Suffolk Argus 13, Mar 1998 by Suffolk Naturalists' Society

Suffolk Branch Contacts

Chairman

JamesMann, The Old School, The Street, Darsham, Saxmundham, Suffolk, IP 17 3QA (OJ728 668532)

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SUFFOLK ARGUS

Membership Secretary Paul Gilson, 18 Cheltenham Avenue, Ipswich, Suffolk IP! 4LN (01473 253276) Newsletter Editor

Paul Gilson,18 Cheltenham Avenue, Ipswich, Suffolk IP! 4LN (01473 253276)

March 1998

Programme Secretary

Alan Johmon, 28 Medway Road, Ipswich, Suffolk IP3 0QH (01473 715701)

Volunteers Needed If you feel you could run a small sales operation or just help out now and then with the growing work of the Branch, please contact James Mann on

01728 668532.

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Annual General Meeting

County Recorder (Butterflies) RichardStewart,'Valezina', 112 Westerfield Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP4 2:XW (01473 216518) Conservation Officer (Butterfiies)

JamesMann, The Old School, The Street, Darsham, Saxmundham, Suffolk, IP17 3QA (0 I 728 668532) Conservation Officer (Moths) TonyPrichard,3 Powling Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP3 9JR (01473 270047)

The date:

Saturday, 28th March, 1998

The time:

7pm for 7 .15pm (approx.)

County Recorder (Moths)

Arthur Watchman,Onchan, Back Lane, Monks Eleigh, Suffolk IP7 7BA Secretary

TonyPrichard,3 Powling Road, Ipswich, Suffolk IP3 9JR (01473 270047)

The place: Butterfly Hotel, Bury St. Edmunds

Treasurer

Published by the Suffolk Branch of Butterfly Conservation (The British Butterfly Conservation Society Ltd.) Reg. No. 2206468 Reg. Charity No. 254937 Head Office: P.O. Box 222. Dcdham, EssexCO? 6EY.

Tel. (01206) 322342

GrahamBull, Willow Cottage, I The Street, Raydon, Suffolk IP7 5LP (01473 310371) Publicity Officer Steven Goss,Yaxley Manor House, Yaxley, Eye, Suffolk IP23 BOG (01379 783386)

Editedby Paul Cihon Logo (Silver-studded Blue) Doug HammerJ/ey

Our fifth Annual GeneralMeeting takes place on Saturday,28th March, 1998. This event has again been generouslysponsored by the ButterflyHotel, Bury St. Edmunds. Please come along to hear about and contribute to the affairs of your Branch. The evening will also include slide presentations from our members. If any of you have slides that you would like to show please contact James Mann giving him details of the slides you would like to bring along. You may also have pictures of butterflies or moths with which you need help in identification, bring them along and lets see if we can identify them. This type of event has proved popular with members in the past with a sharing of knowledge and experiences. The committee look forward to seeing you on the night.

Pleaseseeseparatesheetfor A. G.M details.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• The Newsletter of the Suffolk Branch of Butterfly Conservation

President

HowardMendel, c/o Ipswich Museum, High St., Ipswich, Suffolk IP! 3QH (01473 213761)

Volume 13

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BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION

The Suffolk Argus

March 1998

Contents 1998 - Annual General Meeting .................................... Cover

Newsletter Details

Copy Dates Contributions for our newsletter should reach the Editor (address on back page) no later than:

Notes from the Editor ............................................................ 3

January May

Members Evening 1997 ..................................................... 3-4

October

Steve Goddard ........................................................................

Suffolk Show 1998 .................................................................

Invertebrate recording at Minsmere ........................................ 6 1997 Field Trips ............................................................... 7-11 New species for the Suffolk Moth check list ......................... 12 A new way of saying no ........................................................ 12 Butterflies in Suffolk - 1997 .......................................... 13-15 Observations of the Queen of Spain Fritillary 1997 ............. 16 National Trust Family Fun Day ........................................... 17 Book Review: The colour identification of caterpillars of the British Isles ......................................... 17-18

To Advertise in Tfft:

Christmas Eve April Fools Day August Bank Holiday

Any piece of writing that is considered to be of interest will be published together with line drawings/prints/photographs. The Suffolk Argus is your magazine, so please let us hear from you.

SUFFOLK ARGUS

Pleasecontact:

Paul Gilson (01473 253276)

Butterfly HOTELS

Additional Moth Nights for 1998 ........................................ 18 Newsletter Details & General Information ........................... 19 Suffolk Branch Contacts ......................................... Back Cover

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01284 760884 19

The

SuffolkArgus

The first part of the book (146 pages) contains a brief account on techniques for finding larvae and how to rear chem. This is followed by a description oflarval morphology so chat terms used in the book can be understood. The majority of the first secti on is made up of the species accounts which considering the size of the book contains a large amount of useful information. Each species' account has a description of the larval stage, known foodplants and habits. The latter section covers the species' life history, techniques on locating the larva, rearing the larva, the species' distribution in the UK and the method by which the figured larva was obtained. The second part of the book contains 49 colour places, with most of the plates having eighteen photographs oflarvae. If the larva has different colour forms or widely differing early and lace instars then these are shown in the one place. The quality of the photographs is generally quite good and the size of the photograph is probably large enough for identification purposes in most cases. However, for recording purposes requiring a positive identification, I would still recommend breeding larvae through to the adult stage unless the larvae is particularly characteristic. On the downside it appears chat a few of the larval photographs have been mis-identified. It is quite an achievement by the author to bring together such a complete collection of so many larval photographs even with the help of over seventy other lepidopterists. Despite all this help the author has been unable to locate photographs of several rarer (and surprisingly not so rare) moths and these are listed at the start of the book. The author's intention is that these missing photographs will be published in a supplement w hen they become available. One feature which I think is sadly lacking

March 1998

from the book is an index by foodplanc, listing all those species found on a particular foodplant. Emmet's 'Field Guide to the Smaller British Lepidoptera' has a foodplant index and this I have found particularly useful as an initial means of narrowing down the possible species when crying to identify a larva. I have yet to use this book in the field so I cannot really comment on how easy it is to identify larvae found using the book. The Suffolk Moth Group intends to have some larvae hunting meetings next year so we will see how it performs then. That said I think chat this book is destined to become a standard reference work on caterpillars in the same way that Skinner's book has become the standard identification book for the adult macro-moths. It will hopefully promote an increase in interest in this stage of the lifecyde in the same way chat Skinner's book has increased the interest in moths.

