Bringing butterflies and moths back to Britain • www.westmidlands-butterflies.org.uk

Regional Magazine of West Midlands Butterfly Conservation

theCommaNo.95 Autumn 2016

Book & Ale: Happy Days!

2017 Calendar: Order your copy now

the Comma Autumn 2016 3the Comma2

The cover photograph celebratesthe launch of ‘Butterflies of the West Midlands’ and Fritillary Ale, both of which wereproduced by the Branch. Youcan read more about the booklaunch on pages 6,7 and 8.

Cover story

Please send articles and images to the editor at phwarden@sky.com. Photographs should be sentseparately rather than embedded in a document,and of as high a resolutionas possible. The opinions expressed in this magazineare not necessarily those ofthe West Midlands Branch orof Butterfly Conservation.

Copy deadline

Contributions

Bringing butterflies and moths back to Britain • www.westmidlands-butterflies.org.uk

Regional Magazine of West Midlands Butterfly Conservation

theCommaNo.95 Autumn 2016

Book & Ale: Happy Days!

2017 Calendar: Order your copy now

Chairman’s Address Chairman’s Address

The deadline for copy for the Spring edition of The Comma is Sunday 1st January 2017.

It has not been the best ofsummers, and a lot of

people I have spokenwith are seriouslyconcerned about thenear-disappearance ofthe Peacock and SmallTortoiseshell. There is

speculation that the extremely mild wintermay have played its part, either by notkilling off predators or by confusingadults and indeed caterpillars to wakeup and start feeding. On the positiveside some species have done well, with good counts of Holly Blue, and in places Speckled Wood. MarbledWhites continue to extend their rangebut Meadow Browns have beenscarcer in 2016. Why is the MarbledWhite successful when we find that other grassland feeders such asGrayling and Small Heath arecontracting in range, in spite of scrubclearance work to encourage the finer grasses which are their foodplant?

We had a good walk in July atHaugh Wood when we saw WoodWhite and three White-letterHairstreaks. For me this was a highlightof a rather indifferent summer, althoughthe presence of Skippers in goodnumbers at Highgate Common and

Portway Hill was encouraging, afterfinding very few on the Hollybedtransect.

But let’s be positive and look forward.In many other cases we can show acorrelation between our conservationefforts and the fortunes of, for example,Pearl-bordered Fritillary, or numbersof the commoner species on ourmanaged reserves.

BookA great deal else is positive. Sales of ourbook “Butterflies of the West Midlands”have got off to an incredibly good start.This translates into good publicity for BC,and eventual income which is pledgedfor the conservation of butterflies andmoths in the region. With these resourcesI am keen to use the opportunity topromote and secure urban as well asrural sites. Money generated by theBranch earlier in the year has alreadyenabled us to make a contribution to theWood White project “Making a Standfor the Wood White” which will run forthree years. It is early days but alreadywe have enhanced information aboutthe whereabouts of this rare anddeclining butterfly, which we have a keyresponsibility to help, as our region is anational stronghold. The next phase ofthe work is to promote an increase inrange through targeted work based onhabitat assessments.

To focus on the book, at the Launch inJune our project leader Ian Duncanreported that some 80 people hadcontributed in one form or another. Thisis a testament to our members whichhelped us to complete the project within

the planned timescale and producean accurate and good qualityaccount of the region’s butterflies.We have already had a verypositive reaction – you can readsome of the reviews on pages 6 – 8.So even if you already have a copy it may make an excellentChristmas present for friends andfamily. See details of our SpecialOffer which includes one year'sfree membership on page 6.

Recording initiativesI mentioned improving knowledgeof the Wood White’s range, andthis has been enhanced by developments inHerefordshire now thatBob Hall has taken onthe County Recordertask. This has done muchto address concerns thatthe county has been underrecorded, and from monthlysummaries distributed by Bob it isevident we are now receiving moreconsistent cover.

Another piece of good news isthat Scott Martin has taken on therole of Coordinator for the WiderCountryside Butterfly Survey. This isa national scheme where volunteerswalk a route twice a year onrandomly selected one kilometresquares in open countryside. Theinformation is fed into the nationalUKBMS Annual Report. To makelife easier for volunteers the

scheme has adopted a new online data entry system and theirnewsletter gives some tips aboutfinding volunteers. It requires lesscommitment than a transect walkedevery week, but is important incompleting a picture of butterflypopulations. Transects give usextended knowledge of trends overa period of years in key locations,but we also needto survey what ishappening elsewhere. If you areinterested please support Scott byoffering to undertake a couple of walks. Scott’s email address isscottm2512@gmail.com

The Branch is aiming to backup Bob Hall’s work, andthat of John Bryan inStaffs, Tony Jacques inShropshire and Mel

Mason in the Malverns,by introducing an online

system for casual records, whichwill ease the task of the CountyRecorders. Equally important, it willprovide a more direct way for youto submit your casual sightings. Andthat’s not all – we are aiming to finda system which will allow you tosee the outcome of your recordingefforts in the way transect recordersare able to do. The latest UKBMSarrangement lets you see not onlyyour own input but that of allrecorders round the country.

With regard to the money raisedthrough the book, we have given acommitment to all of those who

were kind enough to sponsor thebook to use it for conservation of butterflies and moths in the West Midlands. We have anumber of projects in the pipeline –helping to boost the work of ourreserves’ wardens and volunteers,contributions to groups who workon other sites such as the ScarletTiger colony at Roman Road,habitat assessments to clarify plansfor individual species, and input towork with other agencies such asscrub clearance on the MalvernHills for the Grayling.

Winter is not too far away sotime to think about what tasks theBranch needs to complete. At ourlast committee meeting it was feltimportant to keep an eye on anumber of activities and make surewe focus on these: • Book – continue sales and

publicity effort• Membership and local groups

– better focus on new members • Website – complete upgrade

exercise • County leaders – continue to

seek a more local approach• Recording – online facility• Spending plan – to make sure

the money we hold is used forthe best purposes

2017 will soon be upon us anddetails of how to purchase our2017 Branch Calendar, containingAndrew Barker's excellentphotographs, are to be found onpage 30.

Peter Seal, Branch Chair

The Branch in focus

Peter Seal

Sales of our book have got off to an incredibly good start.

Company limited by guarantee, registered in England (2206468)Registered office: Manor Yard, East Lulworth, Wareham, Dorset BH20 5QP. Charity registered in England & Wales (254937) and in Scotland (SCO39268)

Small Heath(Stephen Lewis)

the Comma4 Autumn 2016 5

Survey, I make a conscious effort tofind and photograph a particularspecies. While the Painted Lady stilleludes me, I had described it toGail in enough detail for her to

realise it was something differentwhen she found one and shephotographed it for evidence. Sofar my own highlight was to find and photograph a female Orange-tip ovipositing. The speciesthat I thought that I would find with relative ease, but have yetbeen unable to, are the MarbledWhite and Wall. My butterflyphotography is improving as I nowknow where and when to findcertain species and I carry a DSLRwith a dedicated macro lens tohelp me make the most of anyphotographic opportunity. Now ifonly I could do something about theweather, then maybe we would allsee a few more.

Article and photos byLee Bellingham

SpeedwayWhile all of these locations haveprovided us with ample opportunityto spot and photograph butterflies,my best area for success is a littlepiece of open public land behindwhere Cradley Heath Speedwayused to be. There is a variety oftrees, shrubs and grassland at thislocation along with designatedfootpaths for the public to use, andwe have been able to enjoy SmallWhite, Large White, Orange-tip,Peacock, Comma, SpeckledWood, Small Heath, Common Blue,Holly Blue, Small Skipper, Ringletand Meadow Brown whilst walkingthere, along with moths such asLatticed Heath, Six-spot Burnet,Burnet Companion and YellowShell. Gail was also lucky enough tofind and photograph a PaintedLady in this location, a butterfly thatstill eludes me I’m afraid. The Small Tortoiseshell and RedAdmiral, among many others, arenow both regular visitors to ourgarden in the summer, along withthe Small Magpie moth and LargeYellow Underwing, and they allenjoy our various varieties ofbuddleia, which we planted afterreading the excellent “Gardening forButterflies & Moths”, received whenjoining Butterfly Conservation. Wehope to attract more visitors to ourgarden as we have planted avariety of wildflowers this spring. Ihope this will benefit local butterfliesand draw in a few from further afieldas my main concern is the fact thatwe rarely see more than one of thesame species of butterfly. If thiscontinues then it must surely meanthe end for the local populations.

