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No.86 Autumn 2013 www.westmidlands-butterflies.org.uk

Bringing butterflies and moths back to Britain

Regional Magazine of West Midlands Butterfly ConservationRegistered Charity No. 254937

The Comma

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2 The Comma • Autumn 2013

Cover story

No.86 Autumn 2013 www.westmidlands-butterflies.org.uk

Bringing butterflies and moths back to Britain

Regional Magazine of West Midlands Butterfly ConservationRegistered Charity No. 254937

The Comma

See centre pages forPhotographicCompetition winners

Order your 2014Calendar now!Limited stocks

This edition’s coverimage of a Gatekeeperwas taken by WyreForest Transect recorderRichard Woolley in hisgarden at Halesowen.Richard and his Transectteam have some excitingnews on one specialbutterfly’s return to theWyre. Read his report onPage 11.If you would like to knowmore about Transectrecording, please contactthe Chairman, John Tilt,in advance of the 2014butterfly season. Weneed more volunteersacross the Branch area.

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Copy deadlineThe deadline foreditorial contributionsto the Winter editionof The Comma is12th January 2014.

Notes from the Chairman

ContributionsPlease send articles andimages to the editor at:[email protected] opinions expressedin this newsletter are notnecessarily those of WestMidlands Branch orButterfly Conservation.

This shows a peak of 669 butterflies on a single day – this was onlybeaten in the Painted Lady year.

The Silver-Washed Fritillary count to date was 165 and with at leastfive valezinas. White Admirals have been good too with a count of 56.

Brown Hairstreaks have had by far the best year ever. We have hada continuous flow of visitors from all round the country and for once thiselusive species has been cooperative; most people have been able to seethem and get a picture.

In recent years, I have been looking at the butterflies of Bredon Hill.This is one of our largest areas of unspoilt limestone grassland. I havereported several sites for Dingy Skippers which were there again thisyear together with Green Hairstreak.

We had a record of Dark Green Fritillary from Roger Umpelby.

We are not quite at the end of the 2013 butterfly recording seasonand what a year! Starting with a very cold March – snow andfreezing temperatures – and the rest of the spring wasn’t much

better, we struggled to do our monitoring of spring butterflies.Dingy Skipper had good counts at Penny Hill Bank and Bredon Hill.

Grizzled Skippers were found at Throckmorton, Honeybourne andEwyas Harold. Pearl-bordered Fritillary did well despite the weather,although they were considerably later than usual.

Our weekend to monitor Wood White in Hereford on 18th and 19thMay was a complete failure as none was found this early. We will have towait for the transect results to get the full picture.

In early July the temperature climbed and so did the butterflynumbers. The graph below shows what happened to butterfly numbers atGrafton Wood:

Grafton Transect

Notes from the Chairman

Trevor Bucknall and I went to see and found a small colony of five in the same areawhere I have previously found the Dingy Skipper.

Later in the season, Roger also reported a Wall (with photograph), a species notseen on Bredon since 2005. As usual this must be followed up with some habitatmanagement.

Going to Prestbury Hill later in the season showed a great year for Dark Greens,the most I have ever seen there. A group of recorders have also recorded DarkGreens in Wyre this year. Please report any Dark Green sightings to Nigel Stone– we may find other colonies.

Wall butterflies have been widely recorded in Shropshire and Clouded Yellowshave been seen all round the area, including Grafton Wood and on Butterfly

Conservation’s new reserveat Rough Bank inGloucestershire.

For the first time Transect Recording has gone onlineso that Transect walkers can enter their data directly asthey finish each visit. The access to the data is good apartfrom difficulty in getting data from individual sections. Ihave been using the system and have found it veryconvenient and easy to use.

The Habitat Management season has already startedat Grafton with Blackthorn cutting. This has to be donein early August to avoid damaging Brown Hairstreakeggs. Many thanks to people who turned out to help withthis work in the August heat.

With the success of the Brown Hairstreak this yearwe have had a lot more visitors. It is important that

anyone visiting Grafton respects the surrounding farmland. This is a working farm – not a country park! Whilstthe wood is open to the public the farm is not, so visitors should stay on the footpath which is clearly marked.In future, special events will be organised to see Brown Hairstreak with the landowner’s permission.

At the Branch Committee meeting on 16th September, we discussed the possibility of extending ourreserves and using some of our Branch funds to do so. Several things are in the pipeline but there is nothingpositive to report yet.

We discussed winter work at some of our key sites but we need more volunteers to help with this importantwork so do contact me if you feel able to help. Please look at the work party list on the Diary pages and see ifthings are happening near you. You can contact me on the email or phone number shown in this publication.

We need more Committee members from the north of the area – Birmingham and West Midlands –Staffordshire and Shropshire. I know good work is going on in these areas but we often hear little about it. Ifany of you would like to come onthe Committee we would be morethan pleased to see you!

Autumn 2013 • The Comma 3

John Tilt

Keep warm in a branch fleeceWe still hold a good supply of Butterfly Conservation West Midlandsfleeces. We have a stock in M (38-40), L (42-44) and XL (46) sizesand they can be ordered for £20 each. They are smart in appearance,very warm and comfortable, black in colour with the BC logo and thewords ‘West Midlands’ picked out in orange. They are ideal fortransect walkers, work party attendees and anyone who representsButterfly Conservation at meetings or events in the region. Pleasecontact Mike Williams at [email protected]


Butterfly beers go on sale at the Plum Fayre

Really buzzing: volunteers are kept busy on the branch stall at the Plum Fayre (Photos: Mike Williams)

Hairstreak ale goes downa treat at Plum Festival

This year’s emergence of one ofWorcestershire’s rarest butterflies wascelebrated with the launch of a specially

brewed Brown Hairstreak Ale, produced by wildlife-themed beer specialists From The Notebook Ltd(www.fromthenotebook.co.uk) as part of a rangesupporting the work of Butterfly Conservation.

The launch took place over the August BankHoliday weekend with sampling of the beer at theBrown Hairstreak Open Day at Grafton Wood onSunday 25th August and then at the West MidlandsButterfly Conservation stall at the Pershore PlumFayre the following day (Bank Holiday Monday),where bottles were available for purchase.

The Brown Hairstreak Open Day, new to the


Pershore Plum Festival last year,featured guided walks to GraftonWood starting from the ThreeParishes Hall, Grafton Flyford, andrefreshments were available atlunchtime. In the afternoon, therewas a chance to enjoy the newHairstreak Butterfly Walking Traildeveloped in association withWorcestershire County Council.

Grafton Wood is a naturereserve jointly owned and managedby Butterfly Conservation and theWorcestershire Wildlife Trust andis home to one of the region’s rarestbutterflies – the Brown Hairstreak– as well as many other butterflies.

The Brown Hairstreak’sstrongest population in theMidlands occurs in a small area ofeast Worcestershire centred around Grafton Wood.The butterfly lays its eggs on plants in the plum

family, principally blackthorn, but also damsons andwild plum. Over the years much of its natural habitathas been destroyed through hedgerow removal andover-zealous trimming of hedges during wintermonths. Grafton Wood is being especially managedfor the benefit of the Brown Hairstreak and numbersof this very attractive but elusive butterfly havesignificantly increased in recent years.

Mike Williams, Brown Hairstreak SpeciesChampion for West Midlands Branch, said: “TheOpen Day was a huge success and for those able tostay until after lunch when the weather dramaticallyimproved there was an opportunity for people to havethe chance to see this beautiful insect and for us to

celebrate the fact that the Brown Hairstreak is doingwell. We are very pleased to be involved with thePlum Festival and we hope that this partnership willcontinue to bring more visitors to our open days.”

Angela Tidmarsh, of Wychavon DistrictCouncil, said: “We are keen to welcome new eventsto the Plum Festival and hope that local residentsenjoyed this year’s open day and sampled the newbeer.”

Pershore Plum Festival ran throughout Augustand culminated in a Plum Fayre in Pershore on BankHoliday Monday where Butterfly Conservation had abranch stall.