Additional Moth Nights

for 1998

the Editor

Members Evening

An early start to the year for Butterfly recording

Saturday 15th

Notes from

With the new year less than a week old Richard Stewart (County Butterfly Recorder) was already receiving reports of butterflies out from hibernation in the warm Winter sunshine. Up until the 26th of January he had received records for three Small Tortoiseshells, three Red Admirals and four Peacocks. The Peacock seen on January 6th is the earliest ever butterfly recorded in Suffolk.

Articles for the Suffolk Argus If any members have articles for future editions of The Suffolk Argus could they please send them to Paul Gilson at 18, Cheltenham Avenue, Ipswich IP! 4LN. He will be overseeing the production of the newsletter until a new Editor is found.

by Tony Prichard Graham Bull and myself will be leading two RSPB organised moth nights at Wolves Wood in 1998. These moth nights are not listed on the branch's event list as they are not joint meetings with the branch but branch members are welcome to attend. The meeting place for both events is the reserve car park - grid reference TM 054 436. The dates are Saturday 20th June meeting at 9pm and Saturday 5th September meeting at 7.30pm.

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1997 by JamesMann

This event was kindly sponsored by the Butterfly Hotel, Bury St. Edmunds and twenty six members and guests were present to hear our Chairman James Mann introduce our speaker for the evening Dr. Roger Key. The running order for the evening would be a Chairmans update on the past year followed by the speaker. Tea and coffee would then be followed by a quiz prepared by Richard Stewart. James Mann began his update by talking about the Regional Action Plan and progress made so far. It is hoped that a meeting between the Essex/Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk branches can be arranged in the near future. Two other projects that the Branch were involved in with the Suffolk Wildlife Trust are work on Silver-studded Blues and the recovery of Butterflies in Suffolk. James

The

SuffolkArgus

Mann, Tony Prichard and Paul Gilson along with wife Susan had walked many kilometers of forest rides to plot the spread of Bell Heather. Although no new colonies were found by us the presence of this species at Blaxhall Common was confirmed. The committee had also been involved in several other activities which the Chairman ran through in the following order; himself and Steven Goss attending the Eastern Region F.W.A.G. conference at Center Pares last February; himself and Richard Stewart attending two farm walks organized by F.W.A.G.; the Chairman had also commented on Six English Nature Natural Area Profiles that combine to cover Suffolk; the Suffolk Show which went off well again; attending the National Trust Family Fun Day at Dunwich Heath; Alan Johnson for arranging a weekend in the West Country; Graham Bull for his work as Treasurer and moth recording; Tony Prichard for his work as Secretary and moth recording; Richard Stewart for his work as County butterfly recorder and Steve Goddard for his work as newsletter editor for the Suffolk Argus. Dr. Roger Keys talk was well worth waiting for. In about an hour he seemed to cover most of the twenty two thousand or so species of insect resident in this country. He talked of many species that have been rediscovered by better recording. The quality of his slides was excellent and I know a lot of us will be looking for things we never knew existed such as the Ladybird Spider which I have since read is being helped by introducing males to known sites of hibernating females. In another part he showed slides and talked about "new" old Beech trees where cut rings of hollow trees had been stacked, supported and filled with a vile substance which included dead animals to stimulate natural old decaying Beeches and this had worked and should fill

March 1998

the one hundred years or so gap waiting for genuine old Beech trees to form and all this to keep in existence one particular insect. He explained how many species rely on more than one habitat to survive so for instance to retain a wood at the cost of losing an adjacent meadow or vice versa may mean and end to some species as they require both habitats to survive. Rogers talk should be obligatory to all so called environmentally aware developers so they can see the mayhem they are causing. If you can get a chance to hear one of his talks or see him on television you will not find the time and effort wasted. A man who can talk for an hour without referring to notes is both good at his subject, fully interested and dedicated. After the break Richard Stewart had us racking our brains trying to work out which butterflies went with his distribution maps for 1997. Paul Gilson ran out the winner with seven correct answers and took home a £10 book token as the prize. A great evening enjoyed by all lets hope we can keep up this standard for future Members Evenings.

National Trust Family fun Day, Dunwich Heath, Saturday, July 26th 1997 by Paul Gilson The branch accepted an invitation from the National Trust to attend this major event. James Mann and myself along with my wife and children arrived on a sunny morning to set up the stand directly opposite the Coast Guard cottage restaurant. The stand looked very impressive with its display boards, colourful large butterflies and tables full of books and butterfly attracting plants. The stand soon began to attract the attention of people attending the event, in particular, families who took part in our Butterfly Wordsearch competition. One man even stopped on his mountain bike, congratulated us on what we were doing, donated some money and cycled off again - thankyou sir! The weather, which had started fine, started to deteriorate slowly with the odd spot of rain falling and a rather stiff breeze blowing which caused the display boards to move about a bit. By 3.30 pm it was decided that the weather was to inclement to carry on. The stand was dismantled and packed away knowing that the branch had again made an impression with those that had attended. Thanks go to James and my family for manning the stand and to Paraphernalia of Westleton for the loan of the tent. Thanks also go to Simon Moss and colleagues at the National Trust at Dunwich Heath for inviting us to this event.