Each year, along with taking partin the Big Butterfly Count and nowthe Wider Countryside Butterfly

My current interest in butterfliesstems back to a chance

encounter with a brightly colouredbutterfly on the afternoon of Thurs-day 16th August 2012, while taking afternoon tea, with my

wife Gail, in a charming little tea garden, in Cockington Village,Torquay. The bright colours caughtmy eye and so I took a few snap-shots. On returning from our holi-day I looked again at the imagesthat I had taken and realised that Iwas unable to name the butterfly inmy photographs. A quick search onthe internet and I was soon able toidentify this tiny creature, whichwas in fact a Small Tortoiseshell.

Encouraged by my success Ibegan to research British butterfliesand in doing so rekindled an inter-est from my younger days. I thendecided that I would try to find, photograph and identify all of thebutterflies that I could find in mylocal area. At first I had very littlesuccess as I soon began to realisethat there are fewer butterfliesaround today when compared tomy childhood. After purchasing acouple of butterfly books and reading up on the different foodplants and habitats that appeal tovarious species, my hit rate soon improved. Size was also somethingthat I had initially overlooked, sowhen looking for the Common

Blue I just thought that it would bethe same size as a Peacock – nowonder I could never find one! Afield guide showing a life size comparison of all the differentspecies really improved my successin finding new butterflies.

18 so farLiving in the Black Country is farfrom a rural life, but Gail and I take our little dog Molly on regularwalks and we have found somelovely parks and nature reserves, andnow we use these opportunities for observing and photographingbutterflies. To date we have man-

aged to identify eighteen species ofbutterfly locally, plus Silver-washedFritillary on Kinver Edge and a further three -- Clouded Yellow,Chalkhill Blue and Adonis Blue -whilst at Beachy Head in Sussex.

I have taken to recording whatspecies I have seen in local parksand nature reserves to help me find them again the following year.Saltwells Local Nature Reserve isclose by with its carpets of bluebellsin the spring and friendly Robins andGreat Tits, and here we have seenOrange-tip and Holly Blue. Just a short walk to Mushroom Greenand we have found Small Copper,Common Blue, Small Heath, SmallTortoiseshell, Peacock, Green-veined White, female Orange-Tipand Brimstone. Haden Hill Park in Cradley Heath provides ample opportunity to see both Gate-keeper and Meadow Brown. TheLeasowes in Halesowen is a good place to see Gatekeeper,Brimstone, Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral and Meadow Brown. At Waseley Hills Country Park wehave seen Small Copper, SmallSkipper and Green-veined White.

A Black Country Tale

Meadow Brown

Orange-tip

Small Tortoiseshell

Small Copper

A chance encounterrekindled an interest in

butterflies from LeeBellingham’s younger days.

‘Butterflies of the West Midlands’ was officially launchedat Wyre Forest on Sunday 26th June 2016, with around80 members in attendance.

The book, the first of its kind for the West Midlands, contains a wealth ofinformation, including:

• Accounts of the life stages of all 41 butterfly species to be found in ourregion, with excellent photographs

• Details of rare migrants and extinct species• Descriptions of the main physical features of the region and its key

habitats• Information on the impact of climate change• A chapter on how to encourage butterflies into your garden• A history of recording in the region• 25 walks highlighting the best butterfly sites in the region

Ian Duncan and Peter Seal, both members of the editorial team,introduced the book and thanked the many people who had contributed.

We were delighted that Jim Asher, Chair of ButterflyConservation, and Martin Warren, Chief Executive,

were able to attend, and Martin congratulatedall those involved in its publication. A buffet

lunch was served, and cases of Fritillary Ale,produced by Bewdley Brewery inassociation with the Branch, were sold, withproceeds helping the Branch finances.

Guided walkAfterwards, minibuses took those present to

a different part of the forest where Jenny Joy,Senior Regional Officer, led a guided walk to

showcase areas where work to conserve speciessuch as Pearl-bordered Fritillary has been successful.

A Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary put in a welcomeappearance on what was a cool and cloudy afternoon.

Jenny Joy (below) points outthe benefits of both brackenand oak trees for the Pearl-bordered Fritillary (Stephen Lewis)

Martin Warren, Butterfly Conservation Chief Execu-tive, and the editorial team.L to R: John Tilt, Ian Dun-can, Mike Williams, MartinWarren and Peter Seal (Jim Asher)

Launching the Book at the Wyre Forest

Members at the launch (Stephen Lewis)

Peter Seal introduces the book at the launch (Stephen Lewis)

Mike Williams andPeter Seal promotingthe book at WebbsGarden Centre inWychbold. Webbsare the Species Champions for theSmall Tortoiseshell inthe book (Roger Wasley)

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

A wonderfully informative book, so well-written, and produced with Pisces Publications'

usual superb design.

It would be easy of me to simply say that, if you're at all interested in the butterflies of the West Midlands, this is the book for you, and leavethis review at that. However, this would really undersell such a high-qual-ity publication, in terms of content, format and production. The format, inparticular, makes for a very easy read and the content really hits the mark

in terms of the book's primary objective; I feel that I know much moreabout the butterflies in this region. Also, the production is of the usual

quality provided by Pisces Publications and Peter Creed and team shouldrightly feel proud of their work in this regard.

NHBS (NaturalHistory Book Service)

“ Butterflies of the WestMidlands is a beautifullyillustrated guide to the41 species regularly

recorded in the region.Includes maps, 25 but-terfly walks, and tips forbutterfly gardening and

photography. ”

”Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust

UK Butterflies website: www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

“

”

“

Order a copy of the book at www.naturebureau.co.uk perhapsas a Christmas gift for someone and quote the code BCXMAS (case sensitive) and the recipientwill receive one year’s free membership of Butterfly Conservation provided they join via Direct Debit.

6 the Comma

Special Membership Offer

Autumn 2016 7

Autumn 2016 9

The book has been promoted at various events in the region, andsales now exceed 1,000 copies. As Species Champions for the Silver-studded Blue, the Prees Heath Common Reserve Support Groupreceived a free copy of the book and decided to donate it toWhitchurch Library. For those who have not bought their copy yet, orwho are already thinking about what Santa might add to his sack, goto www.naturebureau.co.uk

Article by The Editor

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

The Lord Mayor of Birmingham at Moor Pool Heritage Day (Neil Gregory)

Donating a copy to Whitchurchlibrary, L to R: Stephen Lewis,Hazel Price (librarian), Julia &Mike Gallacher (Lucy Lewis)

What is there not to like about this book? It is a

comprehensive guide, the appearance is attractive withample photographs of species

and habitats. The layout is intuitive and the individual

species accounts very detailed.Not only is there informationabout the life cycle but the

historic status in the region andconservation management. I do not believe I have everseen a guide that included

photographs of every stage ofthe life cycle for every species.What I particularly like is the

encouragement to get out andsee butterflies and participatein providing records. There is a

very nice section with 25 self-guided walks to this end.Overall I am very impressedwith this guide and would

recommend it to anyone withany interest in butterflies in

the region.

This major new title will appeal to members of the West Midlands branch of the national charity Butterfly Conservation, which is working to protect

Britain's butterflies and moths. The book will appeal tobutterfly enthusiasts of all ages and experience fromcomplete beginners to those who are already keen

butterfly watchers or photographers.

”

”

“

“Shropshire Wildlife Trust

Subbuteo Books. Nominated as their Book of the Month in June

All members of the West Midlands Branch of Butterfly Conservation are invited to attend the BranchAGM on Saturday 19th November. In view of the fact that we cover such a large territory, it isour policy to alternate the venue for the AGM between the different regions of our branch. Thus thisyear the AGM will be held at the RSPB Visitor Centre at Sandwell Valley in the West Midlands.

This surprising oasis in the middle of the West Midlands conurbation can be tricky to find so repeatedbelow are directions taken from the RSPB handbook:Sandwell Valley, West Midlands. B43 5AG. Grid Ref: SP035928By road: off Tanhouse Avenue via Hamstead Road in Great Barr.By public transport: nearest train station is Hamstead, 2 miles from the reserve. There are frequentbus services from Birmingham and West Bromwich. For more information go to www.rspb.org.uk or phone 0121 357 7395.

