Suffolk Argus 20, June 2000 by Suffolk Naturalists' Society

Suffolk Branch Contacts

Chairman Rob Parka, 66 Cornfield Road, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk IP33 3BN (01284 705476) Membership Secretary Paul Gilson, I 8 Cheltenham Avenue, Ipswich, Suffolk IP! 4LN (01473 253276) Newsletter

Editors (temporary)

Paul Gilson (address as above} Richard Stewart, 'Valezina', 112 Westerfield Road, Ipswich, Suffolk 11'1 2XW (01473 216518) Publiciry Officer

Richard Champion, 7a St. John's Street, Beck Row, Bury Sr. Edmunds, Suffolk JP28 BAA (0 I 638 714768)

Volunteers Needed If you feel you could help out now and then with the growing work of the Branch, please contact Paul Gilson on

01473253276.

Programme Secretary

Alan Johnson, 28 Medway Road, Ipswich, Suffolk IP3 0QH (01473 7 I 570 I) County Recorder (ButterAies) Richard Stewart, (address as above} Conservation Officers (Butterflies) Richard Suwart, East Suffolk (address as above) Rob Parka, Central Suffolk (address as above} Richard O,ampion, West Suffolk (address as above) Conservation Officer (Moths) Tony Prichard, 3 l'owling Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP3 9JR (01473 270047)

County Recorders (Moths) Jon Nicholls, 18 Berners Road, Felixstowe, Suffolk IP! l 7LF (01394 271500) Tony Prichard (address as above} Secretary

Tony Prichard, (address as above} Treasurer

Graham Bull, Willow Cottage, l The Street, Raydon, Suffolk 11'7 5Ll' (01473 310371)

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. Dcdh,m. E<S,:xCO? GEY.Tel. (111206) 322342 Editedby Patti Gr/Jon6- Richard Suwart Logo (Silver-scuddedBlue) Doug Hammmlq Designed and producedby Suphtn Ion © 2000 a.IIrighu reserved

Committee

Members

Beryl Johnson, 28 Medway Road, Ipswich, Suffolk 11'3 0QH (01473 715701)

lune 2000 • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Stella Wolfe President

Howard Mmdel, c/o The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BO (0171 938 8782)

BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION

White Admiral by Beryl Jo mso,

The Newsletter of the Suffolk Branch of Butterfly Conservation Volume 20

The Suffolk Argus

June 2000

Contents Editorial ...............................................................................

Newsletter Details

....................

Annual General Meeting 2000 ................ :........................... 4 Branch Accounts/ Action for threatened moths project .... 5-6 New committee/Surveys ......................................................

Talks/Hibernating

butterflies ..............................................

Autumn General Meeting ..............................................

1999 Field Trips ..........................................................

To Advertisein

11-12

Butterflies in Suffolk: 1999 ......................................... 13-14

14-15

My favourite patch .......................................................

16-1 7

Silver-studded Blue-Aldringham

Walks ............................

Magic moments in place of tranquilicy .............................

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

Christmas Eve

June October

April Fools Day August Bank Holiday

Any piece of writing chat 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.

ThSuffolk Argus

9-1 0

National Moch Nighc/SME Events .............................

Copy Dates

Please contact:

Paul Gilson (01473 253276)

Down the Scallode Wash to Botany Bay ..................... 20-21 Back issues of the Suffolk Argus/Gift Aid .......................... 22 Newsletter Derails & General Information ....................... 23 Suffolk Branch Contacts ........................................

Back Cover

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01284 760884 23

The Suffolk Argus

June 2000

Back issues of the Suffolk Argus For our newer members we have available back issues of the Suffolk Argus from volume l to 18. If any members would like to make up the complete set they are available at a cost of 25p each plus postage. The following second class postage rates apply:-

Up to 2 copies Up to 4 copies Up to 6 copies Up to 7 copies Up to 9 copies Up to 11 copies

19p 30p 40p 5lp 60p

Up to 13 copies

70p 80p

Up to 15 copies

92p

Please make your cheques payable to Butterfly Conservation and send your orders to:-

Paul Gilson 18 Cheltenham Avenue Ipswich Suffolk IPl 4LN Please do not send any cash through the post!