Book Review: The Colour Identification of Caterpillars of the British Isles by TonyPrichard I think it is a good sign of the expanding interest in butterflies and especially moths that I am writing another review on a moth (& butterfly) book having just produced one for the last issue of the Argus. In addition I have also heard of a further three books which are due for publication in the not too distant future covering the Pug moths (a difficult group to identify), the Plume moths and the 4th Volume of the Moths and Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland. The only other caterpillar book that I know of which is currently available is the Collins Field Guide to Caterpillars of Britain and Europe, which is a good book but only covers a limited selection of the moth species. This new book is intended to be a companion volume to Bernard Skinner's 'Colour Identification Guide to the Moths of the British Isles' and covers all the species of macro-lepidoptera (larger moths) and butterflies, over 850 species. It follows the same layout as Skinner's book having all the text at the front of the book and all the plates at the rear of the book. Anybody who has used Skinner's book will know that this format works well when trying to identify moths, especially if they have previously used South's 'The Moths of the British Isles' where the plates are interspersed among the textual accounts.

The Suffolk Argus

Observations on the Queen of

Spain Fritillary 1997 by RichardStewart (County Butterfly Recorder)

A minimum of 28 of these rare butterflies is an incredible total for Suffolk but it's not all straight forward, even if as the County Butterfly Recorder you get early information. John Dolman and I spent the best part of five hours near the end of October getting to know a particular field close to the Suffolk coast in great detail-but alas, no Queen of Spain Fritillaries, which had been seen there the day before. It was windy and there was little sunshine until the afternoon and not one butterfly was observed. Alan and Paul Johnson fared slightly better two days later, seeing a few butterflies but again not the rarity they wanted. In addition, even if you find them there may be problems ahead. On 18th

March 1998

September I was up very early after a report from Charlotte Anderson, one of the Minsmere wardens, about two Queen of Spain Fritillaries sighted by the two wardens at Wangford, as they passed along a footpath off the main road on their way to explore likely water vole sites-how's that for Biodiversity! The path ran alongside a field recently harvested but now full of 'weeds' i.e. nectar source for butterflies. I eventually found them, spiralling together and later had a much closer examination of one that settled close to me. A later distant glimpse was added before I walked back the short distance to the village hoping for a cup of coffee at the pub, which advertised itself as being open all day. This, on closer study, started at mid-day so instead I bought some biscuits and headed back, sitting down with my camera gear spread out in the hope of a close-up. The next thing I knew was seeing a tractor heading down the far lane beyond the large field, then turning right towards me still the hedge side of the field then suddenly coming through an unseen gap and starting to spray the field! With my chest problems, my gear all over the place, the length of the spraying apparatus and the speed it was heading for me, I regret that I opted for self-preservation and beat a hasty retreat, taking just one quick photo for posterity. Several of those I confided in during the next few days said it was, at that time of year, likely to be herbicide and the later records of the species not too far away gave me some comfort. Even so, two factors still perplex me-how many of these rarities are missed, since it was simply by chance that two wardens well used to the species happened to be passing that way. Second, I was probably the only person in the country, on that day, watching this rare butterfly-and that was the day selected to spray the field!

SteveGoddardtakes a well earnedrest byJamesMann Steve was a founder member of the Suffolk branch of Butterfly Conservation having attended the launch on 20 October 1993. He was elected to the committee at the inaugural meeting in June 1994 and given the job of producing the Suffolk Argus. Volume I was published in January 1994 the latest, volume 12 published in December 1997 a common factor is they both contain articles from Steve. In this time he has developed the Argus into a professional magazine that holds its own very well with the magazines of other, and often much larger branches. On top of all this Steve has held the post of branch organiser when the committee, as now, was short of members. Sadly Steve has had to retire from work on medical grounds and now has reluctantly decided that he cannot continue as the editor of the Suffolk Argus. We must give our thanks to Steve for editing the Argus for all its production to date. Each copy drops through the letterbox and we often give no thought to the work that went in to produce it let alone to realise that the editor is already working on the next issue to ensure that our main contact with the membership continues as a quality magazine. The new editor, when we find one, will still have a time consuming but rewarding task but he/she will have the advantage of an already quality product and also the experience and expertise of Steve for advice from time to time. Thank you again Steve for your hard work over the years when you have often not felt up to it. I know we will not be able to forget you for apart from anything else I am confident we have not seen the last article with the name Steve Goddard on it.

Suffolk Show 1998 27/28thMay by Paul Gilson

Suffolk Showground, Conservation Area near to the Nacton Road entrance We are delighted to inform you that the Branch will be attending the County Show for the fifth succesive year thanks to Thornham Estates who have kindly offered us room in their tent. This will be a wonderful opportunity to promote Butterfly Conservation as well as the activities of our own Branch. The central theme of our display will be 'Gardens and Butterflies' as well as having our normal display boards on show. A range of Butterfly attracting plants will be available on the stand for people thinking of starting or adding to a garden designed for Butterflies. Running a stall at these events needs as many helpers as possible, please let James Mann or Paul Gilson know at the soonest if you feel you can offer assistance. If you are attending the Show anyway don't forget to look in, have a chat and see what we are up to! You will find us in the Conservation area near to the Nacron Road entrance.

