The Suffolk Argus
A Butterfly Historian by Steven Goss Those of you who know me will be aware that one of my main areas of interest is in the history of British butterflies, of butterfly collecting, butterfly collectors and the development of our knowledge during the past 300 years. I suppose I am a sort of
'butterflyhistorian'. As part of my research I buy old collections whenever the opportunity arises, mainly at auctions. Each specimen that I choose to keep is transferred into my 'master collection' which is housed in sixty drawers in two large cabinets, where it is given a reference number and its derails recorded on corn purer disc. I have independent records of every locality a specimen was captured (some of which are very obscure and rake a lot of identifying) and also of every collector whose specimens I encounter. We all know that collecting butterflies is completely inappropriate today. In an age of digital colour photography and rapidly declining populations we have thankfully reached a point in history where it is quire unnecessary. However, the millions of specimens collected by our forefathers offer us a wealth of valuable information and an insight into the lives of those who collected them. Take for example a large collection I bought at auction recently. It comprises about 1,400 specimens caught between 1901 and 1912, with a few earlier specimens which the collector had either been given or bought.
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November 1998
By analysing it as a whole I can tell that this collector would often have visited a sire specifically for one species himself and then captured as many of them as he could while he had the chance - more than he needed or should have taken. In rhar collection there are no less than 61 Large Heath, yet only 4 Comma, which interestingly reflects the changing fortunes of these two species. Furthermore the Commas were all labelled as caught at Newport in 1894 by someone else, so our collector probably never ever encountered the species himself. A hundred years ago i~ was confined mainly to the Monmouthshire area and was even considered quire a rarity. On the other hand he would have enjoyed the thrill of discovering a colony of Large Tortoiseshells, a pleasure lost to all of us at the present rime. One question I am currently pondering concerns the migratory habits of the Pale Clouded Yellow. Do they migrate here in roughly even numbers of males and females, or is it mainly males that reach us? In days gone by, this species would be eagerly netted by almost any collector it had the misfortune to fly past. Having acquired many collections over the years, it seems reasonable to assume that the specimens I have should be a fair representation of what has migrated here. Yet for every female, I have sixteen males. Incredibly disproportionate. Could it be that it is principally males that make rhe journey? I have certainly never read anything to that effect so the answer is probably 'no'. Anyway, more knowledgeable people than I would surely have noticed if that were the case. I suspect that the reason for such a disproportionate rate of capture is that the females are very light in colour and on a sunny day might easily be mistaken for one of rhe common whites.
Joint meeting with the Suffolk Naturalists' Society at RAF Barnham, the target species being Green Hairstreak and Dingy Skipper Sunday 17th May 1998 by Richard Stewart This meeting, jointly led by Nick Sibbert and myself, attracted a large number, being an area normally out of bounds to most naturalists. Three County Recorders were present and we were also able to use the expertise of Michael Chinery. A complete list of records was sent to Rob Parker, who presented copies to all at a later management me~tin_g, emphasising the rich diversity of the wildlife and the management needs for certain species. Turning to butterflies, the following were recorded: Green Hairstreak (fewer than expected), Large, Small and Green-veined White, Brimstone, Orange Tip, Small Copper, Brown Argus, Common Blue, Holly Blue, Red Admiral, Peacock, Speckled Wood and Small Heath. A close search in the morning revealed at least 10 Dingy Skipp.ers at rhe known site but the decisio_n of a small group to explore the far corner in the New Plantation area, TL8680, was richly rewarded by rhe discovery of 40 plus Dingy Skippers, easily the best colony during the survey and also in a new tetrad. Rob, to whom much thanks goes for all his work on the site, has already returned here with the Base Warden and, as indicated earlier, has presented management suggestions to ensure this colony survives and hopefully expands.
A Visit to Kent Saturday 23 rd May 1998 by Alan Johnson A total of twelve of our members attended a joint morning meeting with the Kent Branch, some having made an early start from Suffolk, others having stayed locally. The site we were to visit, Bonsai Bank, is within the Denge Forest and about 5 miles S.W. of Canterbury. It is a Site of Nature Conservation Interest owned by the Forestry Commission and leased to the Kent Wildlife Trust. The reserve is situated in a wooded valley and is very rich in chalkland flowers. Earlier this century the Forestry Commission planted this chalk bank with conifers. The growth of many of these trees was stunted due to lack of moisture and nutrients in rhe chalk soil and the grazing by rabbits. Thus, the dwarf trees gave the bank its name. The trees were harvested or abandoned as uneconomic in the late J980's, leaving areas of chalk grassland with dense patches of scrub vegetation and dwarf trees surrounded by woodland. The reserve is home to many interesting plants including, Chalk Milkworr and the Lady, Greater Butterfly, Twayblade and the Pyramidal Orchids. Butterflies include, Common Blue, Brown Argus, Grizzled and Dingy Skipper, Green Hairsrreak and Marbled White. The rarest butterfly found on the reserve is the Duke of Burgundy, which was to be the target species for our visit. We were met by Trevor Hatten of the Kent Branch and Paul Johnson of the Suffolk Branch who were to be our leaders. We were then taken along a forest track to the reserve. Our arrival coincided with the sun breaking through the clouds and
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