We suggest you bring stout shoes and binoculars to make the most of the visit. The path to the hideis well maintained but it may be muddy in the event of inclement weather – always a strong possibilityin November! There should be plenty of overwintering birds to see both at the spectacular visitorcentre and also at the hide. The reserve also includes great habitat for butterflies and moths withsome beautiful meadows and regular moth events are held, especially during the summer. Look forward to seeing you there.

Joy Stevens Branch Secretary

To be held at 10.30 am on Saturday 19th November 2016 at RSPB Visitor Centre, Sandwell Valley

Notice of Annual General Meeting

Agenda10.30 Arrival and tea & coffee.11.00 AGM

• Minutes of 2015 AGM• Treasurer’s Report• Chair’s Report• Elections

12.00 Branch priorities, to include updates on casual recording and the Wood White project.

1.00 Lunch – rolls and drinks available for purchase.2.00 Introduction to Sandwell Valley by RSPB volunteer, followed by a guided

walk around the reserve. In the event of very bad weather Peter Seal willgive an illustrated talk about the Malverns instead.

the Comma8

the Comma10 Autumn 2016 11

In early May, I visited the EastDevon coast, just to get my eye

in before ‘our’ Wood Whitesemerged. It was a beautiful dayand thankfully the butterflies werevery obliging, perching close tothe path, with people walkingpast, not necessarily aware thatone of the rarest butterflies in the UK was less than a metre from their feet. So I returned toShropshire enthused and lookingforward to seeing a West Mid-

The Wood White project is aHLF funded 3 year project,covering four areas in SouthShropshire, Herefordshire andWorcestershire, and I wasdelighted to gain the ProjectOfficer post in April 2016.And what a summer it’s been!

Wood White nectaring, Branscombe, Devon (Phil Goddard)

lands Wood White, and I wasnot disappointed.

A wealth of floraWe were very lucky in Shropshirethis year, for just as the WoodWhites started to emerge in Maywe had a few weeks of gloriousweather, just perfect for butterflies.I spent the bank holiday weekendmonitoring Wood Whites, what adelight!

In fact, during that amazingweather in May and early June,volunteers recorded Wood Whitesat a number of Shropshire andHerefordshire sites, including BuryDitches, where on one occasion150 individuals were seen duringjust one visit! In comparison, during2015 the maximum count recordedat Bury Ditches was 42. WoodWhites were also seen at a numberof new sites in both Shropshire and

Wood White egg, Blakeridge(Dave Green)

Herefordshire this year, so all theprevious habitat restoration workthat Jenny Joy, Mike Williams,Alan Reid and others including ourvolunteers have been involved withover the last few years hasprobably resulted in Wood Whitesoccupying new sites.

Second broodApart from sites where ourstrongest populations occur, therewas only a small second broodemergence this year. In early August, Kerry Staddon, BC MediaOfficer, visited two sites to filmWood Whites. We were verylucky with the weather and yes wedid see a few Wood Whites, withKerry managing to get some greatfootage. I can’t wait to see thefinal film.

If anyone has any Wood Whiterecords for 2016, please let me

know. I’m always delighted to hearabout new discoveries in our region.

Project partnersI’ve been lucky enough to visit andcarry out Wood White habitat assessments at a number of sitesthis summer owned or managedby project partners across the region. I’m really pleased to reportthat a number of the sites visited already support areas of suitablehabitat, in some cases only verysmall patches, but there is defi-nitely an opportunity to work withproject partners to increase thenumber of sites within the WoodWhite project.

The 2016 summer events havehad a Shropshire focus, with a

number of heritage activities heldaround Bury Ditches and at theShropshire Hills Discovery Centre,home of Grow, Cook, Learn.Approximately 40 volunteers haveattended these activities, resultingin an Onny Meadows butterflysurvey group, an increase inbutterfly records for OnnyMeadows, and an increase inWood White records for BuryDitches, Wigmore Rolls and othersites across the project area. Ahuge thanks to all for sending inWood White records.

During summer 2017, eventsand heritage activities will have aHerefordshire focus and will bebased in and around Croft Castleand Wigmore Rolls.

Wood White egg-laying(Dave Green)

Looking aheadPlans for the next six months willinvolve Wood White talks inHerefordshire and Shropshire,targeted habitat conservationworks, volunteer work partiesacross all three counties andlandowner workshops. See theDates for Your Diary section onpage 30 for details.

I would also like to say a hugethank you to everyone who hasbeen involved with the project overthe last six months. Your assistancehas led to an increase in WoodWhite sightings, an increase inpotential project sites and thenumber of private landownersinvolved with the project. All of this would not have been possiblewithout your help and support.

Article by Rhona Goddard

Making a Stand for the Wood White

Wood White ID & Survey Day, BuryDitches (Dave Green)

)

Wood White ID& Survey Day,Wigmore Rolls(Dave Green)

Wood WhiteSurvey Day,Mortimer Forest (Dave Green)

For further information or to get involved with this project, please do get in touch with Rhona on 01746 762364 or at rgoddard@butterfly-conservation.org

the Comma12 13Autumn 2016

Tony Simpson looks back at some notable records.

For the first time since 2000 therewere no new species of moths

recorded last year in VC37 Worces-tershire. There were, however, 3species recorded that had not beenseen for many years.

Rick Benson-Bunch caught aButtoned Snout at light at Dark-ham Wood in the extreme south-west on 22/5/15, last recorded inthe Rothhamsted trap at Pershore in1973. There have been some recent nearby records in Hereford-shire and Gloucestershire.

Martin Skirrow caught aMediterranean Flour Moth Ephes-tia kuehniella indoors on 6/11/15possibly having emerged from apacket of porridge oats. Our onlyprevious record of this synanthropeis from Kidderminster in the VictoriaCounty History of 1900.

Harry Green sent me a photo ofsome larvae feeding in a web on ared Sedum species purchased by

his wife at Four Acres Nursery at Pensham. I told him they wereYponomeuta sedella only previ-ously recorded in Foregate StreetWorcester in VCH 1900. I visitedthere on 23/9/15 and foundmany larvae in webs only on a tallred Sedum and not on the greenleaved varieties. The owners readilygave away their larvae! Manyadults emerged in the followingspring.

We did regular monthly mothrecording at Blackhouse Wood lastyear and Oliver Wadsworthcaught 2 Little Thorns there on15/5/15 and 10/7/15. Usuallya Bilberry feeder and only known inWyre Forest previously, it must befeeding on other food plants in this Silurian limestone woodland.Also there we found unusually large numbers of Blomer’s Rivulet,Square-spot, Fletcher’s Pugand a Ruddy Carpet. Oliver had a female Four-spotted Footmanthere on 6/8/15 which was probably a migrant, but it is the firsttime this species has been caught in a possible breeding habitat in the county.

Other notable recordsA total of 27 Drab Loopers on thesouth Malverns on Chase End Hilland above The Gullet Quarry werethe only recent records away from MonkWood and Wyre Forest. (M. Mason, S. Roberts, ANBS)

I found many larvae of Campan-ula Pug on Nettle-leaved Bellflowerat Blackhouse Wood and near

LittleThorn,

Cepphis advenaria. Blackhouse

Wood 15/5/15(Oliver Wadsworth)

Sapey Old Church in September.Pine Hawk-moth at Defford

Airfield 30/6/15 (Brian Harley):Grey Chi in Hall Green (AlanPrior); Dusky-lemon Sallow inMalvern Wells (Peter Holmes); Ypsolopha horridella at DeffordAirfield 18/8/15 (Steve White-house); Mompha divisella in Halesowen 8/4/15 (PatrickClement); Pammene spiniana in

Sedella larvae (Tony Simpson)

Sedella web (Tony Simpson)

Sedella (Tony Simpson)

Moths in Worcestershire in 2015Dodford on 16/8/15 (P.G.Smith)and Tuta absoluta at Pershore-AvonMeadows Wetland on 30/10/15(R. Stott) were other notable records.

There were only 3 Silver Cloudsand 8 Garden Tiger mothsrecorded in 2015.