The SuffolkArgus

Invertebrate recording at Minsmere

R.S.P.B. reserve 1997 byJames Mann Charlotte Anderson and Richard Wilson have again produced an excellent Invertebrate report for 1997. On the moth front they recorded 281 macro's and 65 Micro's before their Robinson M.V. trap gave up the ghost in the autumn. Two wholly new records to the reserve were Ghost Moth (Hepialus humuli and Orange moth (Angerona prunaria). Species of note were:-

R.D.B.3 Fenn's Wainscot, Flame Wainscot, Shaded Fanfoot, Tawny Wave, White-mantled Wainscot. Na Broad-bordered Bee, Hawk-moth, Reed Dagger, Mathew's Wainscot, Dotted Fanfoot. Nb Brown-veined Wainscot, Cream-bordered Green Pea, Grass Wave, Kent Black Arches Rosy Wave, Sand Dart, Shore Wainscot, Silky Wainscot, Silvery Arches, Star-wort, Water Ermine, Webb's Wainscot, White Colon.

March 1998

Their best nights trapping was 29.7.97 with 58 identified species. The largest count however was by The Natural History Museum over two nights at the end of July with six traps set in various locations near the reedbeds th_eyhad a total count of 208 species including 55 micro's 19 of which were new to the reserve. They recorded Monopsos Monachella believed to be the ninth British record although it may have been recorded at Minsmere in 1995. Another pleasing record was a target species the White Mantled Wainscot last recorded there in 1994, 1992 and 1976. On butterflies they recorded 30 species against the record 32 in 1996. No Clouded Yellows and few Painted Ladies. Red Admirals and Small Tortoiseshells did not appear in great numbers until towards the end of August. Two White Admirals were seen passing through and there were two sightings of White-letter Hairstreaks. A particular focus on Wall Brown identified three separate broods a good sign. Queen of Spain Fritillaries were seen in odd ones and twos from early July until late October. The Silver-studded Blue colonies have continued to expand southward from Westleton Heath. Note this compliments my report of them spreading on the English Nature section of the heath. Two counts a week apart in July gave a combined total of 3835 it was noted that one in three were female. Dragon Flies, Damsel Flies, Orthoptera, Spiders, Beetles, Caddis Flies and Mosquitoes were all recorded with several new species. It is now forbidden to swat Horseflies at Minsmere for apparently two of them are R.D.B.3 species. Ant Lions continued to star. Anglia T.V. spent a day filming them so look out for Richard and Colin Plant, and of course the Ant Lions on T.V. early in 1998. Well done keep up the good work Minsmere.

from the rotting greengages on the ground areas and detailed searches for species still of and feasting on those ripe on the trees' concern: Dingy Skipper, White-letter (Nigel Smart - Hemingstone in September). Hairstreak (four new 1997 site records but A report of Large Tortoiseshell in a still almost fifty per cent down on the last former stronghold was investigated without survey), Purple Hairstreak, Small Heath success, though several hours spent in a (approx. 24 per cent down on the last sunny butterfly garden was ample survey) and Wall Brown (approx. 27 per compensation. A very full description was cent down on the last survey). All Main provided by Celia Miller to support a Recorders will receive another draft booklet sighting of what was possibly a Valezina of up-to-date distribution maps before the form of the Silver-Washed Fritillary at 1998 season begins and a Main Recorders Dunwich Heath on 6th September, meeting is planned for the end of March at interestingly the third record of this species Ipswich Museum. since the survey started and, like the other Finally, a reminder that records should two, almost certainly a release. If anyone can be sent at the latest by the end of give me information about the misguided November-in Hampshire the deadline is the idiots who do this, I'd be very grateful. first week of November! This report is being The unexpected climax to the season written on December 6th. Late records will was in October. Thanks to Rob Macklin eventually be collated and listed but cannot and records sent directly to me we have now directly feature in the yearly report. confirmed a staggering minimum of twentyeight Queen of Spain Fritillaries recorded in P.S. PeterSteggallrecordeda Peacockflying in Suffolk in 1997, all but one on or near the his garden at Tuddenham Road, Ipswichon coast, between 28th June and 28th October. 30th. December.ls this the latestbutterflyever This is one of the largest concentrations of recordedin Suffolk? this species ever recorded in Britain and it is hoped that conclusive breeding evidence may emerge in 1998. Other rarities included three Swallowtails (Mervyn Bell at Wall Brown Walberswick 28th May, Steve Goddard at (Lasiommata megera) Castle Marshes 7th July, Mrs. Atkins at Palgrave 21st August) and the late sightings ~~• • • • • • • included Brown Argus from 1 Suffolk Water Park on 1st and ~-"" ____ :'/ 2nd October (Steve Goddard) "'-~ , ·---...N/ Peacock and Red Admiral at St. Olaves ~ ~ . on 21st November (Glynnis Crouch) and the latest so far, a Red Admiral at Orwell Park House, Nacton on 29th November (Gillian Bence-Jones). Can I thank all recorders who sent records to me in 1997, especially the main recorders whose efforts mean that only 36 tetrads remain to cover in the last two years, plus additional coverage of under- recorded