Last year’s Plum Fayre attracted almost 20,000visitors to the town and provided a really goodopportunity to get across the importance of theBrown Hairstreak to the local area and the workbeing done to conserve it.Trevor Bucknall at the branch information van

Enjoying lunchtime refreshments

Simon Primrose and volunteers ready for action at the Plum Festival


Worcestershire County Council haslaunched a new circular Worcestershirewalk in partnership with Butterfly

Conservation and Worcestershire Wildlife Trust.‘Walk Worcestershire’ officially launched a new,

six-and-a-half mile walk on Sunday 25th August aspart of the Grafton Wood Open Day. Visitors to theopen day were invited to walk part of the route

accompanied by AmandaHill, from the CountyCouncil, and John Tilt andother members of WestMidlands Butterfly Conser-vation. It was John who cameup with the initial idea for theroute which is based on oneof his favourite local walks.

The Hairstreak ButterflyTrail is the latest of WalkWorcestershire’s circularwalks which are aimed at

being easy to use andare well way-marked. The Trailpasses through areasof farmland andwoodland that isbeing speciallymanaged toencourage theBrown Hairstreakbutterfly and otherwildlife

Amanda Hill,Countryside AccessVolunteers Officer, said: “The route has beenimproved by a number of Countryside AccessVolunteers who have installed gates and improvedwaymarking along with volunteers from WestMidlands Butterfly Conservation.”

The leaflet can be downloaded fromwww.worcestershire.gov.uk/countryside

Council launches Grafton walkWalk on the wild side: A Brown Hairstreak egg attracts attention during one of the guided walks atGrafton Wood (Mike Williams) and, below, the council’s map of the new butterfly trail at Grafton Wood


Penny for your thoughts…

The Spring issue of TheComma page 6 refers tothe work carried out by

West Midlands branchvolunteers over the last twowinters at Penny Hill landfillsite near Martley inWorcestershire.

With permission from theowners, I visited the site inMay accompanied by PeterSeal and Hugh Glennie toinspect the results of ourlabours. The good news is that,in far from perfect weatherconditions, we counted 44Dingy Skippers across the sitewith really encouragingnumbers along the side of thetrack we had worked on. Wealso recorded several Green Hairstreaks. Most ofthe Dingies still looked very fresh so I don’t thinkthis was at peak season.

We identified a couple of areas that would benefit

from further management and, hopefully, we canwork again on the site this coming winter.

In the afternoon, I went looking for WoodWhitesin the Wyre Forest but it was still too early although

I did see my first CommonHeath and Speckled Yellowmoth. Pearl-borderedFritillaries were around but inrelatively small numbers.

Peter said: “It’s clear thatthis is a key site for the DingySkipper. This butterfly isknown at only a few places inthe county, where it seems tohang on because the sites aremaintained. So it is importantto carry on the work at PennyHill, and enhance connectivitywith the adjoining WWTreserve. As a volunteer, it wasrewarding to find in May thatthe work we did when thesnow was on the ground backin January has produced agood emergence of the DingySkipper.”

By Mike Williams

On the up? One of the 44 Dingy Skippers (Photos: Mike Williams)

Several Green Hairstreak were recorded during the site visit to Penny Hill


These Brown Hairstreaks get everywhere…in this case a bus shelter in Winyates Greenin Redditch, part of the Borough Council’s

Britain in Bloom entry and celebrating the arrival ofthe butterfly in the town.

The design is the latest in a series of fiveshelters featuring different elements of theBorough including industry, art and theenvironment.

Transport Minister Norman Baker praised thescheme on a visit to Redditch in 2011 and the ideahas been copied elsewhere in the UK.

Peter Seal and Pauline Jennings met thejudges after they visited the bus shelter. Peter said:“I was able to show them the distribution map todemonstrate where the Brown Hairstreak hadspread into the Redditch area.”

Butterflies, Kingfishers and flowers can all bespotted on the latest bus stop to undergo amakeover as part of a trailblazing scheme todiscourage anti-social behaviour.

Peter added: “It is hoped that the new shelterwill raise awareness of the presence of BrownHairstreaks in the town and lead to further reportsof sightings.”

Watch a butterflywhile waiting for

the bus

Butterfly heaven: Two views of the revampedbus shelter in Redditch (Mike Williams)


Oops! Ben’s rare moth alertKeen moth-er Ben Coleman wasobliged to issue an alert to WestMidlands recorders in July after hediscovered there were someescapees from his rearing cage.Ben said: “ I have been rearing anumber of species this year ofwhich the highlight was supposedto be a batch of OleanderHawkmoths. Unfortunately, I leftthe cage door open by accidentafter a clear-out and, typically, fourof my Oleander pupae emergedthat day and subsequently werenowhere to be seen by the time Igot home from work. Pretty guttedto be honest after all that timerearing. So, if anyone in theBirmingham area reports one, it’sprobably one of mine!”

Mike Williams received an interesting callfrom Maurice O’Gorman, ofMatchborough East, Redditch, on 29th

August: his wife had found a large grey moth sittingon a peg bag next to their washing line. His daughterwas able to photograph what turned out to be aConvolvulus Hawkmoth. At almost 7cm, theConvolvulus Hawk is one of the largest moths foundin Europe and is a rare migrant to the UK. It has along proboscis which enables it to feed at tubularflowers like tobacco plants, petunias and phlox. Tofind one as far north as the Midlands is highlyunusual and quite a find for a Redditch garden! Thestory was picked up by both the Redditch Standardand Redditch Advertiser newspapers.

Rare find: Convolulus Hawkmoth (Roger Wasley)

Convolulus in the bag!

Worcestershire Biological Records Centre(WBRC) has received a grant from theHeritage Lottery to train and support

volunteers to map the condition of old orchards intheir local area and to carry out wildlife surveys.

Project officer Becky Lashley said: “Most of uswill be aware of just how important old traditionalorchards are to the landscape and wildlife of thecounty. Many of these old orchards are nowabandoned and becoming derelict. Consequently thewildlife value can be huge – dead and decaying fruittree timber and semi-natural grassland supports awealth of biodiversity. However, few of the orchardson the National Inventory have been visited or theircurrent condition documented.”

Working with Butterfly Conservation volunteers,WBRC hopes to target survey training and activity atthe insects associated with mistletoe. One of thesespecies, Celypha woodiana or the Mistletoe MarbleMoth (see The Comma 74) will hopefully be ofinterest to BC members. If you would be interested insupporting the project please contact Becky Lashleyon 01905 759759 or [email protected]

Appeal for help tosurvey old orchards


Knapp reserve highlights

Garth Lowe recorded more than 600 sightingsof butterflies during his peak Transect walkat Knapp and Papermill Nature Reserve in

late July. The following week he recorded just over200 during a walk in a temperature of 28ºC. Garthsaid: “The rain that fell probably knocked numbersdown, too, as we had the month’s rainfall in a week –just over 2 ins.”

He reported seeing singles of Common Blue,Marbled White and Small Copper. The whole ofBig Meadow was cut and coincided with maximumnumbers, which is probably why he recorded the onlyMarbled White he had ever seen in his garden aquarter of a mile away hidden behind trees. Sadly,there was no WhiteAdmiral this year, but there werea few Small Whites and one fresh Comma.

Peacocks were in good numbers, and Garth hasclocked up three in his garden at the same time.

Finally, Garth poses this question: “Can someone

tell me why, after such a dreadful wet summer lastyear, I had record numbers of Meadow Browns?Ringlets seemed to be down though!”

Orchids in the “Big Meadow”

A mating pair of Marbled Whites


Dark Greensreturn to Wyre

We have had a reallyexciting year on WyreForest East transect in

2013. Not only have we re-discovered (see photo taken on 15thJuly by Cooper’s Mill) the presenceof Dark Green Fritillaries but haveseen Marbled Whites in moresections and adjacent meadows thanin recent years. The icing on thecake was the record of a CloudedYellow in a meadow south of thedisused railway track by Lodge HillFarm on 2nd September.