Editorial Gift Aid Declaration Fortn You may have heard that new measures recently introduced by the government will allow Butterfly Conservation to increase its income substantially by reclaiming the income tax its members have paid on the gross value of their membership subscription to BC and on any donations they make to the Society. This is great news as it means our income could rise by over £50000 withour it costing our members a single penny more than they already give us. To make this happen our members need to sign the Gift Aid Declaration Form enclosed!

by Richard Stewart First, a big thankyou to all involved in the Millennium Survey. Our Branch total was: over 700 recorders, 78090 records and all of Suffolk's 1088 2 km. Tetrads covered to a minimum of 5 species. At the Birmingham meeting for Millennium Recorders recently, the national totals were given as: 1.6 million records, 16.4 species per 10 km. Square and 99 per cent of all I O km. squares covered in England, Scotland and Wales. The national publication is now due in March 200land from the preview during Jim Asher's presentation at Birmingham it should be a very attractive, comprehensive and informative publication. The 'New butterflies of Suffolk' manuscript is complete and its publication is now dependent on the reaction of the Suffolk Naturalists' Society reading panel.

There are just-two other points to note: I.

Members who do not pay income tax cannot panicipate in this scheme.

2. Those members who are higher rate taxpayers can benefit personally by claiming higher rate tax relief on the gross value of their donations and subscription, but they will need to claim this on their annual tax returns to the Inland Revenue. The completed forms should be returned direct to our Dedham Office.

Articles for - -.· the Suffolk Argus

The second item in this edition is the incredible start to a new century of recording in Suffolk. On the afternoon of 1st January I was fonunately up in my study, having decided against a long walk, on what was a mild, sunny day, mainly because of getting up late after seeing the New Year in. Instead I had a perfect New Year present, as two Red Admirals suddenly appeared flying close to a garden conifer and gave me time to get them in the binoculars before they flew away. I subsequently had reports of another Red Admiral at Kesgrave from Rosemary and Tony Milner and yet another on the same day from P. J. Vincent, this one at Dunwich Heath. Fred and Bea Elliston made it 5 on the day with a Peacock at Alton Water. All constitute new County records for early sightings and, among other subsequent reports, a Greenveined White from Eileen Coe and Mervyn Crawford at Mildenhall on I Ith. March easily beat the previous early record while Rosemary van der Does' Wall Brown, photographed at Cotton Churchyard on March 19th, was more than a month ahead of the previous best, 24th April. What a great start to the century!

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 IP1 4LN. Myself and Richard Stewart will be overseeing the production of the newsletter until a new Editor is found.

The Suffolk Argus

June 2000

2000AGM by Paul Gilson The 2000 AGM at the Butterfly Hotel, Bury St. Edmunds, started with a full account of recent activities by acting Chairman Richard Stewart. Each Branch officer then gave a separate report and these included the presentation and acceptance of the annual financial statement (details opposite). The acting Chairman also introduced four members, Rob Parker, Richard Champion, Beryl Johnson and Stella Wolfe who would be joining the committee this year. For a full account please see the article on page 6. Our first guest speaker for the evening was David Bridges, Butterfly Conservation's new Chief Executive who gave us a presentation on exciting new developments within Butterfly Conservation. These included the possibility of a National Butterfly Center, which could be used to promote environmentally friendly farming methods for butterflies and other wildlife. There would also be changes in the way Butterfly Conservation counted its members and the National Headquarters at Dedham would probably be moving to Wareham in Dorset to join the expanding Conservation Office. A short break was taken for refreshments, which gave members a chance to talk to committee members and guest speakers. Our second guest speaker was Dave Green, one of Butterfly Conservation's newly appointed Moth Conservation Officers. He gave us an excellent slide show and talk on the work being done to protect threatened species of moth. For a full

account of his talk see opposite page. The meeting concluded with members slides, followed by some members and guest speakers staying to have an evening meal at the Butterfly Hotel. Once again we are extremely grateful to our hosts, the Butterfly Hotel, for providing the room, and there was an increase in attendance this year, Twentytwo in fact, nine being committee members and two our invited guest speakers. Please don't be put off by the word AGM, which invariably acts as a 'turn off' to many who might possibly come? We try to keep the actual AGM as brief as possible and give as much time to our guest speakers. Please let us know if you have any comments or suggestions to improve future attendance.

This was my first Clouded Yellow since 1996 and it put on a wonderful show, flying and resting, for at least a quarter of an hour, but almost needless to say I had no camera with me! Ever the optimist, I decided to move on and visit the last two "under-recorded" tecrads in this part of Suffolk, and was fortunate to record five species in each afi:er some prolonged searching. The Wall is not a common butterfly in north-west Suffolk, but by the end of the day I had recorded it in seven tetrads, five of which were new. This prompted further intense searching for this delightful butterfly over the next few weeks in the remaining blank tecrads in this part of the county. Nowhere else were they to be found in the same numbers encountered along the Stallode Wash, but rather as singles or twos and threes along drove roads, bridle-ways and bye-ways.