The Suffolk Argus

there will be a more flexible approach to the survey and recorders able to help midweek May/June at reasonably short notice should contact me. The survey did produce new and early records, including a Ringlet on 14th June and Peter Hamling recorded a Large Skipper at Offton on 31 st May. Essex Skippers increased their range but several recorders commented on relative lack of the Small Skipper in some places. Could some interbreeding be going on, or even grey/red squirrel scenario as I have discussed with one main recorder - no evidence, just a hypothesis, indeed I don't even know if such things are possible in the butterfly world. As a result of the bad June period the emergence late June and early July was back to normal. Purple Hairstreaks are still under-recorded despite several recent articles-try an evening cycle trip in your local area which has produced several new records in the Ipswich region. An interesting count of over 150 came from Slough Hall, Little Waldingfield on 22nd August (Andrew Googe). Silver-studded Blues had another good year with extension of the colonies around Westleton into a new tetrad Oames Mann), 48 recorded by me at the relic site of the former Warren Heath colony (Ransomes Industrial Park, 7th July) and a record 1856 at Phil Smith's annual Martlesham Heath count. Turning to migrants, the 1996 Clouded Yellow Year has so far been followed by only four 1997 records though the one at Raydon Great Wood on April 27th, may be the earliest ever (Colin Hawes). Please contact me if you know otherwise. The Painted Lady had a disappointing year though it wasn't as rare as some imagined - three at Minsmere on one day was probably the highest concentration but nevertheless forry four recorders saw at least one in 1997, with

March 1998

1997 Field Trips Hollesley Meadows Saturday, July 5th 1997 by Paul Gilson

Small Heath (Coenonymphapamphilus) fifteen being new records. There were no Summer reports of the Camberwell Beaury but the old intriguing question of emergence from hibernation or early migration was raised again by three Spring records: Steve Babbs at Groton Wood on 15th March, Mark Iley at T rimley St. Mary on 17th March and Mrs. Bell at Chillesford on 9th April. Howard Mendel has also unearthed an ancient record from 1876 of breeding in this counry (Entomologists Record: p.285, vol 109: 25.11.97). Many new records were produced for Ringlet, Meadow Brown and Gatekeeper, though the last two are still below distribution levels for the mid-eighties survey. Brown Argus, Speckled Wood and White Admiral also increased their range, with two White Admiral sites now recorded from above Lowestoft. Both Small Tortoiseshell and Large White were plentiful and Wilfred George was still finding caterpillars of the latter in his Aldeburgh garden up to 22nd November. Both species were reinforced by migrants and Red Admirals were abundant at 'fruit feasts' in late summer: 'there were too many Red Admirals to count, flying up

Fifteen of us including the reserve owner Rick Grundy gathered on what was to start with a rather overcast morning. This unique site, a former ornamental garden has gradually been transformed over the last ten years by Rick into a superb wildlife reserve for all kinds of amphibians, birds, insects and mammals. Only a short way into the reserve we were soon watching our first butteflies of the morning, two Ringlets and a solitary Small Copper which seemed to be waiting for the sun to appear. Further on we were soon standing by the edge of a small lake which is screened off from the rest of the reserve by trees and shrubs including Buddleia. Both Blue-tailed and Common Blue Damselfly were seen around the edgea of the lake and a Large White Butterfly was also seen carefully concealed against the background of trees. The sun at last began to show as we made our way along a track towards an

We crossed a very clear stream on our way into the open meadow area which had literally dozens of Ringlets fluttering about especially when the sun shone. Several Peacock larva along with pupae were seen at the edge of the meadow on nettles. A spider carrying eggs (possibly Pisaura mirabilis) was also seen in the nettles along with several beautifully coloured small snails. With the whole area being on the damp side even in summer, great care had to be taken in trying to avoid numerous frogs and the occasional toad underfoot. Several of the party stopped to watch a Southern Hawker Dragonfly before we headed back towards the reserve entrance on what had turned out to be a super morning at this wonderful site. Thanks must go to Rick Grundy for giving up his time to show us round. The members who attended this visit were very impressed with the way that Rick was managing the reserve. Another visit to this reserve is being planned for this year and I would encourage any members who did not get the chance to visit last year to pencil the date in their diaries for this years visit when it is known.

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open meadow area. Either side of the. cs..,'t track several butterflies were in 'l~1\ --~ evidence, ~omma, Meadow -;;-~,, Brown, Ringlet, Large Skipper, -.. r\-, \ \ Small Tortoiseshell, along with r,:_~_1 Small and Green-veined Whites. The ""'~ highlight of this area was an extremely beautiful Emporer moth larva which everyone stopped to look at and a few photograph.

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The Suffolk Argus

March 1998

Butterflies in

Shingle Street Saturday, July 5th 1997 by Paul Gilson Eight members carried on to the tiny and secluded hamlet of Shingle Street to have their lunch followed by the walk led by James Mann. A chance encounter with a family of Stoats crossing the road in front of my car whilst driving towards the car park was a sight worth remembering. Any chance of seeing a wide range of butterflies on this beautiful part of the Suffolk coast had diminished slightly by the presence of a breeze. The butterflies that were about would keep low down in the sometimes sparse vegetation. The walk started by heading north towards the southern tip of Orfordness Spit, at all times trying to avoid stepping on the rare flora the exists on this part of the coast. Small Heath, Meadow Brown, Essex Skipper and Peacock were encountered, keeping low down to avoid the breeze. Cinnabar Moth and a Black-tailed Skimmer Dragonfly were also seen. Now walking south past the Shingle Street cottages we stopped to admire a partly overgrown allotment which was sheltered and contained many butterflies including Small Tortoiseshell, Large Skipper, Small white and Small Copper. Unfortunately these butterflies would soon be in for a nasty shock. A Corn Bunting was heard and then spotted sitting on an overhead electricity cable in the distance. This again was another hightlight of the afternoon for some of the parry it was the first encounter with this bird. On our way back to the car park we again stopped to gaze down at the allotment. The allotment looked rather different this

Suffolk 1997 by RichardStewart (County Butterfly Recorder)

Small tortoiseshell (Aglaisurticae) time. An elderly gentleman had been at work with his scythe cutting down the grass and wildflowers that once existed. The gentleman explained that he did not want the seeds to blow into the other half of the allotment where his vegetables were. Many of us understood his point of view. On an afternoon when so many of the butterflies we had seen were in the allotment it seemed sad that this little haven for them had been lost, for this year anyway. Apart from that we had enjoyed a pleasant walk in a lovely unspoilt area of the Suffolk coast. Thanks go to James Mann for leading the walk on this occasion.