MigrantsThere were some interesting rarer migrants but generally low num-bers of common migrants; i.e.Diamond-back Moth 71; Rusty-dot Pearl 10; Rush Veneer 46;Vestal 3; Dark Sword-grass22, Silver Y 230, Humming-birdHawk-moth 14, and Small Mottled Willow 22.

Mike Southall had more rare migrants at Norchard than any--one else. There must be something about the place! (ConvolvulusHawk-moth 9/9/15, Gem4/7/15, Scarce Bordered Straw11/9/15, 3 Bordered Straw12/5/15 and 11 & 13/6/15,Small Marbled 11/9/15, and Ni Moth 15/8/15). MartinHodgson found a Death’s HeadHawk Moth larva in Badsey on5/9/15 and there were 10 other Bordered Straws around the county(Dave Grundy 29/5/15, PeterHolmes, Steve Whitehouse 13 &15/6/15, P.G.Smith 14/6/15,Jason Waine 20/8/15), and aPalpita vitrealis on 17/9/15(Steve Whitehouse).

Article by Tony SimpsonCounty Moth Recorder,Worcestershire

Four-spotted Footman, Lithosia quadra. Blackhouse Wood 060815 (Oliver Wadsworth)

Autumn 2016 15the Comma14

The Victoria County History ofShropshire (1908) noted that the

butterfly was present in the ChurchStretton district, and also in the

Wyre Forest. Dr. Jenny Joy’ssurvey for the National Trust in1998 recorded substantial numbersin the Stretton Hills. However,individuals are hard to find and,unlike some other species, only flyin warm sunshine.

In 2014 7 were recorded fromthe area marked as Cwms on theOS 1:25,000 map, at the southend of Caer Caradoc, part of the Stretton Hills range. Moreaccessible is Batch Valley, whichintrudes into the Long Mynd west ofAll Stretton. In 2014, 6 individualswere recorded, and in 2015, 9were recorded. In 2016, followingfurther monitoring in Batch Valley,22 individuals were recorded, with

Dark Green Fritillary issomething of a rarity inShropshire, but there aretwo sites where the butterflyis known to breed in thevicinity of Church Stretton.

17 seen during the significantlywarm weather between 17th and19th July.

It was assumed that all thebutterflies were males. They wereinvariably found streamside,engaged in patrolling behaviour,chasing away other butterflies andinsects, breaking off to nectar onSpear and Marsh Thistles (but not Creeping Thistles) for a fewseconds. Studies suggest femalesare more secretive. Mating takesplace at the base of clumps ofbracken where Common Dog-violets can be found, the caterpillar’sfood plant.

Batch ValleyIt is difficult to estimate the size of thebreeding colony in the Batch Valley.Jeremy Thomas in “The Butterfliesof Britain and Ireland” says that“sites may be quite small in areaand often separated from the next.”,and “although Dark Green Fritillariesare generally seen in ones andtwos, the better sites support a fewhundred adult butterflies”.

Article by Peter Branson Photos by John Powell

All records by Peter Branson, apart from01/07/16 by S. Butler, Strettons Area

Community Wildlife Group, and 18/07/16 byPeter Branson & John Powell. 2016 recordswere from the NT car park at SO455955, con-tinuing over the cattle grid to the midpoint of

Jonathan’s Hollow at SO446964.

Dark Green Fritillary near the foot of Batch Valley on 18 July 2016 (John Powell)

Location Date Number

Cwms 22/06/14 129/06/14 205/07/14 212/07/14 2

Batch Valley 06/07/14 110/07/14 222/07/14 308/07/15 115/07/15 422/07/15 328/07/15 101/07/16 108/07/16 117/07/16 418/07/16 819/07/16 521/07/16 123/07/16 2

Dark Greens on the Long Mynd

Jonathan's Hollow (John Powell)

The Victorians, I understandGave names to moths throughout the land.The intricate patterns of Carpets and BrocadesReflect the décor of bygone decades.Other names are hard to explain –Confused, Uncertain, Suspected and Plain.Whilst some are Beauties, others are Drab.There are Lobsters, but where is the Crab?Wainscot refers to panelling of wood,But does Quaker refer to someone good?And how ‘bout the Rustic, Neglected by whom?Plus Death’s Head Hawkmoth, foreteller of doom.Then Mother Shipton’s toothless grin,And Maiden’s Blush hinting at sin.Buff-tip for a twig-like creature,Dog’s Tooth for a prominent feature.Does Herald bring good news or bad?And does Ruddy Carpet make people mad?Prickly Thorns and sharp Dagger’s point,An army of Footmen to take care of the joint.Does Peppered Moth make people sneeze?And has Frosted Orange been in the deep-freeze?Leopards and Tigers lurk in the grass,With Sharks on the prowl, hunting en-masse.Fiery Brimstone, Dusky Sallow,Brussels Lace and sweet Marsh Mallow.Some bear the names of flowers and trees,Others of animals, vegetables or bees.Campion, Foxglove, Sycamore and Pine,Juniper, Nutmeg, Chestnut and Thyme.And then there’s the Drinker, which often seems dead,Lying quite still on the moth trap bed.Waved Umber was my first ever catch.A single moth trapped, but still hard to match.So rejoice in the names, whatever the reasonAnd raise a toast to our moths brightening every season.

What’s in a Name? by Joy Stevens(or a good reason to sign up for a moth ID course)

Introducing

Ihave been a Reserves Officer with Butterfly Conservation for 3 years, helping

John Davis, Head of Reserves, manageour reserves nationally. I work 3 days aweek and was initially based at our HeadOffice at Manor Yard, but having movedwith my family to North Herefordshire from East Devon in February, I now workfrom home. My role is to support and helpBranch Reserve Officers and Wardens nationally with all aspects of reserve management including implementing theHigher Level Stewardship and the newCountryside Stewardship agreements, issuing grazing licences and contracts, advising on access issues and interpretation, Health and Safety require-ments, and monitoring.

I previously worked in Devon as aWarden for the National Trust, ReservesOfficer for Devon Wildlife Trust and AssistantProject Officer for the East Devon AONB.

My family and I are really enjoyingexploring our new surroundings and I amvery much looking forward to meetingBranch members and volunteers at workparties and events over the coming months.

Lucy wielding a Tree-popper on Butterfly Conservation’s Stoke Camp Reserve in Wiltshire (Hilary Raeburn)

Lucy Morton - Reserves Officer

Contact Lucy atlmorton@butterfly-conservation.org

the Comma16 17Autumn 2016

A Walk on Highgate Common

Imagine a view with swathes of purple heather flowersinterspersed with grasses blowing in the breeze,

patches of bright yellow gorse and small copses of silverbirch, criss-crossed by patches of bare sandy earth. Thismakes an ideal habitat for a whole host of insects,particularly solitary bees and wasps that are easilyspotted around the small holes in the sandy earth, andfor which Highgate Common is designated a Site ofSpecial Scientific Interest. Located in South Staffordshireand owned and managed by Staffordshire Wildlife Trust,the lowland heath nature reserve also serves as animportant habitat for butterflies and moths.

We started our walk from Pool Car Park, and alreadythere were butterflies beingseen before we even set off.Both Small Skipper andEssex Skipper can be foundamongst the grassy bunds ofthe car park, most easily dis-tinguished by the presence ofblack tips on the underside ofthe antennae of the EssexSkipper, almost as thoughthey have been dipped in

ink. The Small Skipper in contrast has orange tips on theunderside of their antennae.

OaksWe took the track toward the more southerly of the twopools on the site where there is a small grassy embank-ment to one side, and a patch of rosebay willowherbunderneath young oak trees on the other. MeadowBrown, Gatekeeper, Ringlet and Large Skipper wereall found here nectaring on the willowherb, as well asPurple Hairstreak up in the trees, one of our targetspecies. Purple Hairstreak has a very close relationshipwith oaks, and can often be spotted walking around the

leaves and twigs high up inthe canopy feeding on honeydew deposited byaphids, or sometimes flittingaround the top of the trees.We were luckier. An indi-vidual was perching athead height, right next tothe path; we could nothave asked for a moreobliging butterfly!

Highgate Common in Staffordshire is a heathland gem, as Vicki Liu explains.

