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NEWSLETTER No. 6 - Winter 1981/82

WEST MIDLANDS BRANCH, BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION

The instances of early emergence referred to in our last newsletter proved to be a false dawn as far as the 1981 butterfly season was concerned, with numbers generally well down on the past three Years and some species emerging very late. May and June were mostly cold and wet with butterflies few and far between even on the good days, Green Hairstreaks, Wood Whites and Holly Blues all did very badly, and even the more widespread species like Common Blue, Small Heath and Small Copper were scarce in their first broods. Even so, there were some highlights: Richard Peplow reported a new locality for the Wood White in Worcestershire, Peter Salmon was able to report a small colony of Green Hairstreak still thriving in Sutton Park, and John Roberts had two Warwickshire sightings of the Brown Argus. The status of this latter butterfly in the county is altogether puzzling. There have been a number of reports over the years at different locations but its foodplant has never been found. Some of these records may be the result of mis-identification on the part of the observer, but others, including this year's have been made by experienced recorders and backed up by photographic evidence. The Small Blue suffered mixed fortunes: it did only moderately well in Warks., very well in Gloucestershire, and in Staffordshire turned up at a site where it had never been recorded before. Its discovery at an old colliery near Wyrley Common is altogether extraordinary, as the nearest known location for this butterfly is in Warks., a good distance to the south.

Although the first Pearl-bordered Fritillary was reported by Bob Sim from Worcs. on 20th. May, the main brood was late, not appearing in any number until the end of the second week in June. Small Pearl-bordered were later still, not on the wing at their Wyre Forest haunts until almost the last week in June, and in exceedingly low numbers. This butterfly fared slightly better in Staffs., although it is worrying to learn of the threats to one of its few remaining strongholds there. The landowner wishing to improve his land in this case is the Earl of Lichfield, who only a few years ago headed an appeal on behalf of the county trust to raise money for nature conservation. His application, to de-register a piece of common land, has, however, for the moment been turned down.

The importance of disused railway lines and mineral workings as sites which may be colonised by butterflies is further evidenced by reports of Grizzled and Dingy Skippers in western Staffs. and also in the Churnet Valley. An old ironworks at Apedale near Newcastle under Lyme, visited by Richard Warren, the County Recorder, on June 22nd., had good colonies of both Dingy Skipper and Common Blue. In contrast, a more traditional limestone grassland site in the Manifold Valley visited on a sunny day, during the same period, produced only two Northern Brown Argus, one Common Blue and one Meadow Brown.

The three butterflies to stand out against the trend of generally low numbers in the early part of the year were the Speckled Wood, Wall Brown and Green-veined White, On a visit to a wood near Droitwich, Worcs. on June 22nd., Speckled Woods were present in their hundreds, by far the most numerous butterfly. Numbers of Wall were less spectacular but Craig Deadman, a junior member, found six on a stretch of old wall near his home in Wolverhampton. The "Browns", in fact, generally did well, as did the "Skippers" and by the beginning of July butterflies had caught up and were emerging nearer to time. The first Ringlet was seen on June 29th. at Chorley Wood, just into Shropshire, the first Marbled White on July 4th,. near Southam in Warks., and the first Gatekeeper around 15th. July - all had a good season. One of the Coventry waste land sites turned up an unexpected bonus, when local member, Don Steere, recorded a small colony of Marbled Whites. This would appear to be a new colonisation as I had recorded the same area extensively the previous year but it is difficult to know where from, as, once
again, it is some distance from the next known locality. This is one of the sites where the branch are hoping to take conservation action, and we have already been in touch with the local Council. Ray Gibbs, a new member who has volunteered to act as Local Recorder for mid-Warks., searched the site near Shrewley where a Marbled White had been reported the previous year, but without success. Small Skippers were generally more numerous than the Large, and in Staffs. there was a considerable population explosion. The Small Skipper, in fact, appeared at three new localities at Keele, Apedale and Walton's Wood, indicating a further north-westerly spread across the county.

1981 proved another poor season for the region's White Admirals, although they seem to have flourished elsewhere. Bob Sim recorded the first at its site south of Worcester on July 7th, and two days later it was also seen at its Warks. locality near Princethorpe by Peter Salmon. Peter apparently found that he was able to entice White Admirals within camera range by spraying on low foliage a mixture of weak honey solution. A story that reminds me of the occasion someone brought a branch of flowering Buddleia into the Car Park at Bernwood and attracted every White Admiral from miles around! Numbers in both places were small: Bob recording a maximum daily count of around fourteen at the Worcs. site he surveys, and Colin Marsay reporting a maximum of eight on July 29th. in Warks. Colin was also able to confirm that this butterfly is still holding on at its one known Shropshire site, although only a single specimen was seen. That other woodland species, the Purple Hairstreak, also fared badly, particularly In Warks where hardly any were seen. They did rather better in Worcs. and Bob Sim had the rare sight of an individual feeding from a thistle head on an embankment close to his home.

Of the larger Fritillaries, Dark Green and High Brown had a poorish year, with only one of the former being seen at its Warks. station right at the end of July. Silver-washed fared rather better, and, although down on previous years, were still in reasonable enough numbers to enliven a walk through the Wyre Forest. I was surprised to find how widely this butterfly is distributed there, even extending to more outlying woodlands on the east bank of the Severn. One of my more memorable encounters of the Summer was to see a pair mating high in an oak tree. I am still to witness however, as Richard Warren did last year in Hampshire, a female ovipositing on a tree trunk.