RedAdmiral (Vanessaatalanta)

Early records included a Small Tortoiseshell (Peter Steggall-Tuddenham Road, Ipswich, 17th February) and a Brimstone (Mrs. Spurgin - Upper Layham, 28th February) but the first half of the season will probably be best remembered for the dreadful June weather which produced a low pressure record for a single month, and led to comment from a Brandon garden about no butterflies between June 6th and July 1st (Mr. Evans). Over 160 new tetrad records underlined a good year for the Orange Tip and Glynnis Crouch's record from St. Olaves on 17th April was the earliest in her garden since 1947. John Dolman recorded a stunted male Orange Tip no bigger than a fingernail in the King's Forest on 14th May and another early species, the Holly Blue, was seen in good numbers but, as I predicted, the second brood was disappointing and this species is almost certainly over its cyclical peak and will be reduced in numbers for several years. The Green-veined White had a superb year with over 260 new tetrad records but the Green Hairstreak was probably the success story of the early months with 25 new records, a phenomenal increase for a butterfly with limited distribution. It has now been recorded in four sites well within Ipswich, including the garden section of Homebase at Warren Heath (Steve Goddard). Brimstones were in good numbers initially but very few records have reached me for the later emergence, possibly because of the June weather affecting development. The proposed Dingy Skipper survey foundered because, like several species, it emerged earlier than the planned meetings though I found a new, small colony at Wordwell. It has only been recorded from three tetrads since the survey started and one location worth a close study in 1998 is Barnham Cross Common, where it hasn't been recorded during the survey. In future

The Suffolk Argus

March 1998

New Species for the Suffolk Moth Check List by Tony Prichard The following species of moth not already present on the checklist were recorded in 1997. B& F No Scientific Name

186 196 427 428 449 457 533

537 656 705 1006 1058 1108 1204 1210 1242 1371 1501 1517

Common Name

Psychecasta Morophaga choragella Yponomeutacagnagella SpindleErmine Yponomeuta rorrella Praysfraxinella AshBudMoth Ypsolopha lucella Coleophoraanatipennella PistolCase-bearer Coleophora palliatella Parocystola acroxantha Agonopterix ulicetella Epagoge grotiana Aclerislorquiniana Lobesia abscisana Thiodiacitrana Rhyacionia bucliana PineShootMoth Cydiainternana Sitochroa verticalis Platyptilia gonodactyla Adainamicrodactyla

'B & F' is an abbreviation for 'Bradley and Fletcher'. In 1979 Bradley and Fletcher produced 'A recorder's log book or label list of British butterflies and moths'. This list assigned serial numbers to each British species oflepidoptera and is in popular use amongst lepidopterist. Its advantage lies in that while scientific names may occasionally change due to various reasons the B & F Number will remain the same.

Anew way of saying No

Moth Night at Pound

byJamesMann

by Tony Prichard

Last September/October I went on my usual months camping holiday to the very south of France. Even at that time of the year there are a lot of butterflies to see Clouded Yellows, Great Banded Graylings, Longtailed Blues, Common Blues, Swallowtails, Scarce Swallowtails, Southern Admirals, Twotailed Pashas, Provence Fricillaries,Soory Coppers plus lots of common species. By far the most prolific species was the good old Wall Brown every patch of grass that had any sun seemed to support them. I discovered a little shaded lane leading off a sunny bit of grassland. In the sun were lots ofWalls and within a couple of yards or should it be metres the Brown butterflies were Speckled Woods the males were roosting on sunny patches ofleaves and doing their normal chasing of other males. Suddenly I saw a different performance, the male came up to meet another Speckled Wood but acted differently so I thought this must be a female and perhaps I might see them mate. The female flew down to a sunny spot on the path followed by the male, just as he landed beside her she collapsed on her side as if she had died. The male spent the next ten minutes dancing around her and prodding her with his antenna trying to bring her back from the dead he eventually gave up and flew back to his perch. I felt sorry for the female and touched her under her front to try to find out why she had died, just as I touched her she came upright and flew off as strongly as ever. I have asked some experts and I believe this may be the first siring of this form of a Speckled Wood female saying not tonight I have a headache.

Farm

Saturday, August 2nd 1997

Only rwo people turned up for this moth night at the Woodland Trust Reserve at Pound Farm. Pound Farm was the Trust's first Woodland Creation Scheme featuring large scale woodland creation using native trees at this 89 hectare site. Currently the site consists of about 11 acres of established wood with the remaining area consisting of area of young saplings, meadows, rides and ponds. With most of Suffolk having a dry evening we arrived at the reserve to find it raining. Resisting the temptation to cancel the event and go home as nobody else had turned up we set out the traps on the borders of the established wood. Experience has shown that setting up traps on the borders between different habitat types increases the numbers of moths recorded in a trap as moths are drawn into the trap from both habitat rypes. After a short while the rain fortunately stopped although the temperature continued to drop steadily through the evening until we finished just after midnight. VIierecorded 55 species on the night with no noteable rarities. The highlights for me were the Magpie Moth and Canaryshouldered Thorn, both large colourful moths. It will be interesting to see how the species list for this area develops as the woodland matures and although our results so far are not very exciting in terms of rare or localised moths the records will hopefully form a foundation on which we can build in years to come.

