekeeper was recorded in the same number of gardens in 2006 as in 2005. 33 Butterfly Conservation Warwickshire Branch Magazine 2007
Page 1 and 2: Butterfly Conservation Magazine War
Page 3 and 4: The First Ten Years by Margaret Vic
Page 5 and 6: utterflies and their habitats. Rath
Page 7 and 8: Ryton Wood Meadows Warwickshire Bra
Page 9 and 10: Apart from the Lobster, other macro
Page 11 and 12: One September Morning at Highlands
Page 13 and 14: Photograph © Debbie Hibbitt 2007 P
Page 15 and 16: The highlight of July was a day tri
Page 17 and 18: My garden (wilderness more like it)
Page 19 and 20: A Flying Start for Brownfield Butte
Page 21 and 22: A key outcome from the meeting is t
Page 23 and 24: Countdown 2010 Conserving Butterfli
Page 25 and 26: Therefore, in future a brief summar
Page 27 and 28: 2006 Rugby Area Reports by Phil Par
Page 29 and 30: Photograph © Phil Parr 2007 Above:
Page 31: Guided Walks in the Rugby Area by P
Page 35 and 36: Clearwings And Furry Gnomes by Keit
Page 37 and 38: 2006 Butterfly Highlights - A Trium
Page 39 and 40: Immigrant Larger Moths in Warwicksh
Page 41 and 42: 2nd August, Earlsdon, Coventry, (D
Page 43 and 44: Warwickshire Branch Committee Marga

2007 Magazine Version 05.indd - Butterfly Conservation Warwickshire

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?