In many parts of the Fens these trackways criss-crossing agricultural "deserts" provide the only habitat of any kind for butterflies and other wildlife. Where the Wall is concerned, this is especially true where verges are lefi: un-mowed (or are much wider than the single width cut commonly taken down each side), and are backed by at least one hedge or a ditch. The north end of the Stallode Wash produced a few third brood specimens of the Wall in late September 1999, and it will be interesting to see if the high second brood numbers will translate into better than average first brood numbers in 2000.

Wall Brown

by DouglasHammersley

Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk moth

by Mervyn Crawford

The

Suffolk Argus

Down the Stallode Wash to Botany Bay by RichardChampion

June 2000

\v'ha1 nnc.lli\'c names these arc' Not some romantic foreign shore in this instance but a little hit of Suffolk that is as far west and north a~ you c:an go without a passport. The good weather promised for July ."\Oth 1999 duly arri,·cd and I set off to do some huttcrfly recording in this area that I had nc\'cr prc\'iously \'isitcd. N11 '<Hl!Wr h.1d I p.irknl up at the mu1h rnd of the S1.1llodc \v'.1,h and begun sorting out my rucks.ick than the first hu11crfly nf the day - a pristine male wall landed beside me on the gravel track. As this was a "new" record for the millennium survey, I set off north along the track with high hopes for the remainder of the day. An hour later I reached the railway line at the south end of Botany Bay and had recorded 16 species including the three skippers, the three whites, all the common browns, plus Peacock, Comma, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Brimstone and Common Blue. What surprised me the most was that in many places along the track, the Wall was the common butterfly - indeed I must have seen nearly 30 in the first hour. I carried on to the north end of Botany Bay where you come to the Little Ouse and the county of boundary, and turned east along the top of the dyke that separates the river from the new RSPB Lakenheath Fen reserve. Once again the Wall was the common butterfly on several sections of the dyke and a couple more "new" black dots were added to the rerrad map, bur the only additional species seen was a single Painted Lady. The day was turning our to be a real scorcher so I retraced my steps back to the car for some food and water. As I sat on the grassy bank enjoying my lunch and the glorious sunshine a Clouded Yellow flew past and landed a couple of yards away.

Butterfly

Conservation

Income and Expenditure Account for the Year Ended 31st March 2000

1998/9 779 00 164.50 19.85 130 00 13.89 1,107.24 83.87

Income

1999/00

Membership Subscriptions Granrs Dnnations: General Fundraising Butterfly Plants Sale of Merchandise

1,023.37

1998/9 50.00 12.50 455.17 116.50 108.75 31.39 58.78

713.00

204.81 210.07 1,127.88 49.60

Cost of Sales

1078.28

1999/00

Income Donation Retirement Suffolk Show Subscriptions Newsletters/Program Butterfly Action Plan

20.00 81.00 15.00 346.42

181.69

Member'sNight/ACM

95.25

FWAG Conference Repairs Office Expenses Conference Expenses

2.46 29.00

858.09

770.82 Surplus on current year

307.46

Balance Sheet as at 31st March 2000 Consolidated Fund Balance 1.4.2000 Add surplus on year

817.35 307.46 1,124.81

Assets as at 1.4.2000 Generator Software Projector Table Exhibition Tent Srock - Merchandise Liabilities

Net Worth

Suffolk Branch

150.00 29.99 100.00

Represented by: Girobank pie Cash in hand

1,122.46 2.35 1,124.81

Written down value@ 20% 61.44 No present value 15.35 64.00 140.79 190.90 (60.00)

1,396.50

The Suffolk Argus

Action for threatened Moths Project by Tony Prichard A summary of Dave Green's talk at our recent AGM Dave Green, one of the recently appointed National Moth Conservation Officers, gave a presentation on the 'Action for Threatened Moths Project'. Dave quickly endeared himself to members of the Suffolk Moth Group present by starting his talk by saying that he thought that the SMG was one of the best moth groups in the country, the other being the Glamorgan Moth Group. This may have been a ploy to forestall any SMG hecklers in the back of the room but the compliment was well received. Dave picked up on my comment about the discovery lase year of the Narrowbordered Bee Hawkmoth in Suffolk and reiterated that this was a very important disco.very. He added chat an additional site for the species in the east of the counry had also been discovered last year. Lanching into the presentation proper Dave went on to cover the various species listed in the National Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP), giving an idea of what work is in progress monitoring these species around the county and where our understanding of