The full species list for the night was; Agapeta hamana, Pandemis heparana, Chrysoteuchia culmella, Agriphila straminella, Catoptria pinella, Brown China-mark, Mother of Pearl, Gold Triangle, Bee Moth, Phycita roborella, Euzophera pinguis, Drinker, Oak Hook-tip, Chinese Character, Small Blood-vein, Riband Wave, Red Twin-spot Carpet, Shaded Broad-bar, Common Carpet, Small Phoenix, July Highflyer, Small Waved Umber, Lime-speck Pug, Magpie Moth, Brimstone Moth, Canary-shouldered Thorn, Early Thorn, Scalloped Oak, Iron Prominent, Brown-tail, Yellow-tail, Dingy Footman, Scarce Footman, Ruby Tiger, Shuttle Shaped Dart, Flame Shoulder, Large Yellow Underwing, Lesser Yellow Underwing, Lesser Broad Bordered Yellow Underwing, Bright-line Brown-eye, Brownline Bright Eye, Clay, Smoky Wainscot, Shoulder-striped Wainscot, Straw Underwing, Dun-bar, Dark Arches, Light Arches, Tawny Marbled Minor, Cloaked Minor, Common Rustic, Dusky Sallow, Uncertain, Rustic, Snout.

Early Thorn (Seleniadentaria)

The Suffolk Argus

M::.rch 1998

Thursday August 28th: Noar Hill, near Selborne, Hampshire-joint meeting with the Upper Thames Branch.

Moth Night at Walberswick Saturday, 30th August

1997 by Tony Prichard

by RichardStewart This moth night was arranged with the intention oflooking for some of Suffolk's coastal salt-marsh moth specialities. On the night the five people attending were rather disappointed in this respect but some unexpected species turned up giving us some consolation. During the year I had been busy building additional Skinner mqth traps so that by the time we held this moth night we had four light traps to cover part of the reedbeds and nearby woodland scrub. The weather initially looked as though it would take a turn for the worse but the rain held off for the night although the temperature did rum quite cool near the end of the evening. A few migrant species were recorded on the night which was unusual as 1997 will not be remembered as a great migrant year. These included Diamond Backed Moth, Udeaferrugalis(a pyralid moth), Dark Sword Grass and Silver Y. The Silver Y seems to be mirroring the Painted Lady butterfly, following last year's bumper migration very few have been seen this year. Moth of the night was awarded to a Large Thorn which turned up in one of the Skinner traps in the woodland scrub. This is a nationally notable species. This individual caused quite a discussion on the distinguishing features between the Large Thorn and the more common Canaryshouldered Thorn until a Canaryshouldered Thorn arrived at the light.

When the two moths species were compared next to each other they were quite clearly different. In the end the total number of species recorded was 44. The full species list was Diamond Backed Moth, four tortrix moths

- Pandemiscorylana,Olethreuteslacunana, Epiblemauddmanniana, Cydiasplendana, three pyralids - Chilophragmitella,Agriphila latistria,Udeaferrugalis,a plume moth Platyptiliagonodactyla,Chinese Character, Blood-vein, Garden Carpet, Common Carpet, Common Marbled Carpet, Narrowwinged Pug, Treble Bar, Peacock Moth, Latticed Heath, Brimstone Moth, Large Thorn, Canary-shouldered Thorn, Light Emerald, Lesser Swallow Prominent, Dingy Footman, White-line Dart, Turnip Moth, Dark Sword Grass, Flame Shoulder, Large Yellow Underwing, Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Six-striped Rustic, Square-spot Rustic, Antler Moth, Common Wainscot, Copper Underwing, Mouse Moth, Angle Shades, Flounced Rustic, Frosted Orange, Bulrush Wainscot, Vine's Rustic, Silver Y and Snout.

Nine of the thirteen attending had made the long journey from Suffolk, some staying overnight, but the target species, the Brown Hairstreak, didn't materialise. The meeting was somewhat overshadowed by an accident to one of the Upper Thames members but inquiries a few days later revealed he was 0.K. - it did however emphasise the responsibility of being a leader. The usual nectar source for the Brown Hairstreak at this site is Hemp Agrinomy, which was still flowering in many areas, including large clumps in the more sheltered pit areas. The site itself enjoys panoramic views and members not only saw the delicate Lady's Tresses but also speculated for some minutes on an enormous white tent-like structure covering one particular patch. It turned out to be a wind-shield being used by a photographer! Species seen included Meadow Brown, Common Blue, Brown Argus, Small and Large White, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Comma, Small Heath, a few Gatekeeper, Speckled Wood and Small Copper. A day of sporadic sunshine degenerated into heavy rain which unfortunately caught everyone. This was only because a lingering Suffolk member called everyone back to look at what he thought was a Brown Hairstreak up a tree-it was high, dark and silhouetted with wings closed. No one could identify my sighting and this incident lasted just long enough to stop members getting back to their cars in the dry. I was very popular!

Saturday September 13th: Minsmere Perimeter-joint meeting with the Ipswich and District Natural History Society and Butterfly Conservation. by RichardStewart Despite gusty wind near the National Trust carpark we recorded a good number of species, particularly in the more sheltered and sunlit wooded areas away from the coast. The walk took us inland, along the footpath to Eastbridge, then down to the Sluice and back along the beach to the start. Species of butterflies seen were: Small Copper(22plus), Red Admiral(?), Small Tortoiseshell(14), Large White(?), Comma(4), Speckled Wood(2) and single specimens of Peacock, Small White, Greenveined White, Common Blue and Wall Brown, i.e. eleven species, a good total for the time of year. Other sightings included a hornet's nest, with one observed taking a wasp off nearby ivy, two silver Y moths, broom, grey dagger, dead oak eggars, two common darters, two migrant hawkers, female and male Southern hawker, heron, goldfinches, meadow pipit, swan and cygnets, reed bunting, greylag geese, heron and kestrel. On the last part of the walk we observed distantly a long line of twitchers presumably watching some rare bird and enjoyed closer views of the celebrated Tarpan ponies not far from the Sluice area.

