These few warm days have brought the reserve to life.
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White letter hairstreak
An adult white-letter hairstreak was identified in the reserve in 2017 by an expert observer. This is a real rarity, a UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority species, a feather in our caps and the impetus behind our drive to plant disease resistant elms.
Continue reading “White letter hairstreak”Butterfly season
Message from Ian
Speckled Wood, Peacocks, Orange Tip and Brimstone knocking about.
Continue reading “Butterfly season”Disease Resistant Elms
by Ian Bushell
In 2017 a White-letter Hairstreak butterfly was recorded in the park. These beautiful butterflies are the emblem of Wiltshire Butterfly Conservation group. They feed on English or Wych Elms, which unfortunately over the past few years have been ravaged by Dutch Elm disease, leaving dead gaunt trees within some hedge lines.
Continue reading “Disease Resistant Elms”Butterfly sightings
Already, there are butterfly sightings from the park.
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A Walk In The Park
by Ian Bushell
I had a quick wander round the park this afternoon to see what needs doing, to assess the ragwort situation in the fields, and look at the tree damage done by the wind. There were three Roe Deer under the Owl Oak in the Church Lane field across the Lambrok, where they are planning to build houses..
Continue readingButterfly transect
by Ian Bushell
Transect for August
Numbers and variety are a bit disappointing; a cold late-summer day.
The old filled-in pond at the end of Lambrok Meadow is where I saw the Common Blue among the Ragwort, Willow-herb, Spindle, Thistle, Rose, Bramble, Red and White clover .
The Big Butterfly Count
The Big Butterfly Count began yesterday and will run until Sunday August 9th. Join in and help Butterfly Conservation monitor the health of Britain’s Lepidoptera. Spend just 15 minutes in the park, your garden, a field or wood, counting the common butterflies you see.
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A marbled white (Melanargia galathea) on creeping thistle flowers, photographed in the park yesterday by Julie Newblé. If you look carefully, there are at least three common red soldier beetles hidden in the picture.
Thanks Julie.
Another win!
Gatekeeper
The gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus) reported in last week’s butterfly transect has turned out to be a winner.
Continue reading “Another win!”National Insect Week – Day 2
Ringlet
The park’s first ringlet butterfly (Aphantopus hyperantus) of the year was seen and photographed in Sleepers Field on June 10th. This newly hatched adult was a smooth, velvety dark brown fringed with white, its underwings clearly marked with the rings that give the species its common name.
Continue reading “National Insect Week – Day 2”Peacock
The peacock caterpillars in the nettles in Simpson’s Field are growing fast.
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Recording butterflies
iRecord Butterflies is a free app for your smartphone that will help you identify and record any butterfly that you see in your garden while you are in lockdown. Your sighting will be logged by Butterfly Conservation and added to their records.
Continue readingButterfly numbers
Last year’s record breaking summer was an excellent year for butterflies, with more than half of Britain’s species increasing their numbers.
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A walk in the Park
by Ian Bushell
I took my permitted exercise at the park over lunchtime. There were just eight cars when I arrived at noon and only fifteen when I left an hour later. People were well spaced all around the park; everybody seems to be taking the new regulations seriously.
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Report from a park user yesterday:
I saw two butterflies in Sleepers Field this morning – a brimstone and a peacock.
Continue readingSmall heath
While rummaging through our species lists looking for ammunition to throw in the direction of Planning Application 20/00379/OUT, we found a 2018 record of a small heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) hidden in the Lepidoptera section. The small heath is the park’s third UK BAP Priority Species of butterfly.
Continue reading “Small heath”White letter hairstreak
While exploring in our species lists, we found a report of a white letter hairstreak butterfly (Satyrium w-album), reported in 2017 by an expert observer. This is a real rarity, a UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority species.
Continue reading “White letter hairstreak”2019 review – part 1
We are going to use the last few days of 2019 to review the year’s new entrants to our species lists.
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Migrants
Of the 21 species of butterfly identified in the park this summer, two do not overwinter here: the painted lady (Vanessa cardui) and the red admiral (Vanessa atalanta)
Continue readingOverwintering
Almost all of the 21 species of butterfly that have been seen in the park this summer, will overwinter here. Butterflies can hibernate in all four of the stages of their development.
Britain has fifty eight species of butterfly, and nine of these species spend the winter as an egg, thirty two spend it as a caterpillar, eleven as a pupa, and six as an adult.
Here are some examples:
Peacock
Pictures of a peacock butterfly taken by DKG during the summer.
Speckled wood
A speckled wood (Pararge aegeriais) on hawthorn berries photographed last weekend by DKG.
Continue reading “Speckled wood”Wall
The disappearance of the wall brown (Lasiommata megera) from areas of southern England has mystified conservationists for two decades.
Continue reading “Wall”Butterfly Transect
Ian Bushell, Hugh Wright and Mark Bushell conducted a Butterfly Transect in the park on Wednesday.
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