June 2000

the species habitat requirements/life histories are still lacking. Particular emphasis was paid to the BAP species found in the East Anglian region covering the Barberry Carpet, Bright Wave, Lunar Yellow Underwing, Buttoned Snout and Bordered Gothic. Urban habitats have a role to play, with the Buttoned Snout (whose larvae feed on hop) being recorded from sites like railway embankments and what action should we take to preserve these habitats. More worryingly Dave mentioned that moth species habitats are still being lost due to environmental pressures, using the Toadflax Brocade as an ·actual example. The list of the species listed in the BAP is to be reviewed in a few years time when Dave hopes that some additional species could be added to the list. A good example being the Kentish Glory which used to be distributed across the south-east of the country (including Suffolk) but which has now died out. le is now only found in Scotland. In addition, the micro-lepidoptera are also poorly represented with only one species, Coleophora tricolor (foun-d in Suffolk), being listed but with the likelihood that more micro-lepidopcera species would be worthy of inclusion in the list.

Magic • tnotnents 1n a place of tranquillity by James Mann In mid June last year Anne, myself and Anne's friend Dianna arrived at our house in the Catalonian area of France to spend a couple of weeks sizing it up and sorting out what to do to icwhen we eventually moved here permanently. Next time you move house and grumble chat "d1ey" have taken the light bulbs think ofus. The only light more or less intact was a huge iron chandelier, which must weigh about 3 cwt in the middle of the salon. Apart from this we had the odd bulb sticking out of the wall but in most places bare or badly caped up wires poking out here and there. This did not really worry us for the thing we had come for, warm sunny weather, was here. On the first Saturday we decided to visit the local street market in Ceret. Those of you who have read Laurie Lee will recognise it as the place he started from to walk over the Pyrenees to Spain to join the Revolution. Many of the streets are lined by huge Lime trees almost big enough co hide a car behind and the market square is full of colourful stalls of all kinds oflocal produce. The odd Jazz band wandered through playing trad jazz and the crowd we saw in one Rue were watching a mime artist. Afi:era few hours soaking up the atmosphere and buying food for the weekend we Jecided to move to a quiet place we had found on a previous visit. We crossed che river

Tech and climbed I 000 feet up into the hills across from the town. As oli:en in our area the wind was rather strong and the sight of a Cleopatra flying backward against the wind convinced me it was not a day for butterflies. We turned off the road and drove along a track up a little hill topped by the 11eh century St Ferreal Ermitage, the history of which would make another story. We parked and walked into che grounds of the chapel past a notice that asked visitors to be silent. The grounds are laid out with rrees and suddenly I realised that it was completely sheltered from the wind and it was possible to hear the silence. You really could have heard a pin drop. Anne and Diana went off co investigate and I stood trying to identify the large bright butterflies chasing around. They were a mixture of black and yellow and black and white. As the odd one settled before being chased off by another I was able co identify chem as ordinary Swallowtails and the southern species of Scarce Swallowtail, in which the male oli:en lacks any yellow at all. I stood enjoying the spectacle of these beautiful insects when I thought "Some of you look a bit dark for Swallowtails". I particularly watched che dark ones and when one landed in a rree a few feet above my head I realised it was a Pacha A Deux or a Two-tailed Pasha as you in England will know it. I then spent a happy half hour in the peace and quiet watching these three wonderful species chasing each other in and out of the trees and around my head, the odd one landing for a few seconds before being chased off by either a partner or another species. The odd Clouded Yellow or Cleopatra flying past did not disturb me nor did the many Laings Shore-tailed Blues buc I must admit to spending some time watching the sole Small White. I have read about the hill copping tendency of the Two-tailed Pasha and I wonder have I found a reliable site to srudy chem. Watch this space.