The Suffolk Argus

M::.rch 1998

Thursday August 28th: Noar Hill, near Selborne, Hampshire-joint meeting with the Upper Thames Branch.

Moth Night at Walberswick Saturday, 30th August

1997 by Tony Prichard

The Suffolk Argus

March 1998

New Species for the Suffolk Moth Check List by Tony Prichard The following species of moth not already present on the checklist were recorded in 1997. B& F No Scientific Name

186 196 427 428 449 457 533

537 656 705 1006 1058 1108 1204 1210 1242 1371 1501 1517

Common Name

Anew way of saying No

Moth Night at Pound

byJamesMann

by Tony Prichard

Farm

Saturday, August 2nd 1997

Early Thorn (Seleniadentaria)

The Suffolk Argus

March 1998

Butterflies in

Suffolk 1997 by RichardStewart (County Butterfly Recorder)

RedAdmiral (Vanessaatalanta)

The Suffolk Argus

March 1998

1997 Field Trips Hollesley Meadows Saturday, July 5th 1997 by Paul Gilson

LargeSkipper (Och/odesvenata)

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The SuffolkArgus

Invertebrate recording at Minsmere

March 1998

The Suffolk Argus

Observations on the Queen of

Spain Fritillary 1997 by RichardStewart (County Butterfly Recorder)

March 1998

Suffolk Show 1998 27/28thMay by Paul Gilson

The

SuffolkArgus

March 1998

The

SuffolkArgus

March 1998

Additional Moth Nights

for 1998

the Editor

Members Evening

An early start to the year for Butterfly recording

Saturday 15th

Notes from

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1997 by JamesMann

The Suffolk Argus

March 1998

Contents 1998 - Annual General Meeting .................................... Cover

Newsletter Details

Copy Dates Contributions for our newsletter should reach the Editor (address on back page) no later than:

Notes from the Editor ............................................................ 3

January May

Members Evening 1997 ..................................................... 3-4

October

Steve Goddard ........................................................................

Suffolk Show 1998 .................................................................

To Advertise in Tfft:

Christmas Eve April Fools Day August Bank Holiday

Any piece of writing that is considered to be of interest will be published together with line drawings/prints/photographs. The Suffolk Argus is your magazine, so please let us hear from you.

SUFFOLK ARGUS

Pleasecontact:

Paul Gilson (01473 253276)

Butterfly HOTELS

A purposebuilt Hotel with all thefacilitiesthat todays travellersrequireyet in a

Butterfl,1;)~

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Butterfl~ Hotel, A45 Bury East Exit. Moreton Hall, Bury St. Edmunds

01284 760884

ButterflyLine 0891 884505

,. Regular Updates & Latest News All profits are used for the conservation of butterflies and their habitats. Calls charged at 50p per minute at all times

01284 760884 19

Suffolk Branch Contacts

Chairman

JamesMann, The Old School, The Street, Darsham, Saxmundham, Suffolk, IP 17 3QA (OJ728 668532)

TH£

SUFFOLK ARGUS

Membership Secretary Paul Gilson, 18 Cheltenham Avenue, Ipswich, Suffolk IP! 4LN (01473 253276) Newsletter Editor

Paul Gilson,18 Cheltenham Avenue, Ipswich, Suffolk IP! 4LN (01473 253276)

March 1998

Programme Secretary

Alan Johmon, 28 Medway Road, Ipswich, Suffolk IP3 0QH (01473 715701)

Volunteers Needed If you feel you could run a small sales operation or just help out now and then with the growing work of the Branch, please contact James Mann on

01728 668532.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Annual General Meeting

County Recorder (Butterflies) RichardStewart,'Valezina', 112 Westerfield Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP4 2:XW (01473 216518) Conservation Officer (Butterfiies)

JamesMann, The Old School, The Street, Darsham, Saxmundham, Suffolk, IP17 3QA (0 I 728 668532) Conservation Officer (Moths) TonyPrichard,3 Powling Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP3 9JR (01473 270047)

The date:

Saturday, 28th March, 1998

The time:

7pm for 7 .15pm (approx.)

County Recorder (Moths)

Arthur Watchman,Onchan, Back Lane, Monks Eleigh, Suffolk IP7 7BA Secretary

TonyPrichard,3 Powling Road, Ipswich, Suffolk IP3 9JR (01473 270047)

The place: Butterfly Hotel, Bury St. Edmunds

Treasurer

Published by the Suffolk Branch of Butterfly Conservation (The British Butterfly Conservation Society Ltd.) Reg. No. 2206468 Reg. Charity No. 254937 Head Office: P.O. Box 222. Dcdham, EssexCO? 6EY.

Tel. (01206) 322342

GrahamBull, Willow Cottage, I The Street, Raydon, Suffolk IP7 5LP (01473 310371) Publicity Officer Steven Goss,Yaxley Manor House, Yaxley, Eye, Suffolk IP23 BOG (01379 783386)

Editedby Paul Cihon Logo (Silver-studded Blue) Doug HammerJ/ey

Pleaseseeseparatesheetfor A. G.M details.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• The Newsletter of the Suffolk Branch of Butterfly Conservation

President

HowardMendel, c/o Ipswich Museum, High St., Ipswich, Suffolk IP! 3QH (01473 213761)

Volume 13

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION

Suffolk Argus 13, Mar 1998

Articles inside

Newsletter Details & General Information

Observations of the Queen of Spain Fritillary 1997

Butterflies in Suffolk - 1997