After a poor start the numbers ofbutterflies recorded exploded from amere 9 in week 11 to a massive 605in week 16 and peaked at 685 inweek 19. The count in week 23 wasstill over 100 with 15 differentspecies being seen in that week. Atotal of 29 species have beenrecorded to date and a total of over4,200 butterflies counted comparedwith just under 1,900 (25 species) in2012 and just under 3,300 (27species) in 2011.

Our meadow counts yielded May157 (2012 - 130), June 112 (2012 -

48) and July a staggering 2,605(2012 - 1,273). There were so manyRinglets and Meadow Browns thatI would not guarantee being within25% and I’m sure we undercounted.I did the last two meadows on myown for a total of 997 butterflies.This total included 615 Ringlets,311 Meadow Browns and 43 SmallSkippers. Thanks to the transectteam: Jackie Wickham, LynneBird, Jan Taylor, RichardLangley, Geof Carpenter, Jan &Richard Woolley.

Snap up one of the last copies of our guideThere are just a few copies left of our hugely successful 40-page guide to 30of the best butterfly walks in the West Midlands Branch area. Every copy soldhelps make a difference to the habitats for butterflies and moths in the region– so hurry up if you haven’t ordered your copy yet! Each walk details thespecies which may be encountered, the best time to visit and a site map.Please send a cheque for £5.95, made payable to ‘Butterfly ConservationWest Midlands Branch’ to: Mike Williams, 2 Dewberry Close, Stourport,Worcestershire, DY13 8TB.

30 YEARS of saving butterflies, moths and their habitats in the West Midlands

30 Butterfly Walksin the West MidlandsSupported by

30 Butterfly Walksin the West Midlands

Spotless Ringletat MonkwoodPhilip Adams found thisRinglet with the faintestof dots on the hind wingsduring a visit to Monk-wood Nature Reserve on7th August. MikeWilliams says: “Thereare a number of namedaberrations of the Ringletwhich are usually relatedto the development ofthe underside spots.Rarely they are absentaltogether and this isknown as ab. obsoletaTutt. Slightly lessuncommon but stillhighly unusual is ab.arete Muller where therings and the eyes onthe underwings areabsent but the whitepupils remain.

Report by Richard Woolley


Coney Meadow turns uptrumps for scarce moths

What a night! It was without doubt one ofthe best mothing events I have everattended: with great company, experts on

hand to identify those all too frequent tricky species,a new venue and the bonus was several ticks for myLife List!

It was a typical case of those infrequent balmyevenings in summer with a last minute ring around toget a quorum to go to a site where sightings are soimportant to update old records and, in this instance,

where there were no records at all… The reedbed atConey Meadow, alongside the Droitwich Canal, wasone of the South Wales & Severn Waterwaysenhancement projects, for which £5,000 was raisedas part of the Canal & River Trust environmentallaunch appeal in July 2012.

The reserve was created in 2008 as part of therestoration of the Droitwich Canal as habitat for thelocal wildlife, particularly to encourage threatenedspecies such as the Reed Warbler, Reed Bunting,Grasshopper Warbler, Otter, Kingfisher and bats.When the appeal was launched the reedbed required

Report by Roger Wasley

Mecca for moths: The extensive reedbed at Coney Meadow,nature reserve near Droitwich (Dr Mark Robinson)


urgent management, ranging from the control ofscrub and invasive species and the creation ofartificial habitats, such as bird and bat boxes, to thelong term and sustainable management of thereserve’s grassland. The appeal proved very popularand it was fully funded within a few months.

Dr Mark Robinson, National Ecologist for theCanal & River Trust, said: “Since the onset of theappeal a whole host of important work has beenundertaken to maintain and improve the site, much ofwhich was carried out by the volunteers of theDroitwich Towpath Taskforce, including putting up aBarn Owl box, a number of other types of bird andbat boxes, the clearance of scrub and invasivespecies, and the repair of gates and fencing.

“The reserve has a large area of valuable wet anddry meadow habitat, which supports a wide range ofspecies of invertebrates, grass snakes, slow wormsand foraging birds. In the past the grassland has beencut by contractor, which was both costly and not thebest environmental solution. One of the long-termaims of the project was to introduce grazing cattle tothis area, which would be much more sustainable,while also having a huge positive benefit forbiodiversity, creating important mosaic grassland,with areas of scrub and tussocks, and not to mentionthe dung important for many species of interestinginsects!”

One of the most important jobs undertaken by the

volunteers of the Droitwich Towpath Taskforce wasthe repair and maintenance of existing fences aroundthe reserve to allow the grassland to be stock proof.In addition, contractors were also used to install someareas of stock-proof fencing. The work at the site isalmost complete, with only a few small bits offencing and maintenance work to be finished off bythe Taskforce. Once this is completed the Trust willbe introducing a few Hebridean cattle to begingrazing the grassland.

Mark said: “This appeal project has been afantastic achievement that will benefit the

Setting up one of the mercury vapour moth traps: From left, Danny Arnold, Oliver Wadsworth,Dr Mark Robinson, Tony Simpson, Mike Southall and Roger Wasley

Oliver Wadsworth and the team check one of themoth traps (Dr Mark Robinson)


biodiversity management of the site as well asmaking the reserve more sustainable. Thereserve has now become one of the mostimportant wildlife sites in Worcestershire, withover 120 species of bird being recorded, manyof which are nationally rare. The reserve hasbeen attracting recognition and support from ahost of local and national wildlife organisations.Regular guided wildlife walks are now beingundertaken around the site to promote thesuccess of the project and the work of theTrust.”

The efforts of the National Moth Nightsurvey at Coney Meadow on Friday 9th August

resulted in 99moths beingrecorded forthe first time atthe site. Amongthe notablespecies seenwere such reed-bed specialitiesas BulrushW a i n s c o t ,Twin-spottedW a i n s c o t ,Brown-veinedWainscot andSilky Wains-cot.

Mark said: “A very big thank you toeveryone for coming over to Coney Meadowand trapping – it was a great evening. I reallyenjoyed it – it was great to be able to be in thecompany of such knowledgeable people, I feelthat I learned a lot.”

Among the teamwas WorcestershireMoth Recorder TonySimpson, who added:“This site is a valuableaddition to the Countyof a locally un-common type ofhabitat.

“We managed torecord all the possiblereedbed specialityspecies flying at thistime of year."

Twin-spotted Wainscot pupa in a reed stem

Brown-veined Wainscot(Oliver Wadsworth)

Close-up of a Twin-spotted Wainscot pupa

Adult Twin-spotted Wainscot moth (Roger Wasley)

Checking a trap for reedbed moths are, from left, Roger Wasley, Mike Southall,David Walker and two local residents (Dr Mark Robinson)


A view from the Malverns

The slab of snow just above the WestMalvern transect was not a good sign inthe third week of April. And until mid-

June the weather continued to be cold enough toput the butterfly season four weeks behindschedule. This was certainly true of the GreenHairstreak, which was seen at Easter two yearsago, but did not show up in 2013 until mid-June.

And then something happened… Theweather gradually improved, the heat arrived andwe were faced with an explosion in numbers!Why should this be when the cold and dampthrough April and May should have inhibitedsuccessful breeding? Browns multiplied andPeacocks were everywhere. Scarlet Tigers werewidespread on the Malverns, with our onlyremaining Fritillary, the Silver Washed, foundon northern stretches away from its usual haunts.Migration might account in part for the feast ofWhites but we have seen few Red Admirals orPainted Ladies, so what accounted for the bonanza?

Could it be that the cold had done for butterflyparasites? Small Tortoiseshells, for instance, turnedout in profusion. My garden records indicate that Isaw only five single Small Tortoiseshells through2012. This year I have seen them in the gardenalmost daily from the first week in July through to

mid-September, with numbers in excess of 20 onsome days and a continual supply of pristinespecimens – just like days gone by! The otheroccurrence I was lucky enough to experience werenumbers of this species pupating on the north-facingfront of our house. They must have made the journeyfrom nettles in the field on the other side of the road.Of the eleven I counted five emerged, the last on 14thSeptember. I have no idea what percentage of pupaeon average make adulthood, but over a third seemsvery good.