August was by far the best butterfly month with a long spell of considerably improved weather. Particularly gratifying was the way some of the double-brooded species came back so strongly in their second brood. This was very noticeable with the Small Copper, which was almost totally absent in the early part of the year, and, to a lesser extent, the Common Blue. Similarly, it was good to note the recovery of the Peacock, which had been scarce in Spring. New member, Pat Daniel, recorded one of the earliest of the Summer brood to emerge in her garden in Worcester on July 27th. It was seen in good numbers throughout the region as a number of recorders remarked. Tony Garner, for example, recorded no fewer than fifteen on a single bush along a disused railway line near his Nuneaton home on August 26th., while Richard Warren recorded twenty on a buddleia at Trentham in early September. They were also late this year going into hibernation and gave us the pleasure of their company until the beginning of the last week in September. A similar story can be told of the Comma: very small numbers surviving hibernation, a partial recovery in the first brood, and, no doubt helped by the continuation of the fine weather, in reasonable strength by the second brood, which did not emerge until the middle of September. Although the weather broke towards the end of the month, the Comma stayed around and Bob Sim was able to count twenty three feasting on blackberries on September 23rd, and, nearly a fortnight later on October 4th., Roger Smith found six on one small bramble bush by the Avon at Chesford Bridge, Warks. Despite the first frost on the night of the 15th., which normally heralds the end of the butterfly season, the last Commas did not succumb to hibernation until October 31st., when Bob recorded one at Monk Wood, Worcs,. In contrast, the Small Tortoiseshell was strangely scarce, so much so that my wife bought a buddleia for our new house on the strength of two Tortoiseshells sitting on a plant outside a shop in Stourport. One proceeded to travel halfway home clutching on to the plant in her shopping bag!

Of the region's rarer species, I have not received any news of the Worcs. colony of the Marsh Fritillary, although I was fortunate enough to see a rather worn male there late In June. The Brown Hairstreak had a poor year with very few seen in Worcs., and none at all in Warks., despite careful searching by several members at the site where the branch had discovered two eggs in February. One bright spot, however, was the recording by Bob Sim of a single Brown Hairstreak at a new Worcs. site. The only definite records of White-letter Hairstreaks in 1981 come from Staffordshire, where they were reported from three places - Moddershall near Stone and two sites in the Keele/Madeley area. Phillip O'Connor was also told of a sighting near Kidderminster of six White-letters, and it is hoped to check out this site next year. The Duke of Burgundy, in common with so many early species, had a bad season In Glos., while the Chalkhill Blue, although up on last year, was not particularly numerous. The most exciting Glos. news, however, concerns the Silver-spotted Skipper, which was seen by both Michael McCrea and Ron Hatton near Stroud (see letter page). This remarkable discovery in a very untypical site for this butterfly has prompted considerable interest and it is hoped that, with the co-operation of the Glos.Trust, and the National Trust who own the site, appropriate management measures will be taken.

The Summer has been a pretty good one for migrants, with even a Monarch or two seen In Southern England after Autumn gales. Many members will have been disappointed, however, that the Painted Lady invasion of last year was not to be repeated. In fact, there have been few sightings of this butterfly. Bob Sim had one in his garden for a few days around August 5th. and I saw one in Bewdley on August 28th. Red Admirals did reasonably well, probably their best season for the past three years, with sightings throughout the region. The migrant to steal the headlines, however, was the Clouded Yellow, which came across to the U.K. in much larger numbers than of late. Peter Salmon saw two while on holiday in Devon, Jack Green, the Worcs. County Recorder, reports one from that county, while another was seen in a garden at Sandon, Staffs, on August 18th. Most startling, however, was the discovery by David Brown and his brother in law, during the first week of August, of a breeding colony of Clouded Yellows on a spoilbank covered in White Clover near Charlecote, Warks. At its peak, up to 70 individual specimens were seen, and it was hoped there might be a further brood in late September. Alas this was not to be, and the final sighting was of a lone male by Roger Smith on September 6th.

Turning to more general matters, the first year of the branch's new recording scheme has gone well, and I am grateful to those members who have already returned their annual report forms or who have otherwise kept in touch. By our next newsletter I should have received some feedback from the County Recorders and the Biological Record Centres. The scheme has already proved its worth in identifying sites where conservation action is necessary. Apart from those mentioned previously, Tony Garnet has identified four interesting habitats in the Nuneaton area, which he has notified to the local authority, and Sue Johnson from Bromsgrove has been in touch over threats to a site near Feckenham, where White-letter Hairstreaks had been recorded in 1980. The Worcs. NCT have agreed to approach the new owner to ascertain his intentions and, at the same time, the branch is hoping to make a proper survey of the site next year. If any members could help in this work, please say so.

It is gratifying that, even in these times of economic restraint, local authorities are prepared to put money into nature conservation. Coventry have launched a scheme called Impact '81 of which I have full details for those interested, while Nuneaton have recently appointed a Countryside Officer. LA's, of course, are not always so benevolent as a recent case in Glos. proved. Apparently at Cooper's Hill Country Park new toilets were provided at the expense of two healthy elm trees supporting a thriving colony of White-letter Hairstreaks. The new County Recorder for Glos., by the way, is Guy Meredith, of 23 Highland Road, Cheltenham (tel. 24138), he would welcome any recent records for the county. Many thanks to all those who sent me information for Local News.