The Suffolk Argus

Silver--studded Blues, Aldringham Walks by James Mann As you will have read in an earlier Argus I had little confidence in the success of the 1998 reintroduction of Silver-studded Blue to Aldringham Walks. On this premise Rob Macklin and myself decided that he would monitor the Aldringham site, just in case a Silver-studded Blue appeared, and I would monitor the donor site at Westleton so that we could repeat/reinforce last year's reintroduction at the peak flying time. Imagine my surprise when I returned from France to hear chat Rob had seen a Silver-scudded Blue at Aldringham in the third week of June. He and I had a discussion and decided that we would carry out our intended reinforcement. The Silverscudded Blues at Westleton had built up good numbers by early July and at 9am on 6th July I collected 12 females and 4 males in a matter of few minutes and went off to meet Rob at Aldringham at I 0am. Before releasing we counted 10 Silver-studded Blues from the previous year's release but only one of them was a female. We made our release and followed some of the females towards the end of the site. The second of them landed and it was swooped on by one of the resident males and mating took place. The weather on 9th July was a bit cooler and overcast and I made a release of a further 12 females and 3 males but despite spending some 30 minutes at the site I did not see any other Silver-studded Blues. I

June 2000

made the rh ird release of 14 females and 8 males on 12th July and was pleased to see a few surviving from the earlier releases. The day of rhe final release 16th July was warm and sunny and I was able to catch 14 females and I O males in a few minutes in a radius of I 0 metres. As arranged I met David Thurlow at Aldringham at I 0am. As we approached the site we saw a Silverscudded Blue on the very first clump of bell heather, we made our release in rhe centre and walked to the end and saw our last Silver-scudded Blue on the very last clump of bell heather. We counted a total of 50, hopefully nor including our release of rhar morning. As a bonus we photographed what we thought was an Ant lion in flight. This I am pleased to say has been ratified by no less than Michael Chinery. The fact rhat any Silver-scudded Blues at all survived from the 1998 release proves that this is a good sire. With rhe R.S.P.B's planned work this winter rhe sire will greatly expand. In a few years rime it could well rival Wesrleton as Suffolk's largest colony. Please monitor it and let me know.

............ SilverStudded Blue by Douglas Hammersley

New Cotntnittee by Richard Stewart This is listed on the back cover and 4 new committee members were elected at the recent AGM - Richard Champion had been co-opted already. He fills a big county gap from his base at Mildenhall and has been a Main Recorder in the Millennium Survey. He will also look after Conservation matters in his area of Suffolk - see back page for more derails about this. Richard will also act as Branch Publicity Officer. The remaining three were also Main Recorders in the Survey. Stella Wolfe lives in Ipswich and with husband Roger has comprehensively recorded the Srour Valley and adjacent areas, including tetrads for the Essex Survey. Beryl Johnson from Ipswich, with husband Allan, our Programme Secretary, has been responsible for the Argus illustrations accompanying accounts of their butterfly weekends and is the creator of the attractive front covers. Rob Parker, our new Chairman, is also a leading member of the Suffolk Hedge group and is currently on the SNS Council. He is also a vital contact at RAF. Barnham, which has the largest Dingy Skipper colony. He will also look after the Conservation matters between Bury St. Edmunds and Ipswich. Having restored, after many years, the female input on the committee, and filled the gap West of Ipswich, we now have a significant gap to the East, with the loss of James Mann, who lived at Darsham. Anyone in that area who feels they can contribute should contact the new Chairman.

Churchyard Survey in 2001 It was agreed at the Recorders' meeting recently to have a County survey of butterflies in Suffolk churchyards next year. This will also include other wildlife and we hope to liase with SWT and SNS, with plenty of publicity and a promotional launch next Spring. If you would like to 'book' any churchyards (at least 3 seasonal visits needed) please contact Richard Stewart.

Minsmere 2000 Summer help is needed, in July and August, especially to help in the Silver-studded Blue colony counts in early July. Again contact Richard Stewart.

The Suffolk Argus

Talks Three members of che Suffolk Branch give talks and details are below:

Michael and Jenny Kelsey

'Discovering Butterflies' With colour slides. Fee £15 plus I 5p. per mile. Address: Inglescar, 25, Prospect Place, Leiscon, IP16 4AL. Within 30 mile radius. Tel: 01728 830975.

Julian Dowding

'Garden Butterflies' With colour slides. Contact for fee details. Address: 84, Clapgace Lane, Ipswich IP3 ORE. Ipswich area and Ease Suffolk. Tel: 01473 414092.

Richard Stewart

'The Seasons in East Anglia' Colour slides and poetry based on recent published collection, with a few about buccerflies. Fee £25. Address: 112, Westerfield Road, Ipswich IP4 2X'W. Ipswich, Ease Suffolk. Tel: 01473 216518.