And what of the broader issues on the Hills?There will be more about the status of the Graylingin the next issue of The Comma. The signs are that ithas fared well, recovering some lost ground wherescrub clearance has been done at the extremities of itsrange. But just to say that the Conservators arepursuing work needed to promote the welfare ofbutterflies here, involving local BC volunteers atTank Quarry on 11th October (all welcome) and at asite under consideration for future reintroductions.

We have also established a transect at HollybedFarm, the new Worcestershire Wildlife Trustgrassland reserve to enable its wildlife value andimpact of improvement work to be assessed from thestart. This is one of nine transects in the area, whichenable us to keep a detailed eye on the fortunes of ourbutterflies in and around the Hills.

By Peter Seal

Painted Lady (Tony Wharton)

Red Admiral (Neil Avery)

Autumn 2013 • The Comma 1716 The Comma • Autumn 2013

Photo competition winners and calendar offer

Eyed Hawkmoth - Robert Tunstall

Micropterix calthella - Patrick Clement

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary - Tony Moore

Large Emerald - Phyl King

Brown Hairstreak - Simon Primrose

Peacock eyes - Gareth Thomas

Silver-washed Fritillary - Margaret Collins

Large White - Neil AverySilver-studded Blues - Mel Mason Early Thorn - Patrick Clement

Essex Skipper - Mel Mason

Pearl-bordered Fritillaries - Neil Avery

The winning entry for the first West Midlands BranchPhotographic and Calendar Competition is this superbback-lit image of a Brimstone taken by Gareth Thomas of

Ludlow, Shropshire. His picture features on the cover of ourcalendar which is on sale now. The calendar costs £8 (£15 fortwo), including p&p. Send a cheque made payable to ‘ButterflyConservation West Midlands Branch’ to West Midlands

Photographic Competition, 8 Working Lane, Gretton,Cheltenham, Glos. GL54 5YU. The competition was judged byprofessional photographer Des Ong, Branch Chairman John Tiltand Comma Editor Roger Wasley. John said: “We weredelighted with the entries and it was a tough job deciding on thewinner. The successful uptake of the calendar will now determinewhether or not we hold another competition next year.”


Common Blue: in searchof something different

Arecent edition of The Comma (No.84 Winter2012/2013) contained a discussion onHutchinson’s Comma and a photograph of

the valezina form of Silver-washed Fritillary.Subspecies, forms and aberrations are alwaysfascinating. A good general introduction to the topicis British and Irish Butterflies. The completeIdentification, Field and Site Guide to the Species,Subspecies and Forms written by Adrian Riley andpublished in 2007.

I was fortunate to record a form, or aberration, ofthe female Common Blue on quarry land at MuchWenlock in early June 2012. Riley (1991) gives thisas ab. caerulea Staudinger but in Riley (2007),mentioned above, he gives it as f. caerulea Fuchs. Inthis form, the female is a similar colour to the male,light violet-blue, but the orange spots, or lunules, onthe upper wings are more developed and brighter.

The combination of extensive blue colourationand large orange spots is one of the characteristics ofthe Irish Common Blue female, Polyommatus icarusssp. mariscolore, Riley (2007). This subspecies canalso be found in the Outer Hebrides, Thomas andLewington (1991).

Wacher et al (2003) make a distinction betweenbright blue females, ab. caerulea, and females withenhanced orange lunules, ab. mariscolore. Thus afemale with both features could be described as ab.caerulea/mariscolore. They are said to be morecommon in chalk and limestone regions and to occurin Cornwall on the calcareous sand dunes of the northcoast. Of course, Wenlock Edge is famous forlimestone and much of Ireland is carboniferouslimestone whilst the extensive sand dunes of theOuter Hebrides, in particular on Barra, South Uistand North Uist, are calcareous.

For those enthusiasts interested in seeing twosubspecies not found in the West Midlands, take thetrain from Birmingham New Street to Llandudno viaShrewsbury, changing at Llandudno Junction, duringthe last 10 days of June. The Great Orme Head

Llandudno has ‘Western’ Silver-studded Blue,Plebejus argus ssp. caernensis, and ‘Great Orme’Grayling, Hipparchia semele ssp. thyone, bothdescribed in Riley (2007). From the former toll houseat the south end of Marine Drive (GR: SH768823) gothrough the kissing gate to the right, take the footpathuphill, in a northwesterly direction, towards thesummit of the Great Orme, to see hundreds, if notthousands, of Silver-studded Blue and Grayling.

‘Western’ Silver-studded Blue are said to besmaller than the nominate subspecies, typical formPlebejus argus ssp. argus, found in the South West,South East and East of England and South Wales.[Riley (2007) describes the Prees Heath Silver-studded Blue as Northern Silver-studded Blue,Plebejus argus ssp. masseyi.]

‘Great Orme’ Grayling emerge a month earlierand are also smaller than the normal Grayling.

The explanation for the presence of these twolocal subspecies is provided by Dennis (1992). Thesteep slopes and permeable limestone of the GreatOrme have low rainfall (less than 700mm annually)and the smaller size and earlier emergence of adultsof these two races may represent a local adaptation towater-deficiency and desiccated larval hostplants.

To complete the perfect day out, take the GreatOrme Tramway from Summit Station back intoLlandudno!

References:1. Dennis, R.C.H., An evolutionary history of Britishbutterflies, in Dennis, R.L.H. (edition) (1992) TheEcology of Butterflies in Britain. Oxford UniversityPress. 2. Riley, A.M. (1991) A Natural History of theButterflies and Moths of Shropshire. Swan Hill,Shrewsbury. 3. Riley, A.M. (2007) British and IrishButterflies: The Complete Identification, Field andSite Guide to the Species, Subspecies and Forms.Brambleby Books, Luton. 4. Thomas, J. andLewington, R. (1991) The Butterflies of Britain andIreland. Dorling Kinersley, London. 5. Wacher, J.,Worth, J. and Spalding, A. (2003) A CornwallButterfly Atlas. Pisces, Berkshire.

By Peter Branson


Good Ticks and Bad Ticks…

The deluge of 2012 scuppered the planned Beerand Butterfly trip to find Large Blue atCollard Hill, so we decided to try again this

year. There must be something about this butterfly asagain the weather threatened to spoil the party. Thelate spring retarded the growth of wild thyme andreported sightings of Large Blue werecorrespondingly disappointing. At the thirdtime of asking, we eventually set off inbright sunshine but as we travelled,conditions became misty and we began towonder if our mission was doomed.

Five of us made the trip, kindly drivenby Colin Bowler, and we arrived at theYouth Hostel near Collard Hill mid-morning. The footpath to the National Trust site leadsthrough lovely flower meadows where we foundvarious orchids among the grass, along withMeadow Brown and Ringlet.

Collard Hill is a steep slope and, as weapproached, the sun started to break through. Therewere other people already looking and they reportedone sighting. We were greeted by Marbled Whitebut these were few in number considering the dateand compared with my previous visit. No sign of anyRolling Stones from the nearby Glastonbury Festival,just a few ageing hippies risking twisted ankles,looking for the elusive Large Blue.

We set off along the slope with some headingdownhill to the meadow where there were moreorchids. Mike Williams brought a pheromone lurewith him and managed to attract several Six-beltedClearwing moths within seconds of airing the lure.

We spread out concentrating on an area where anindividual had been spotted earlier in the day. I thendecided to try the eastern zone, which proved an evensteeper slope. Eventually, I managed to spot thetarget but lost it in flight. Nevertheless, I phonedColin to let the rest of the party know and thenresumed the hunt. Meantime, back at base camp, asingle Large Blue had been spotted and surroundedto prevent escape from the cameras and binoculars.As I had been unable to re-locate ‘my’ butterfly, Imade my way back and managed to get a half decentpicture of the female which was busy laying eggs onthe wild thyme.

We must make a comical sight, a dozen or soenthusiasts chasing down a single, special butterfly.Eventually, we decided it was time to leave and findsome suitable refreshment. Colin had plans to visit asecond site that afternoon to track down HeathFritillary on Haddon Hill. Suitably refreshed byOlde Trip beer, from Nottingham, we set off to findour second target.