Small Heath

Bloody-nosed Beetle

Essex Skipper Small Skipper

PondsAfter passing the pond we headednorth cutting across the heathland insearch of Small Heath butterflies.Small Heaths lay their eggs on grassspecies for their caterpillars to feed on.The timing of our walk was well after thefirst Small Heaths emerged around mid-May, but there were still a few flyingaround. We also caught sight of a SmallCopper in this area, a species that has seen aconcerning decline in the West Midlands over the past two years. Carrying on north we crossed Whitehouse Lane and headed towards the second of thetwo ponds on site. Having passed a Small Tortoiseshellon the way, our focus temporarily switched to dragonflieswith southern hawkers and large red damselflies catchingour eye. From mid-April to June it is also possible to seeadult Green Hairstreak in this area, particularly aroundthe bilberry patch to the north side of the pond on whichthey may lay their eggs.

BramblesSkirting around the pond we joined part of the Staffordshire Way as the habitat changed to woodland.Going east and then north took us through deciduousoak and birch woodland that is filled with honeysuckleand bramble, ideal for White Admirals. The odd elmtree also gives the opportunity to spot the small population of White-letter Hairstreak that is recordedhere. Unfortunately the hairstreak evaded us, but we finally found the White Admiral as well as Green-veined White around the base of Brandt’s Hill in a sunnyclearing that was full of bramble in full flower. Brandt’sHill itself was brimming with Marbled White too, the mostI had ever seen on the Common.

Having now reached the most northerly part of theCommon, we took our walk back southwards toward thecar park, winding through more woodland and heath-land patches. Single Large White and Comma butter-flies were spotted, as well as bloody-nosed beetles,grasshoppers, and more dragonflies. In all that took our butterfly count to 15, not bad for a couple of hours walking, but not surprising given that Highgate Commonis home to over 5,000 different types of insect.

Article and photos byVicki Liu

Purple Hairstreak

Comma

Swathes of purple heather

Autumn 2016the Comma18 19

endangered False Ringlet. Withour hotel in Turov situated just 10minutes’ walk from the broad Prypiat River, early morning birdwalks starting at 5.00am werearranged, and a number of war-blers were seen – Marsh, Barredand Grasshopper – on the floodmeadows. At a nearby wetland inthe morning we saw Eastern BathWhite, Lesser Marbled Fritillary,Large Chequered Skipper andLesser Purple Emperor, and anafternoon trip to nearby flowerymeadows produced Purple-edged and Large Coppers,whilst an Eagle soared overhead.

The countryside was for the mostpart completely flat, with hugearable fields stretching out into the far distance bordered by pine forest. The main roads were verystraight and well maintained, butwhen we got off these we were onsandy tracks with enough potholesto damage the bumper on theminibus, instantly repaired withgaffer tape. One detour took us to a wetland where we saw Yellow-legged Tortoiseshell andMoorland Clouded Yellow, andwe walked onto what seemed like improbable butterfly habitat –deep pine forest with thickets ofmyrtle and labrador tea plant over

thick sphagnum moss – tofind Cranberry Blue andBog Fritillary. Another detour took us to a very remote spot (and howAnatoli knew about andfound many of the seriously out-of-the-wayplaces we visited remaineda mystery) in search of the threatened DanubeClouded Yellow, where ithad been recorded before, but not recently.

In the netThe Danube Clouded Yellow, Colias myrmidone, is often quotedas being Europe’s most threatenedbutterfly species, with dramaticpopulation declines and rangecontractions. We trekked througha meadow, a wood and up a steep bank to reach a scrubby meadow with plenty of the butterfly’s larval food plant

in evidence – Chamaecytisusspecies, a type of Broom. Thegroup spread out to search for it,with no luck for about 20 minutesuntil a shout for Anatoli to comewith his net was heard and hecaught a butterfly. Close examina-tion revealed that it was a femaleof the alba or white form of theDanube Clouded Yellow (which is

In June this year a group from the West Midlands andfurther beyond led by Mike Williams, Branch Committeemember, spent eight days in Belarus with Gabor Orban ofEcotours, his wife Andrea and a Belarusian entomologistfrom the Science Academy in Minsk, Anatoli Kulak, whospoke almost no English.

Full information about the butter-fly fauna of Belarus is lacking,

so one of the main aims of the tripwas to provide records, especiallyof less common species accordingto the European Red List of Butter-flies, and also to raise awarenessof the conservation of butterflies in Belarus.

Three very different areas of the country were visited, the first of which was part of Europe’s last area of primeval forest,Bialowieza, which straggles thePolish border, where hunting stillprevails. Sadly the weather wasnot kind when we were there, butthe forest had a very natural and

untouched feel to it, and we didmanage to see a herd of Bison,Europe’s heaviest land mammal, apair of Collared Flycatchers, andAnatoli found a very rare beetleunder the bark of a fallen tree.

WetlandThe sun shone for the next fewdays and butterflying began inearnest. We drove to another National Park, Prypiatski in thesouth east of the country. Beforewe got there, a lunchtime stop ina meadow full of butterflies turnedup three Coppers – Scarce,Sooty and Purple-shot – as wellas Hungarian Glider and the CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

Babochki in BelarusIn the pine forests (Stephen Lewis)

False Ringlet (Stephen Lewis)

Cranberry Blue (John Maddocks)

Yellow-legged Tortoiseshell (John Maddocks)

Bog Fritillary (John Maddocks) Purple-edged Copper (John Maddocks)

A herd of Bison (Stephen Lewis)

Danube Clouded Yellow (John Maddocks)

Autumn 2016

The Berezinski Reserve is asplendid place for wetland speciesand a morning walk near the hotelturned up Cranberry Fritillaryand a host of Painted Ladies, before we walked through wood-land spotting Northern WallBrown and Wood White on ourway to a bog where a rather worn Baltic Grayling, uncommonin Belarus, was found. Our targetspecies of Violet Copper, onwalks in the wetlands and along acanal constructed by the Tsar toconnect two rivers to facilitate navigation from the Baltic to theBlack Sea, proved elusive, but wedid see Large Copper, Wood-land Brown (a vulnerable and de-clining species), Geranium Argusand Tufted Marbled Skipper.

InterpretationAt the last evening meal of the trip,after Ian Duncan had given aspeech on behalf of the groupoutlining the highlights of afascinating trip, Anatoli, with

Alena the ReserveDeputy Director actingas interpreter, spokemovingly of how muchhe had he had enjoyedeight days away fromhis desk. Wildlifetourism is relatively newto Belarus and under-developed, but thepotential for the countrywas clear to everyonewho came.

Mike is planning toarrange a follow-up tripnext August with Anatoli to seekother populations in Belarus for theDanube Clouded Yellow and to do habitat assessments, and alsoto help Anatoli raise awareness of the conservation requirements of Belarusian butterflies. Do contact himat mike@stagborough.fsnet.co.uk ifyou are interested in going. Thanksgo to everyone in the group for anexcellent trip.

Article by Stephen & Lucy Lewis

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

believed to use a different foodplant, Genista tinctoria, Dyer’sGreenweed). Soon afterwards,however, Anatoli caught anotherfemale specimen, this time not thewhite form, and it was acceptedas a Danube Clouded Yellow.Back of the net, literally!

BogsOnward to our last base, theBerezinski International BiosphereReserve in the north of the country,where Brown Bear, Wolf, Lynx,Beaver and Elk all live, although awolf footprint and elk droppingswere the closest we came to any

sightings of these species. En routewe stopped for lunch in a pine forest, and a clearing provided ahost of species, including Black-veined White and six species ofFritillary including Heath, FalseHeath and High Brown – an illus-tration of what woodland clearingshere at home might have lookedlike many years ago. This was followed by a walk to a woodedbog with a ground flora of theLabrador Tea plant, where the vul-nerable Scarce Heath was seen.The bogs we visited were not aswet as expected, and they werewooded – no need for wellies.

