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NEWSLETTER No. 5 -  Summer 1981

WEST MIDLANDS BRANCH, BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION

 

Local News

Spring this year has been one of those seasons which never really got going. A spell of fine weather in mid-February was followed by snow later the same month, and after a mixed March, which slowly improved towards the tail-end, April began with a series of night frosts and ended with snow! My earliest record of the year is of a Small tortoiseshell on 19th of February, and this was followed by a number of odd sightings on sunny days through March. Most notable amongst these, was Bob Sim's tally of 17 butterflies on 26th. March near Wadborough in Worcestershire, which included Brimstones and Commas as well as Tortoiseshells. From the same source came a very early record of a Small white in Worcester itself on 3rd. April. By the middle of April, Orange tips had begun to emerge in Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, and there had been sightings of Holly blues and Speckled woods in different parts of the region. Even more striking was the record of a newly-emerged Green hairstreak at Harbury Spoilbank, Warks. on April 16th. It will be interesting to see if early emergence is as much a feature of this season as it was of last.

While on the subject of records, I am grateful to two relatively new members, Phil Parr from Rugby and Michael Slater from Nuneaton for lists of butterflies seen in their areas. Copies of both lists have been sent on to the Warwick Biological Record Centre. As a result it has been possible to add new squares for certain species which were not shown on Roger Smith's provisional atlas for the county. Of particular interest was the Nuneaton record of the Dingy skipper, considerably north of any previously known sightings in the county; a sighting of the Holly blue in Brinklow, the first from that area; a new square for the Ringlet, close to the Northamptonshire border; and similarly for Gatekeeper at Harborough Magna. Phil also reports an interesting blackthorn area near the canal at Rugby, and, with thoughts of Brown hairstreaks he intends taking a closer look this Summer.

It is surprising just how much remains to be discovered concerning, the whereabouts of butterflies. I managed to fill in 11 new squares for species in Warwickshire in 1980, and most of these were waste land sites which were examined as part of WARNACT's ecological survey of Coventry. In the same county, a reported sighting of a number of Brown argus seems to suggest an overlooked colony of this insect.

Two other interesting pieces of news relating to last Summer were the first record of the Grizzled skipper at the Brandon Marsh Nature Reserve near Coventry, and the discovery by the Hattons of a roadside verge colony of the Small blue in Glos., contained within an area of not more than 20 square yards, demonstrating very clearly the precise habitat requirements of some species.

This past Winter has been a busy one for the branch, with perhaps the most important event being our first A.G.M. held at the beginning of December. The meeting was well supported by members and after the business was over David Porter showed, us some of his excellent slides which we all thoroughly enjoyed. Ron Hatton of Bishops Cleeve was elected the Branch's first Chairman with Terry Green as Treasurer and myself as Secretary and Newsletter Editor. In January, we held a very enjoyable New Year's Party at the home of Phillip O'Connor in Birmingham, and our thanks go to Phillip and his family for their hospitality. A cold but bright Saturday in early February saw a reasonable gathering of members to take part in a Brown hairstreak egg hunt. Amazingly, despite their minute size, we found two, and as Ron Hatton remarked at the national society A.G.M. in London, in the light of our triumph, "...if you want someone to find a needle in a haystack for you - no problem!".

Later the same month, a few stalwarts turned out at Oxhouse Farm, Warks, on a warm sunny day to help WARNACT members clear an area of scrub that was encroaching onto open grassland in the meadow. On 14th. March a Film Evening was arranged in Coventry which was open to the general public. This proved rather disappointing because, although well supported by members, only a few non-members turned up. A week later our third conservation effort of the Winter took place at Ufton Fields, Warks., where members had a chance to try their hand at hedge-laying.

(remainder of original article is missing - Webmaster)

Mike Williams