Knowledge is everything when huntingbutterflies and we pulled up in a rough lay-by besidea stile, where we plunged into the heathland brackenat Haddon Hill. There was plenty of common cowwheat, the larval food plant. This grows plentifully inthe Wyre Forest but suggestions of a re-introductionwere studiously ignored.

Head for the tree line was the instruction and, sureenough, in the shelter of a dip in the terrain, Mikespotted a Heath Fritillary. For Andy Barker andme, this was our first ever sighting of a HeathFritillary and more were to follow.

Unfortunately for Andy, there were also lots ofunwelcome inhabitants at Haddon and he managed topick up several ticks and insect bites. Meanwhile,Richard Southwell had spotted a Wood Tiger moth– most appropriate considering the focus of NationalMoth Night this year. But by the time we’d foughtour way through the bracken and brambles, it hadflown. We eventually tracked it down and Mike fixedit in his binoculars, only for it to fly off again. We allglimpsed it in flight at least, but no photos. A secondindividual was spotted on the way back to the car.

By Joy Stevens

The hunt is on (Mike Williams)for the Large Blue (Andy Barker)


Busy time at Prees Heath

Twelve volunteers carried out a ‘Big Count’ ofthe entire colony of Silver-studded Blues,including not just the reserve but also the other

half of the common and the old airfield hangarscompound on 5th July. The total tally was 1,049, welldown on the result obtained when the same exercisewas completed in 2011 when over 3,000 wererecorded. My thanks to everyone who helped.

However, a week later, when the Silver-studdedBlue transect was walked, which does not attempt torecord all the butterflies in the colony but rather asample by walking a set route and recording within afive-metre ‘box’, the highest total since the transect

was set up by Dr Jenny Joy in 1991 were seen, andjust surpassed the Big Count figure at 1,088. Whatdoes this prove? Probably just that the Silver-studded Blues seemed to respond remarkably well tothe spell of warm weather we enjoyed at that time.They certainly peaked very quickly, and numbersseemed to fall off just as rapidly. The reserve isnow in the Higher Level Stewardship schemeadministered by Natural England, and this will givethe reserve an income over the next 10 years. In orderto claim the monies agreed we have to continue withthe heathland/acid grassland restoration work whichcommenced in 2007. A decision is still awaited fromNatural England as to whether the HLS HistoricBuildings budget will provide funding towards therestoration of the old airfield control tower.

At the suggestion of one of the school’s pupils,Caitlin Morgan, 45 children from Clive PrimarySchool in north Shropshire spent a morning on PreesHeath on 16th July. As well as seeing the Silver-studded Blue and learning about its fascinating lifecycle the children had the opportunity to identifydifferent species of butterflies and other insects anddo some pond dipping in the pond that wasconstructed in 2010 and is already a haven for allsorts of wildlife. The school raised £60 as a donationfor Butterfly Conservation and encouraged all thepupils to take part in the Big Butterfly Count. Thanksare due to Caitlin and her mother Trish, MaryLucas, Headteacher, and volunteers Estelle Hughesand Janet Vernon who helped on the day.

The reserve now has its own website

By Stephen Lewis

First class: Clive School pupils and staff with reserve warden Stephen Lewis, right (Janet Vernon)

Caitlin Morgan with Stephen Lewis (Janet Vernon)


(www.preesheathcommonreserve.co.uk). The sitehas been put together by volunteer John Harding.As the weeks go by more information will be added,and we will ensure that it is kept as up to date aspossible. So in future if you want to know if theSilver-studded Blues are out yet, or when the nextvolunteer work party is due just go online and log on.We are also inviting anyone to submit photos,sightings and stories for inclusion on the site.

Over many years Butterfly Conservation, and inparticular members of the West Midlands Branch,worked with the Prees Heath Commoners to secure,eventually, the purchase of the western half of thecommon to conserve the Silver-studded Bluecolony. None of the commoners was more passionateabout stopping the arable cultivation of the common,preventing the extraction of sand and gravel,upholding the rights of the commoners and

supportive of Butterfly Conservation’s purchase ofthe land than Reg Moreland, who has died. He was86. He lived next to the common and loved it as abeautiful place, where wildlife and people couldhappily co-exist. To mark his passing, and at therequest of his family, a memorial event was held onthe reserve in July, attended by around 70 people.Tributes were read out, including a poem writtenspecially for the occasion by Eleanor Cooke, authorof ‘Who Killed Prees Heath?’. In the book Eleanorrefers to the Green Man of the heath, and she has saidthat was Reg. His spirit lives on.

A moth trapping event was held on the reserve onNational Moth Night, followed by a moth breakfastthe following morning, with 11 people attending. Theweather was benign, and a total of 74 species wererecorded, including some new records for the reservesuch as Blue-bordered Carpet.

Moth Night stars: Blue-bordered Carpet, Coxcomb Prominent and Large Emerald (Lucy Lewis)

Ton up!Both new and existingmembers might beinterested in joining thebranch’s own chatsite onYahoo which now hasnearly 100 members. Itis a great way of sharingall the latest sightingsfrom around the regionand finding out the latestnews between issues ofThe Comma. The site isco-ordinated byMike Williams on behalfof West MidlandsButterfly Conservationand if you would like tojoin just [email protected]

Caitlin and her school friendsenjoy ‘brilliant butterfly week’

Caitlin Morgan, who suggested the school visit to Prees Heath, said ina thank-you letter: “We had a brilliant butterfly week at Clive School.All the children enjoyed their visit to Prees Heath and we were

excited at the amount of butterflies we saw, especially the Silver-studdedBlue. The warden, Stephen Lewis, was really good; we learnt a lot about thedifferent butterflies and he caught them in his net for us to see and identify.He showed us Small Skipper, Large Skipper, Meadow Brown, SmallHeath and Five- and Six-spot Burnet moths.

“On one day I held a non-uniform day and collected £57.10 for ButterflyConservation. I held a butterfly wordsearch and a ‘colouring the butterfly’competition for Class 1 and nursery. The following day, with the help of myfriend Grace Ward, we picked the winners and handed out the butterflyidentification charts that you sent. We all had a good time and it has made myfriends understand that butterflies are in decline and we need to help them.

“We did other things during the week, like learning about the life-cycle ofa butterfly and the different parts that make up the butterfly. We had the BigButterfly Count charts at school too to hand out and some of my friends willbe joining in the Big Butterfly count this summer. I will be doing it!”


Each year, the European Interests Group (EIG),a sub-group of Butterfly Conservation, runs atrip in support of the Hungarian Natural

Heritage Trust; all of the profits from these trips aredonated to the Trust, which is a prime example ofhands-on local conservation in the Őrség area ofwestern Hungary. The Trust uses traditionalhusbandry methods on small parcels of land itacquires, to maintain environments which supportcolonies of all four of the Maculinea (large blue)butterfly species. Needless to say, these efforts alsobenefit a magical variety of other butterflies.

These fund-raising trips are organised for the EIGby Mike Williams who also shares the lead in thefield with Sáfián Szabolcs (Safi), who manages andheads-up the Trust. We also benefit from a supportingcast of Martin and Tomas who between them do anamazing variety of tasks to help make our holidays

memorable. Needless to say, these trips are alwayswell supported, usually with groups of 12-14 folk. Anice thing is that one can rely on meeting up againwith the same core of stalwarts each year.Sometimes, we venture into largely unknownbutterfly territory to see what we can find – as lastyear in Serbia – and at other times we go to knownsites, or areas where there is a high probability ofseeing something good (i.e. rare). This year we wentto Romania, from 22 to 30 July. The initialannouncement of the trip highlighted a visit to aViolet Copper site, but by the time the detaileditinerary was available a whole array of possiblegoodies was dangled before us (when was a butterflytrip itinerary not like this?). Some of the sites visitedwere well-known ones, but some others less so. Wewere lucky to have had pre-survey work done byLajos Nemeth-Bóka, the Director of GreeneyeEcotours who knows the country well and made allthe hotel reservations on our behalf. The area covered

By Ken Bailey

Rarity in sight: photographing one of several Danube Clouded Yellows seen on the trip (Mike Williams)

EIG group’s success in Romania


during the week was entirely within Transylvania (noDracula jokes, please), and more precisely to the eastand south of Cluj-Napoca.