Interested in going next year ? Contact Mike Williams at mike@stagborough.fsnet.co.uk

Berezinsky Reserve (Stephen Lewis)Female Large Copper (Lucy Lewis)

In the lupins (John Maddocks)

Heath & Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries (Lucy Lewis)

Anatoli with Grass Snake (John Maddocks)

Black-veined White (Stephen Lewis)

False Heath Fritillary (John Maddocks) Cranberry Fritillary (Stephen Lewis)

Woodland Brown (John Maddocks)

the Comma20 21

the Comma22 Autumn 2016 23

Although we are members of both the WestMidlands Branch and the Warwickshire Branch

of Butterfly Conservation we live in Warwickshire and so we tend to concentrate our butterflyingactivities in and around Warwickshire, with onlythe occasional visits to places such as the Wyre Forest, Cannock Chase and PreesHeath in the West Midlands region.

An invitation from our friends Richard andJane Southwell to visit them in the BlackCountry in June and take in a couple of wildlifesites and a traditional pub with its own micro brewerywas too good an opportunity to miss!

Portway Hill Nature Reserve Our first visit was to Portway Hill Nature Reserve (partof Rowley Hills) where we joined Mike Poulton whowas leading a Branch butterfly walk on the site. Wewere in very illustrious company as Peter Seal wasalso taking part in the walk (a former Chairman andthe current Chairman of the Branch on the same walk!).As we stood on the roadside making our introductions

Keith & Heather Warmington step gingerlyinto our region.

Marbled White

Crossing the borderI was struck by how noisy and busy the traffic was. Assoon as we left the roadside, however, and walked intothe old quarry all was calm and tranquil. It wasn't longbefore we were amongst the butterflies in species richunimproved grassland, ticking off the target species.These included Ringlet, Small Heath, Large Skipperand our first Marbled White of the year (this is one ofseveral sites for this species in Birmingham and theBlack Country). Mike is involved in the management ofa vital part of the grassland on site, and we wereimpressed with his comprehensive knowledge of the siteand with the effects of the management regime on thewildlife. The site includes a spectacular rocky outcropwhich holds geology of international importance (seephotograph below). Perhaps a link could be forged toinclude the butterfly and moth interest in any geologicalpublicity and interpretive material? The site also lookedsuitable for Dingy Skipper – perhaps a conservationgoal of the future?

Scarlet Tiger Project After a pleasant walk around this Black Country ‘oasis’, Richard dragged us ‘kicking and screaming’(perhaps a slight exaggeration!) to sample a pint of

Ma Pardoe’s Original at the Old Swan Inn atNetherton. A real flavour of the Black

Country, the surroundings and the beer,which Richard seemed to be rather toofamiliar with!

Following this all too brief

interlude, Richard took us to visit the Scarlet TigerProject on the Roman Road at Stourbridge. We werevery impressed with the achievement of this communityproject which has been set up to improve the habitatfor the spectacular Scarlet Tiger moth. Our timing wasperfect with large numbers of the freshly emergedmoths on the roadside verge and along the pathwayof the old Roman road. The work being carried out byvolunteers to clear scrub at the side of the pathway isproving beneficial to a variety of other wildlife and mustbe encouraged. It is very reminiscent of the lineardisused railway line nature reserves that we are familiarwith in Warwickshire, and perhaps with somejudicious planting of caterpillar food plants and butterflynectar sources other species of butterfly and moth canbe attracted.

Tea and cakeThe day ended with chat over tea and cake in Richardand Jane’s ‘wild’ garden which was full of wildlifefriendly plants and shrubs, and even had bird’s-foot-trefoil growing out of the cracks in the patio paving!

So our first ever visit to the Black Country was a verypleasurable experience, and it was great to see thatwhat is perceived as being an industrial heartland stillhas room for butterflies and moths thanks, as always,to enthusiastic volunteers.

Article and photos by Keith & Heather Warmington

Scarlet Tiger

Spheroidal weathering

Landscape approach brings rewardsJenny Joy & Mike Williams describe a newproject in and around the Wyre Forest.

Butterfly Conservation’s project in the Wyre Forest hasgot off to a flying start over the summer. The new

project, which aims to work in partnership with locallandowners and conservation organisations, receivedfunding under the new Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund. By working together through the newly formed Wyre Forest Facilitation Group, the goal is to achieve wider environmental and wildlife benefits than would not be achieved if people were working in isolation. Membership is totally free and already nearly 30 local landowners have joined thegroup and attended events.

Enhancing the habitatEvents so far have included training days on the historic environment, woodland

Some of the kit used locally being demonstrated byNathan Holmes and Dave Llewellyn as part of a woodland management training day (Mike Williams)

CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

We were very impressed

with the achievementof this communityproject... set up to improve the habitat

of the Scarlet Tiger moth

Autumn 2016 2524 the Comma

Insect hotel gets buzzyButterflies and other insects are set to dine in style as a resultof a new project led by West Midlands Butterfly Conservation.

Volunteers have worked withGrow, Cook and Learn at the

Shropshire Hills Discovery Centrein Craven Arms to create thecounty’s first Pollinators’ Gardenand Insect Hotel. The plants havebeen provided by local Shropshirebusiness CJ Wildlife based nearShrewsbury.

Nesting areaThe Garden includes speciallyselected plants to attract insects,plus a nesting area for solitary beesand other bugs. Pollinating insectsare in serious trouble in Britain,which is bad news not just forwildlife but also for us as we relyon insects, including butterflies andmoths, to pollinate the food that weeat. Already the new garden ispositively buzzing with insects,including many butterflies.

Catherine Collier of Grow

Cook Learn who manages

the Discovery Centre said

“We are delighted to be part ofthis exciting project and aregrateful to West MidlandsButterfly Conservation and CJWildlife for their support. Welook forward to welcomingvisitors to the Garden and hopethat people will also take theopportunity to explore thebutterflies and wild flowers inthe adjacent Onny Meadows,and to see what else our Centrehas to offer.”.............................................

Holly Doyle-Wilday from CJ

Wildlife said “As a localcompany we are always keento support worthwhilecommunity projects. This ideaparticularly appealed to us aswe are keen advocates ofwildlife gardening, and wehave already supportedButterfly Conservation in thepublication of their recentButterflies of the West Midlandsbook, in which we agreed to beSpecies Champions for both thePeacock and Red Admiralbutterfly, two of our best knowngarden butterflies.”

Gardens can never replacenatural habitats but we can play apart in helping pollinators bygrowing plants which are rich innectar and pollen. We hope thatthis demonstration garden willinspire visitors to follow our exampleand introduce a similar range ofplants into their own gardens.

Article and photos by Mike Williams

The Butterfly Garden

The Visitor Centre

management and wild pollinators. A Squirrel Management initiative has beenstarted in response to increasing concernsover damage caused to trees. Events havebeen really well received with lots of positive feedback.“Fascinating and very informative.Good discussion amongst owners”“A very interesting walk and talk. It was fascinating to imagine the visionbehind such an incredible project”

Co-ordinatorThe group is co-ordinated by Butterfly Con-servation’s Senior Regional Officer for the WestMidlands Dr Jenny Joy. Jenny has worked in the WyreForest for the past 15 years, in particular working withthe Forestry Commission and Natural England to conserve some of the important butterflies and mothsthat occur there. This work has been hugely successfulwith the Wyre Forest now considered one of the best areas in the country for the nationally declining Pearl-bordered Fritillary butterfly.

Jenny said “I am delighted that we have been ableto attract money to run this new project which enablesus to extend our work to the wider landscape. We allknow that landscape scale conservation is vital for somuch of our wildlife, and we now have the opportunity

for the first time to share information and goodpractice with other local landowners.”

LandownersFuture events scheduled for the autumn include assessing squirrel damage in

woodland and orchard creation and maintenance. A December meeting is also

planned when Rosemary Winnall, one of theeditors of the visually stunning new ‘Nature of Wyre’

book, will be explaining why the Wyre is so special for wildlife and how good management on the part oflocal landowners can provide extra benefit.

It is planned for membership to expand to around40 and there is still an opportunity for further newmembers to join the group. Butterfly Conservation isparticularly keen to hear from local landowners whoare interested in securing environmental benefits to theland they manage and would welcome extra adviceand support.

Article by Jenny Joy & Mike Williams

CONTINUED FROM PAGE X

An evening walk at Bodenham Arboretum where groupmember James Binnian (red check shirt) explained howit was created and how it is run today together with thefarm and visitor centre (Mike Williams)

Pearl-bordered Fritillary (Stephen Lewis)

For membership details contact either Jenny Joy on jjoy@butterfly-conservation.org tel. 01952 249325 or Mike Williams on mike@stagborough.fsnet.co.uk tel. 07802 274552

..the Wyre Forest now

considered one of the best areas in the

country for the nationally declining

Pearl-bordered Fritillary butterfly.

the Comma26

Please help the Scarlet Tiger project to continue its great work by buying copies of the 2017 branch calendar.

All proceeds from the sales of the calendar will help fund this highly

successful and innovative community wildlife project.

High caterpillar counts in thespring gave sound reason for

optimism, and this was borne outby the numbers of adults recordedalong Roman Road. During theheight of their flight season at theend of June there were over a hun-dred in plain view. Counts were ofstationary moths only, as it was im-

possible to include those in the air.They also seem oblivious to rain – Iwas able to count over 70 duringa heavy shower.

We also sowed wild flowerseeds on the traffic island at thejunction of South Road and HighPark Avenue, near StourbridgeCrematorium. The display has been

spectacular – red, white and bluein time for the Queen’s 90thbirthday celebration – augmentedmore recently by yellow corndaisies and mauve corncockle.

Long termSimilar flower beds were sown halfway along Roman Road and aroundthe sign. Whilst these are showy, we are also trying to establishlong term butterfly habitat. The area is beset by coarse grasses,bracken, bramble and various other ‘strangling’ plants. The aim isto get a better balance to providenectar sources and caterpillar food plants. We planted Yellow Rattle last year which has thrived, makinga real difference in patches.Hopefully this will bear furtherdividends in years to come.

The second year of growth has

Scarlet Tiger (Joy Stevens)

Orange-tip (Joy Stevens)

provided a profusion of redcampion, forget-me-not, celandineand garlic mustard, which occursnaturally along the lane. Inaddition, bird's-foot trefoil hasestablished itself, together withcommon vetch, different cloversand other interesting plants.

Changing seasonsThis year, butterfly numbers havebeen disappointing, in contrast tothe Scarlet Tigers! Early springspecies were generally encouraging,although Orange Tip appearedvery late – it was May before I sawany – but eventually they wereflying in good numbers. It is alwaysinteresting to watch the changingseasons. Early in the year, beforethe bracken grows, the celandines take advantage of the light and thefirst butterflies emerge fromhibernation. This is always theeasiest time to watch them.

There are also trees and plantsthat have been planted by local

residents or escaped from gardens.These include a vigorous wild hop plant, which is very attractive,winding around and up the trees.Best of all is the deliciously scentedhoneysuckle which occurs along thelength of Roman Road/SandyLane.

Not all good newsLike all projects, it’s not all goodnews. The bridle path connectsan urban, residential area withfields, woods and the widercountryside. Thus it provides aright of way for leisure activities,

such as walking, horse riding andcycling. Unfortunately it alsoattracts a degree of vandalism,and recently the outer plasticcontainers of both litter bins at theWollaston end of the lane havebeen set alight, leaving just themetal liner.

We battle on, however, andwork parties will be resumed in theautumn, in conjunction with DudleyCouncil, when our focus will berestoring the hedgerow from wherethe russian vine was removed.

Article by Joy Stevens

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary(Kevin Kernohan)Scarlet Tigers’ Roaring Success!

The Roman Road site is atiger triumph. After only 2years, the Scarlet Tigerproject in Stourbridge is ableto report amazing results.

Wildflowers at Roman Road, near where the photo of the volunteers was taken (Joy Stevens)

Meadow Brown at Westwood Avenue (Joy Stevens)

Elephant Hawk-moth (Joy Stevens)

RomanRoad volunteersafter wildflowerseed sowing (Matt Walford)

Autumn 2016 29

Andrew Fusek Peters is a locally based professionalwildlife photographer andauthor of several books, themost recent of which is‘Wilderland – Wildlife andWonder from the ShropshireBorders’, published by Fair Acre Press. Go towww.fairacrepress.co.uk for more details.

He kindly gave permissionfor some of his butterfly photographs to be published in The Comma,and here is a selection.

I particularly like the egg-laying Grayling – see howthe butterfly is bending herabdomen! It shows thatsometimes the best way tophotograph a butterfly is bylying flat on the ground, asshown in this photographtaken near the summit ofMount Orelek in Bulgariawhen a group was focussingon the Bosnian Blue.

The Editor

A Shropshire Photographer at large

Mating Green-veinedWhites on the Long Mynd(Andrew Fusek Peters)

Butterly photographers flat out in Bulgaria (Stephen Lewis)

White Admiral at Dudmaston,near Bridgnorth

(Andrew Fusek Peters)

Egg-laying Grayling at The Bog (Andrew Fusek Peters)

Grayling (Andrew Fusek Peters)Wood White at Bury Ditches (Andrew Fusek Peters)

the Comma28

Dates for your diary

Ewyas Harold Work PartiesSaturday 22nd October, Saturday 19thNovember, Saturday 17th December, Saturday21st January, Saturday 18th February, Saturday18th March. Meet at 10.00am, at the northernCwm Hill end of Ewyas Harold Common adjacent totop cattle grid Grid Ref SO382302. Approach fromAbbey Dore off the B4347 at Grid Ref SO384306.Contact Ian Hart on 01981 510259 or atyellowrattle4@aol.com

Grafton Wood Brown Hairstreak Egg SearchesSaturday 3rd December, Monday 2nd January(Mince pie/Mulled wine special) & Saturday 28thJanuary. Meet at 10.00am at Grafton Flyfordchurch. Contact Simon Primrose atsimonjprimrose@aol.com or on 07952 260153.

Grafton Wood Work PartiesEvery Wednesday. Meet at 10.00am at GraftonFlyford church. Contact John Tilt on 01386 792458or at john.tilt2@btopenworld.com.

Haugh Wood Work PartiesSaturday 5th November, Saturday 3rdDecember, Saturday 7th January, Saturday 4thFebruary, Saturday 4th March. Meet at 10.00amat Haugh Wood car park Grid Ref SO592365. Contact Robin Hemming on 01568 797351 or atrobinhemming@btinternet.com or Kate Wollenon 07786 526280.

Monkwood Work PartiesHeld on first Sunday of the month, apart fromJanuary when it will be held on Sunday 15thJanuary, and third Thursday of the month. Meet at10.00am at the reserve car park Grid Ref SO803603.Contact George Groves on 01905 620721 or atgeorge_groves@btopenworld,com

Prees Heath Work PartiesWednesday 19th October, Wednesday 16thNovember, Wednesday 14th December(morning only, followed by Volunteers’Christmas Lunch at a local café), Wednesday18th January, Wednesday 15th February,Wednesday 15th March. Meet at 10.30am on theaccess track off the A49 opposite the Steel Heath

turning Grid Ref SJ557363. Contact Stephen Lewison 07900 886809 or at phwarden@sky.com

Scarlet Tiger Project Work Parties, RomanRoad, Stourbridge Held on the 3rd Friday of each month, startingon Friday 21st October. Meet at 10.00am at thegate or as advised on the notice board on site.Contact Joy Stevens on 01384 372397 or atjoystevens@blueyonder.co.uk

Trench Wood Work PartiesHeld on the fourth Sunday of the month untilMarch, apart from in December when it will beheld on Sunday 18th December. Meet at10.00am at the reserve car park Grid RefSO930588. Contact John Holder on 01905794854 or at johnholder@tiscali.co.uk

Wyre Forest Work PartiesHeld on the second Sunday of the monthstarting on Sunday 13th November andcontinuing until March. Additional work partieswill be held on Wednesday 14th December andWednesday 25th January. Meet at 10.00am atEarnwood Copse car park on the B4194 Bewdley –Kinlet road. Contact Mike Williams on 01299824860 or at mike@stagborough.fsnet.co.uk

Making a Stand for the Wood White – The contact for all the following events isRhona Goddard on 01746 762364 or atrgoddard@butterfly-conservation.org

Thursday 17th November at 7.30pm. WoodWhite talk at Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre,Craven Arms. South Shropshire and NorthHerefordshire are now one of the few remainingplaces in Britain where the rare and increasinglythreatened Wood White butterfly can still be found.We invite you to join Wood White expert Dave Greento learn about what is being done to save thisbutterfly in our area. Contact Rhona Goddard.