Day 1, and after the usual tedious journey toLuton airport, and the flight itself to Cluj, it was niceto get aboard our two minibuses and head off towardsour hotel, a fair distance away in Odorheiu. But notyet; to our surprise, the buses shot off the main road,up an unpaved track for two or three miles through ahilly, forested terrain until we ground to a halt andSafi, as only he can, announced ‘something special’on the side of the track. There, still nectaring in lowsunlight and amenable to having pictures taken wereseveral Pallas’ Fritillaries. I know, from myprevious attempts, that this is a difficult butterfly tofind – what a way to start our holiday!

Next day, we had a very tight itinerary, beginningwith a mountain road up to a ski station – we are nowin the Eastern Carpathians. True to form in themountains, the weather soon clamped down, leavingus with sightings of singles of Niobe Fritillary,Large and Blind Ringlets and Purple-edgedCopper. Cutting our losses, we descended to findsunnier conditions in Racu Valley where highlightsincluded Cardinals on thistles, Eastern BathWhite,Hungarian Glider and a passing Lesser PurpleEmperor. It was obvious by now that Lajos’itinerary needed 16-hour days and a total disregard ofthe mediocre condition of local roads. So to Plan B,which missed out the Violet Copper site for this dayand took us to a steep, high, grassy hill near Badeni,the top of which was inhabited by Hermit butterflies.Before the climb, we sustained ourselves with thedaily picnic while recording Meleager’s,Chapman’s, Mazarine, Turquoise, Osiris, Long-tailed and Eastern Baton Blues. We found the

Hermit on top of the hill, together with a nice displayof Swallowtails, hill-topping in a brisk breeze.

On Day 3 we headed south for a couple of hourson the poor roads to the Violet Copper site nearFagaras. We knew that we were late in the secondbrood of this butterfly, so were grateful to discoverthat some females were left. By following the trail ofBistort plants we found that the butterfly’s range herewas a bit more extensive than we expected; they werenot only in the dried-out bog area but also in theadjacent, lightly wooded areas. Today, we alsochanged our base to the small town of Gheorgheni, soanother longish drive followed to our new hotel.

Having settled into Gheorgheni, our nextadventure was east of the town into the Carpathians.First, a stop at the touristy ‘Killer Lake’ and thenthrough the Bicaz Gorge with its dozens of stallsselling ‘local crafts’, to a flowery meadow beyond.This was a day with a good number of species seen,but nothing really memorable. We were all waitingfor the next act – and the real reason to be inGheorgheni – a visit to the Danube Clouded Yellowsite just outside of town. A bit of a shock awaited usas the steep slope where the butterflies fly had beencleared, rather uncaringly, of all scrub, and thepassing track had been regraded. All very suspiciousand worrying. Passing herders and the local museumcurator (who previously had had an interest) did notknow what was going on or even who owned theland. As far as I know this is the only ‘for sure’Danube Clouded Yellow site remaining, and thenumbers of butterflies we saw did not fill us withoptimism. We investigated two other likely sites inthe immediate area and found the butterfly’s foodplant in each. We also found one Danube Clouded

Female Danube Clouded Yellow (Mike Williams

Reverdin's Blue (Mike Williams)


Yellow in each area – one seen from a distance andone captured. We might have done better, but wewere all herded off the property by a pack of fierce-looking sheep dogs (literally!). Safi suggested thatthe Trust should get involved in its first‘international’ project and, that evening, announcedthat he would donate moderate funds to initiateurgent fact-finding action on the main site, and tostart raising awareness at all levels.

The following day we romped among gentle haymeadows on the way to our next and final base, theinteresting village of Rimetea, which nestles belowthe picturesque Szekelyko Mountain (1200m). Thegroup was split into two to fit into availableaccommodation. The luckiest ones had roomslooking out onto the mountain and an amazingcollection of butterflies in the garden: our listincluded Geranium Argus, Lesser PurpleEmperor, Oberthur’s Grizzled and MallowSkippers, Common and Scarce Swallowtails, andShort-tailed, Eastern Short-tailed, Chequered,Reverdin’s and Meleager’s Blues. In my initialexcitement, I did not notice the funny smell – thesebutterflies were attracted by the run-off from thefarm’s chicken shed!

Our first morning in Rimetea just had to be up themountain – well, not all the way up but a good halfway. It was a fairly easy walk and soon produced new‘firsts’ for the trip: Blue-spot Hairstreak, Pearl-bordered Fritillary and Great Banded Grayling.Then, real excitement as we saw what wasundoubtedly an Erebia on a rocky outcrop – butwhich one? We were lucky enough to net it and itproved to be a Black Ringlet, one of our rare targetspecies and unexpected in this particular place. Thislocal speciality does not look like the illustrations inthe book, as it is form runcensis. In all, our morningwalk produced 38 species. The afternoon, in contrast,was disappointing as we went to a gorge a few milesto the south where the Black Ringlet was supposed

to be. After much clambering up and down steep andscary scree slopes, we had to be satisfied with moremundane (to me) species, including Twin-spot,Lesser Spotted and High Brown Fritillaries.

For our last day we visited the area of the TurdaGorge – not down in the gorge itself but on thesurrounding dry limestone pavements and meadows.The first butterfly, a few yards from our startingpoint, was a Lesser Clouded Yellow. Then in thecourse of the morning we turned up another fineselection including Safflower Skipper, RockGrayling, Hermit, Niobe Fritillary and LesserFiery Copper. I remember this as a prime site forMeleager’s Blue, but grazing and maybe drierweather, has ended that. After lunch we headed forthe final site chosen by Lajos – a green and leafytrack somewhere near the bottom of the gorge, alongwhich were a few isolated holiday homes. Firstly, wenoted an unusually high number of CommonGliders nectaring, and we were happily snappingaway when from up the track there was a suddenstrangled cry from Safi. I’ve never seen him soexcited (and that’s saying something), but he had justcaught a butterfly he had been seeking for years andwhose very existence he was beginning to doubt –Fenton’s Wood White! We all agreed that it reallywas quite different from other wood whites, and thatLajos had it spot-on.

So, after a trip which started with Pallas’Fritillary and ended with Fenton’sWoodWhite, wedid not mind having to get up at 3am the nextmorning to catch an early flight home. Our finalcount for the trip was 106 species, and no doubt acouple more will turn up as members of the groupcheck their photographs back home. Well done to allwho helped make this a memorable trip.

Fenton's Wood White (David Porter)

Spurge Hawkmoth larva (Mike Williams)


Prize catch: The female Emperor Moth caught during the night of 25th-26th April (Mike Southall)

Mike’s magical mothsWest Midlands branch vice-chairman Mike

Southall has been racking up someimpressive records since he began moth

trapping at his home near Stourport-on-Severn,Worcestershire.

He began recording in 1999 after receiving aHeath actinic trap as a gift, and added a Robinsonmercury vapour trap in 2003. This coincided with thefirst year of the Garden Moth Scheme, in which hehas participated ever since.

“The larger Robinsion trap raised my macro mothspecies recorded from 221 in 2002 to 270 in 2003,”said Mike. “A Cream-bordered Green-pea arrivedin 2003 – a first county record for Worcestershire.This year was also very good for migrant moths: 10migrant macro species were recorded, includingthree Convolvulus Hawkmoths.”

Other memorable moths to grace Mike’s gardenhave been a run of Pine Hawkmoths, Oak Eggar,

Cypress Pug, Archer’s Dart, Peacock and ScarletTiger. “The list goes on, but I try not to take anyspecies for granted because you never know whatmay happen to numbers in the future,” he said.

With the unpredictable weather this spring, hewas delighted to catch one of the moth-ing world’smost beautiful species – the Emperor Moth.