Sunday 20th November, 10.30am - 3.30pm.Wigmore Rolls work party, Herefordshire.Meet at Wigmore Rolls (GR SO401678). Contact Rhona Goddard.

To ensure that Branch members and newcomers know what is happening in our region, event andwork party organisers should e-mail full details of upcoming events to the editor of The Comma at

phwarden@sky.com and to web-master David Green at greend@ormail.co.uk

CONTINUED ON PAGE 30

the Comma30 Autumn 2016 31

Committee Members and OfficersChairman Peter Seal peterseal3@btinternet.com 01905 426398

Vice Chairman & Conservation Officer Mike Southall michael_southall58@hotmail.co.uk 01299 251467

Treasurer Lucy Lewis lemiller@btinternet.com 07840 530270

Branch Secretary Joy Stevens joystevens@blueyonder.co.uk 01384 372397

Regional Officers Dr Jenny Joy (Senior Regional Officer) jjoy@butterfly-conservation.org 01952 249325Rhona Goddard rgoddard@butterfly-conservation.org 01746 762364

Link Trustee Vacant

Records Branch Recorder – Nigel Stone njstone@hotmail.com 02476 335189Branch Recording Co-ordinator – John Tilt john.tilt2@btopenworld.com 01386 792458– Staffordshire Recording Co-ordinator – John Bryan johnpbryan15@aol.com 01782 541870– Herefordshire Recording Co-ordinator – Bob Hall randphall@gmail.com 01432 850623

Transects John Tilt john.tilt2@btopenworld.com 01386 792458

Reserve ManagersEwyas Harold - Ian Hart yellowrattle4@aol.com 01981 510259Grafton Wood - John Tilt john.tilt2@btopenworld.com 01386 792458Monkwood - George Groves george_groves@btopenworld.com 01905 620721Prees Heath - Stephen Lewis phwarden@sky.com 07900 886809Trench Wood - John Holder johnholder@tiscali.co.uk 01905 794854

Conservation OfficersWorcestershire - Trevor Bucknall trevor.bucknall@tesco.net 01905 755757Herefordshire - Ian Hart yellowrattle4@aol.com 01981 510259

Moth OfficersBham & the Black Country - David Jackson jacksongrus@talktalk.net 01902 344716Herefordshire - Robin Hemming robinhemming@btinternet.com 01568 797351Worcestershire - Mike Southall michael_southall58@hotmail.com 01299 251467

County LeadersNorth Staffordshire - John Bryan johnpbryan15@aol.com 01782 541870Central Staffordshire - Robert Winstanley robandpatwin@btinternet.com 01889 576768South Staffordshire - David Jackson jacksongrus@talktalk.net 01902 344716Herefordshire - Dean Fenton fenton@littleburyfarm.co.uk 01568 611575Malvern Hills - Mel Mason meljmason@btinternet.com 01684 565700

Brown Hairstreak Champion Simon Primrose simonjprimrose@aol.com 07952 260153

Committee MembersVicki Liu vicki_liu@hotmail.co.uk 07731 924822Steven Williams s.williams@yescomputers.co.uk 07974 152081

Publicity and Marketing Officer Mike Williams mike@stagborough.fsnet.co.uk 01299 824860

Magazine Editor Stephen Lewis phwarden@sky.com 07900 886809

Magazine Design and Production Trish Connolly Morgan morgancreative@btinternet.com 01939 220776

Website coordinator David Green greend@ormail.co.uk 01922 452238

Wood White Project Officer Rhona Goddard rgoddard@butterfly-conservation.org 01746 762364

Wider Countryside Butterfly Count Co-ordinator Scott Martin scottm2512@gmail.com 01746 718419

Thursday 24th November, 10.30am - 3.30pm.Siege Wood work party, Herefordshire.Meet at Siege Wood car park (GR SO605343).Contact Rhona Goddard.

Wednesday 30th November. 7.30pm.Wood White talk at Croft Castle, National Trust.South Shropshire and North Herefordshire are now oneof the few remaining places in Britain where the rareand increasingly threatened Wood White butterfly canstill be found. We invite you to join Wood White expertDave Green to learn about what is being done to savethis butterfly in our area. Contact Rhona Goddard.

Thursday 1st December, 10.30am - 3.30pm.Onny Meadows work party, Shropshire HillsDiscovery Centre, Craven Arms. Meet at theShropshire Hills Discovery Centre (GR SO435825).Contact Rhona Goddard.

Thursday 8th December, 10.30am -3.30pm.Duchy of Cornwall work party, Herefordshire.Meeting place to be confirmed. Contact Rhona Goddard.

Sunday 22nd January. 10.30am - 3.30pm.Wigmore Rolls work party, Herefordshire jointlywith Forestry Commission, who will be providing aBBQ.Meet at Wigmore Rolls (GR SO401678).Contact Rhona Goddard.

Thursday 26th January, 10.30am - 3.30pm.Siege Wood work party, Herefordshire.Meet at Siege Wood car park (GR SO605343). Contact Rhona Goddard.

Tuesday 7th February, 10am - 3.30pm.Lea and Paget's Wood work Party, Herefordshire,jointly with Herefordshire Wildlife Trust.Meeting place to be confirmed. Contact Rhona Goddard.

Sunday 19th February. 10.30am - 3.30pm.Bury Ditches work party. Meet at Bury Ditches carpark, Shropshire (GR SO331837). Contact Rhona Goddard.

Dates for your diary continued

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29

This year’s branch calendar isbeing compiled by BlackCountry branch member Andrew Barker, who took all the superb photographs. Itis being produced to celebrate the importance of urbanhabitats for butterflies and moths. So many of thesevery special places, home to butterflies like Dingy Skipper and Green Hairstreak and moths like the Wormwood Shark, are coming under increasing threat – a fact highlighted in the new ‘Butterflies of the West Midlands’ book. We hope that our new calendar will help raise awarenessof the importance of these so-called brownfield sites and encourage people to support efforts to conserve those that remain.

2017 calendar highlightsurban habitats

The calendar can be ordered for £8.50 (including p&p) or two copies for £15 from the Branch Secretary, Joy Stevens, 54 Larkhill Road, Stourbridge, West Midlands DY8 3LN. Please make your cheque payable to Butterfly Conservation West Midlands Branch. All profits from the sale of the calendar will be used to support the work of the Scarlet Tiger project in Stourbridge.

Common Wainscot

Common Blue

Herald

the Comma32

Richard, whose interest in moths started as a child,said: “I had almost finished checking the trap

and saw the moth on the one side. It was instantly obvious it was something different from thenormal fare. I took a photo and sent it to RobinHemming, West Midlands Butterfly Conservation’sHerefordshire Moth Officer to confirm the sighting.That something with a wingspan of about an inchcan travel so far and still be in perfect shape amazes

me. There are quite a number of moth species thatmigrate and some of them are quite common, butfew as striking as this one. It certainly gives the lieto the idea that butterflies are the pretty ones andmoths are just boring little brown jobs”.

Garden moth schemeRichard traps regularly as part of the Garden MothScheme – a national group of enthusiasts who, bytrapping every week and recording the numbers ofabout 200 common species they see, are trying tocollect data to enable long-term population trendsto be seen.

Article by Richard Clements, Robin Hemmingand Mike Williams

Beautiful Marbled (Richard Clements)

Moth enthusiast Richard Clements fromBridstow near Ross-on-Wye had a bigsurprise when he opened his moth trap toreveal a species never before seen inHerefordshire.

Herefordshire GetsBeautifully Marbled

Robin Hemming commented “This is a fantastic find in what has been a

generally poor summer for our declining moths and butterflies. It is not often

that a moth entirely new to the county is discovered, and such a beautiful

looking moth as well. The end of August and into September can often be a

good time for migrant species, and in recent days we have had a number of

reports of moths like the Silver Y and Hummingbird Hawkmoth which fly over

each year from the continent, together with Painted Lady butterflies which

come from as far away as North Africa. The Beautiful Marbled, however, is

something very special”.

West Midlands Butterfly Conservation is keen for more people to take part in the scheme and details can be found at www.gardenmoths.org.uk Records of other migrant species and records

of Painted Ladies and Hummingbird Hawkmoths can be reported online via Butterfly Conservation’sMigrant Watch hotline http://butterfly-conservation.org/612/migrant-watch.html

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