Mike said: “I was amazed to see the Emperor inthe Robinson trap on 26th April. I had put the trap outinto the garden in steady rain and wasn’t too hopefulof catching much. After photographing the moth, itflew off into my neighbour’s garden. It was the firstrecorded here after 14 years of regular trapping. It’slikely the female had travelled from nearbyHartlebury Common, but that’s impossible to prove.”

During the 10 years since the Garden MothScheme was launched, Mike has recorded 36,240moths – the highest total number of moths in thescheme anywhere in the country.


Islay is an island off the West Coast of Scotlandrenowned for its wildlife; famous for geese in thewinter and very strong populations of Marsh

Fritillary. This year’s West Midlands Branch tripwas a great success enhanced by the outstandingweather for most days.

It is a long trip to Islay. Firstly a four-hour drivefrom Glasgow through dramatic scenery at the Restand Be Thankful. At Kennacraig the ferry sails downbetween the hills and out across the sea with Jura onthe right in the distance. Those that came by planehad only a short hop from Glasgow and landed at theairport which is amongst the peat bog area.

The Bowmore Hotel was an excellent end to thefirst day with superb views across the bay. MalcolmOgilvie, the local BC and wildlife expert, joined usfor the evening to help us plan the next few days.Great food, great beer and great whisky to set us offfor the tour.

The first day was spent at the northern end of theisland at and near Loch Gruinart. This RSPB reserveis a vast expanse of grazed wetland where asignificant number of the wintering geese migrate to.We were greeted by a pair of Choughs at the MarshFritillary transect site after our introduction from thewarden. The insects showed very well with greatviews. On the other side of the bay we were lucky

enough to see a Narrow-bordered Bee Hawkmothbuzzing about. A difficult insect to identify and a rareone to see. The scenery here was very gentle withlong vistas across to the Paps of Jura. A peacefulplace.

Malcolm had kindly arranged for moth trappingat the Bridgend House Gardens. This is an old walledgarden now looked after by the community for localproduce. Islay has had limited moth trapping so anyrecords are of value. This diverse setting led torecords of Lunar Thorn amongst the 33 speciesrecorded.

On Sunday we were treated to a guided tour ofThe Oa, another RSPB reserve at the southern end of

Report and photos by Neil Gregory

Islay tour produces new records

Islay’s Oa Peninsula is home to a nature reserve, high cliffs, hidden beaches… and Marsh Fritillaries

One of the Marsh Fritillaries found on The Oa

Islay tour produces new records


the island. This is a place famousfor two pairs of Golden Eagles,although none to be seen thistime. Marsh Fritillariesabounded here on top of thecliffs and were seen dancingabout the small burns. Not aplace to go chasing them! Downon the rocks below an Otter wasseen playing offshore. A wildand dramatic place.

After stopping at Ardbeg for asuperb lunch in the hot sunshineand sampling an Ardbegwhisky(!), we travelled round thecoast to Claggan Bay. Stoppingat Kildalton on the way we sawthe Celtic Kildalton Cross dating back to 800 AD.Out to sea at Claggan we watched a Diver andvarious other sea birds fishing. Tony Simpson foundevidence of a rare micro-moth called Scrobipalpaclintoni. This moth larva leaves a 2mm hole near thebase of a Curled Dock stem, which is found along thecoast. An excellent and challenging find. In theevening we ran further traps at Loch TallantWoodland. This has a small water course feeding theBowmore distillery and at this time of year wasmidge infested. There was a superb set of mothsincluding May and Ruddy Highflyers along withmore Lunar Thorns.

Monday was our free day and we all dispersed tovarious parts of the island. At Machir Bay the

Corncrakes were busily ‘craking’, especially onelurking in a small field with a cantankerous bull!Here we saw our only Garden Tiger larva, too.

Overall we recorded 80 species of moth and eightbutterfly species. Not a huge list, but someimpressive species and important records. Thefollowing are likely to be new for the Vice County:Brindled Pug, Clouded Silver, Least BlackArches, May Highflyer, Red-green Carpet,Capua vulgana, Carpatolechia proximella andGlyphipterix haworthana.

Many thanks go to Mike Williams for hisorganisation of the trip, Malcolm Ogilvie for histremendous input, all the people who assisted withthe visits and everyone who came along.

Tony Simpson finding Scrobipalpa clintoni Loch Tallant woodland: perfect for a moth trap

Loch Gruinart is one of the most beautiful parts of Islay


Dates for your diaryNational Butterfly Conservation AGMThis year’s AGM and Members Day is being hostedby the Wiltshire Branch and at the Marriott Hotel inSwindon on Saturday 16 November. Copies of ournew 2014 calendar featuring winning entries fromour photographic competition will be on sale on the West Midlands Branch stand. Please support us!Brown Hairstreak eventsThurs 17 October, join the Thursday Streakers in gathering sloes for next year’s Hairstreak Jelly and spottingthe first Brown Hairstreak eggs. Meet 10.00am at Grafton Flyford church just off the A422 Worcester-Stratfordroad (GR: SO963557). Bring along any previously gathered sloes on the day. Sun 17 November, BrownHairstreak Egg Hunt - same time, same place; Sun 29 December, Brown Hairstreak Egg Hunt. Mulled wineand a mince pie for everyone finding an egg – same time, same place; Sat 18 January, Brown Hairstreak EggHunt - same time, same place. Contact: Mike Williams on 07802 274552 or [email protected] Harold Meadows Reserve/Ewyas Harold Common work partiesSat 26 October; Sat 30 November; Sat 14 December; meet at 10.00am at the northern Cwm Hill end of EwyasHarold Common adjacent top cattle grid (GR: SO382302). Approach from Abbey Dore off B4347 at GR:SO384306. Contact Ian Hart on 01981 510259 or e-mail [email protected] Wood Nature Reserve work partiesEvery Wednesday and on the second Sunday of the month until April 2014. Meet at 10.00am at Grafton FlyfordChurch car park just off the A422 Worcester to Stratford road (GR: SO963557). Contact: John Tilt on 01386792458 or e-mail [email protected] Nature Reserve work partiesOn the first Sunday of the month. Meet at 10.00am in the reserve car park off the Sinton Green to MonkwoodGreen road (GR: SO803603). Contact: George Groves on 01905 620721 or [email protected] ForestSun 19 January, conservation task with lunchtime barbecue courtesy of the Forestry Commission. Meet at10.00am at High Vinnalls car park (GR: SO474732). Contact: Mike Williams on 07802 274552 or [email protected] Hill work partySun 16 February, conservation task. Meet at 10.00am at entrance to landfill site, off Pudford Lane, Hillside,Martley, Worcs (GR: SO752613). Look out for direction signs. Sun 23 February, conservation task - same time,same place. Contact: Mike Williams on 07802 274552 or email [email protected] Heath Common Reserve work partiesWed 16 October at 10.30am, birch seedling removal & heather seed harvesting;

To ensure that Branch members andnewcomers to the fascinating world ofbutterflies and moths know what is happeningin our region, event and work party organisersshould e-mail full details of upcomingevents to the editor of The Comma [email protected] and to web-masterDavid Green at [email protected]

Join us on a Chequered Skipper weekenderDetailed planning is underway for the annual West Midlands Branch extendedweekend tour to Scotland. Our principal target will be Chequered Skipper, nowconfined to a limited number of sites in western Scotland, although we hopeto encounter many other species of butterfly and moth. The base for our trip,from Friday 6th to Tuesday 10th June 2014, will be the major tourist centre ofFort William with Glen Coe just to the south. To register your interest, pleasecontact Mike Williams by e-mail ([email protected])


Dates for your diaryWednesday 18 December at 10.30am, various:morning only, followed by cafe lunch. All volunteerwork parties and events start on the access trackopposite the Steel Heath turning off the A49. Newvolunteers are always welcome. All tools and glovesfor the volunteer work parties will be provided.Please wear appropriate clothing and footwear.Contact: Stephen Lewis, warden, on 07900 886809or e-mail [email protected] Quarry work partyFri 11 October, joint event with Malvern HillsConservators. There are several important geologicalfeatures which are being exposed from among thetrees and scrub. A geologist will give a short talk.Tools and refreshments are provided, but you maywish to bring lunch. Meet at 10.00am at the Tank Quarry car park, North Malvern Road, south of the ClockTower (GR: SO766470). Contact: Nicola Quinn, warden, on 01684 892002 or [email protected] Wood Nature Reserve work partiesEvery Thursday at 9.30am and on the fourth Sunday of the month at 10.00am. Meet in the reserve car park(GR: SO930588). Contact: John Holder on 01905 794854 or e-mail [email protected] Forest work partiesSun 20 October, Wood White action day, meet at 10.00am at Earnwood Copse car park on the B4194 Bewdleyto Kinlet road (GR: SO744784); Wed 23 October, meet at 10.00am at start of old railway line at bottom of DryMill Lane, Bewdley (GR: SO773764); Wed 4 December, meet at 10.00am at Dry Mill Lane; Sun 15 December,meet at 10.00am at Earnwood Copse car park; Sun 2 February, meet at 10.00am at Dry Mill Lane. Contact:Mike Williams on 07802 274552 or e-mail [email protected]

Butterfly Conservation: 7th International SymposiumSouthampton University, 4th-6th April 2014

The Seventh International Symposium will be held at Southampton on the theme: The ecologyand conservation of butterflies and moths.

We invite offers of papers or posters on relevant topics. On-line registration and abstractsubmission (deadline 6th December 2013) and further information can be found at:www.butterfly-conservation.org/symposium<http://www.butterfly-conservation.org/symposium>

The Symposium will include the latest science of butterflies and moths and how science canhelp to reverse the decline of butterflies and moths, and their habitats. The programme alsoprovides opportunities for Butterfly Conservation members and others to present papers orposters on practical conservation work and contributions will be welcomed. The Symposium willend with a forward look of future challenges, including the impact of climate change.

Keynote speakers include Prof. Chris Thomas (York University, UK), Prof Christer Wiklund(Stockholm University, Sweden), Dr Tom Brereton (Butterfly Conservation, UK), Dr Bob Pyle(naturalist and writer, USA), and Dr Thomas Merckx (Lisbon University, Portugal). Theproceedings will be published as a special issue of the Journal of Insect Conservation, deadlinefor paper submission will be Friday 2nd May 2014.

Great find: Ryton Pools Country Park AssistantRanger Ben Coleman caught this Cypress Pugin his garden trap at Kings Heath on 17th Septem-ber. Keen moth-er Ben said: “We do have a lot ofLeyland and Monterey Cypress in surrounding gar-dens so I’m not surprised it appeared eventually!”


Small Skipper egg hunting

Ihave recently been experimenting with focus-stacking butterfly egg photographs, using a 10xNikkor microscope objective attached to my

105mm macro lens. Early results have beenencouraging...

Meadow Brown egg

I have been trying to find eggs of various speciesto work on. One of the popular British butterflybooks suggests that Small Skipper eggs are “quiteeasy to find”! After carefully searching severalhundred Yorkshire fog stems, without success, I wasnot entirely in agreement with this statement! Adifferent approach was called for so I startedwatching females – Small Skippers, I hasten to add– hoping to find one ovipositing. I noticed severalinsects climbing up, down and around grass stems,abdomens curled down, apparently looking forsuitable laying sites. They always face upwards andare very adept at backing down a stem, if required.Although these stems were subsequently examined,no eggs were found. Eventually, I watched one suchfemale, which paused for about 20 seconds in thesame place. When I looked at the stem afterwards,this was presented:

I was sure that something ‘eggy’ must have beenhappening, so I carefully unrolled the tightly boundleaf sheath. Geronimo!

A cache of eggs secreted within the sheath. I haveno idea how this was achieved as there was no spacethrough which to push the eggs. Does the femalepossess a minute extendible ovipositor with which toinject the ova around the edge of the rolled leaf andinto the stem space? I can think of no otherpossibility.

If anyone is moved to try and find eggs, it is wellto realise that they are not in any way attached to thestem and if the unrolling of the sheath is not donewith care, the eggs will simply fall out! Themagnified egg photo is not as successful as theMeadow Brown above, but I include it for what it isworth.

I guess the eggs are “fairly easy to find” if thelaying females are watched, but searching grassstems is a non-starter.

Happy hunting!

Article and photos by Tony Moore


ChairmanJohn Tilt [email protected] 01386 792458

Vice Chairman and Conservation OfficerMike Southall [email protected] 01299 251467

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TransectsJohn Tilt [email protected] 01386 792458

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Reserve ManagersEwyas Harold - Ian Hart [email protected] 01981 510259Grafton Wood - John Tilt [email protected] 01386 792458Monkwood - George Groves [email protected] 01905 620721Prees Heath - Stephen Lewis [email protected] 07900 886809Trench Wood - John Holder [email protected] 01905 794854

Conservation OfficersWorcestershire - Trevor Bucknall [email protected] 01905 755757Herefordshire - Ian Hart [email protected] 01981 510259Shropshire - Dr Jenny Joy [email protected] 01952 245684

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David Jackson [email protected] 01902 344716Herefordshire - Robin Hemming [email protected] 01568 797351Worcestershire - Mike Southall [email protected] 01299 251467

County LeadersNorth Staffordshire - John Bryan [email protected] 01782 541870Central Staffordshire - Robert Winstanley [email protected] 01889 576768South Staffordshire - David Jackson [email protected] 01902 344716Herefordshire - Dean Fenton [email protected] 01568 611575

Brown Hairstreak ChampionMike Williams [email protected] 01299 824860

Malvern Hills RepresentativePeter Seal [email protected] 01684 564524

Newsletter EditorRoger Wasley [email protected] 01242 603765

Committee Members and Officers

32 The Comma • Autumn 2013 Printed by Tewkesbury Printing Co Ltd

What a summer forthe beautifulClouded Yellow!

This migrant breeds hereduring the summer so thatsecond-generation andsometimes third-generation butterflies areon the wing in latesummer. Jason Kernohanrecorded two at Shenstonenear Kidderminster, afriend of his found six atLineholt in Worcestershire,and there was a report ofabout 20 in fields north ofUpper Bittell Reservoir.Jason also recorded Wallfor his first time onTitterstone Clee Hill inShropshire on 30thAugust.

Bumperyear forCloudedYellows

One of Worcestershire’s rarest and most attractive butterflies, theBrown Hairstreak, has been celebrated with the launch of adistinctive homemade jam. Hairstreak Jelly, made from sloes gathered

from local blackthorn hedges by volunteers from West Midlands branch ofButterfly Conservation, has been produced by Elspeth Robertson at WaysideFarm Shop in Wickhamford near Evesham.

Brown Hairstreaks lay their eggs on blackthorn and the launch ofHairstreak Jelly is aimed at raising awareness of the butterfly and itsconservation.

Mike Williams, Brown Hairstreak Species Champion for West MidlandsBranch, said: “The Brown Hairstreak is a declining species andWorcestershire is the only place in the region where it occurs. The main threatfacing the butterfly is winter flailing of hedgerows which destroys many of theBrown Hairstreak’s eggs. We see the launch of Hairstreak Jelly as an originaland delicious way of getting across our important conservation message to thewider community.”

Elspeth Robertson, owner of Wayside Farm Shop, said: “It has been greatto get involved with this initiative. We make many kinds of jams and chutneysthrough our shop and specialise in making unusual and unique preserveswhich celebrate our local food heritage. Each jar has a colourful label whichfeatures the butterfly and is very eye-catching. We have been very pleasedwith the response from our customers and hope that we can support thisimportant cause through making more Hairstreak Jelly in the future.”

The first batch of Hairstreak Jelly quickly sold out but we hope to havenew supplies available early in the New Year once we get a chance to pickfurther sloes. If anyone knows of local sloe bushes and would be prepared tocollect berries on behalf of the branch please let Mike Williams know.

Jelly feast: Sales support the branch’s conservation work (Mike Williams)

Have you tastedHairstreak jelly?

Clouded Yellow (DavidLongshaw)

thecomma - wordpress.com · 4 thecomma• autumn2013 butterfly beers go on sale at the plum fayre...

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