Peacock by Douglas Hammersley

June 2000

Hibernating Butterflies:

. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . ..

An interesting record has been passed on by Jenny Kelsey from Leiscon. This concerns observations of hibernating buccerflies by Andrew and Jane Leng at their holiday homes, Long Acre, Church Road, Thebercon. A check of che deep foundations where clusters of buccerflies hibernate revealed, in January 1999, 4 8 Peacocks and I Small T orcoiseshell. A check in March 2000 revealed just 1 Tortoiseshell. Obviously che counts aren't direccly comparable as they weren't in che same month but ic does emphasise the very mild winter we experienced and helps co explain che unprecedented early sightings chis year. Since writing che editorial a fifth new record has come in - a Small White on 25th. February seen by John Walshe ac Saxon Street, Scowupland, TM 087616. This is almost two weeks earlier chan che previous record.

sometimes seen doing its instinctive disappearing crick on stonier sections of che old crack. However, July is che ideal time co visit for a trip down 'memory lane' as che place just teems wich browns, blues, skippers, whites and Vannesids, with a company of day-flying Burnet moths thrown in for good measure. Here also is proof positive chat oaks do not need co be anywhere near macuriry co support a colony of Purple Hairscreaks. I shall never know if, in 1983, it was really a very evasive Pale Clouded Yellow or just the 'Helice' form of che more familiar migrant which came tantalisingly close co being caught on camera. Pupils from a local middle school some years ago released here che progeny of purchased livestock, aided and abetted by a somewhat misguided teacher. In my ignorance of what was going on it caused great excitement initially, which soon gave way co uccer confusion, then anger, as here was a classic demonstration of the absolute fuciliry of introducing new species into unsuitable and fragmented habitat. On a few warm summer nights, quite a sizeable gathering of local villagers would assemble around Rafe Eley's M.V. lamp suspended over a large sheet, quite mystified by his fascination with tiny geometers when Privet and Poplar Hawk moths were arriving! I have recorded some 218 macro moth species, several like che Old Lady and Red Underwing in the larval stage only as their adults rarely come co lights. To chis coca! Rafe could add at lease another 28 species. Recent records of mine include che Blossom Underwing, Grey Carpet and the incredibly beautiful green and pearly white Scarce Silver Lines. Lase year che sighting of a Broad Bordered Bee Hawk moth hovering at Garlic Mustard in company with an Orange Tip buccerffy meant chat all of our counry's

resident species of Hawk moth have now been seen on this walk. As I now live in Mildenhall and teach at Highpoint prison, sadly my visits co che area are limited co chose occasions when I am lecturing ac che West Suffolk College. However the finding of a couple of che strikingly tufted caterpillars of che Pale Tussock moth on my lase foray was sufficiencly rewarding co ensure what I hope will be 'many happy returns'.

The commentabout having notedall of the county'.rresidentspeciesof Hawk moth was made beforethe discoveryof the NarrowborderedBee Hawkmoth in Suffolk - Ed.

,..,~~.I""· )' I ABOVE:

Blossom U nderwing

by Mervyn Crawford BELOW:

Pale Tussock Larva by Mervyn Crawford

The Suffolk Argus

My Favourite Patch by Mervyn Crawford The disused railway track at Gt. Whelnetham was once part of the old Great Eastern Bury St. Edmunds to Sudbury line, and is located just two miles south of the Bury town border. It is now owned by the local parish council and managed sympathetically as a local amenity by a group of dedicated volunteers.Just one and a quarter miles in length, it runs roughly parallel with and about one fields' width to the east of the A134 road. For a few years in the seventies the deepest cutting was used as a land - fill site.

June 2000

The sire contains quire a surprising variety of habitat types, but the warmer micro climate created by the remaining shallow cuttings attracts the greater number of butterflies. Here also wild flowers such as Ragwort, Scabious and Knapweed have been allowed to proliferate undisturbed, whilst in other sections undergrowth and scrub are kept in check by selective rotational coppicing and clearance, allowing Speckled Woods to move in. A modest sprinkling of Buckthorn bushes also helps to maintain a stable and healthy Brimstone population. Over a period of some thirty years, the only butterflies on the Suffolk list of the early nineties I have not recorded here are, perhaps predictably, the Dingy Skipper, Silver - studded Blue and White Admiral. Others like the Wall Brown, Brown Argus, Green, and White-Letter Hairstreaks and Small Heath maintain a tenuous foothold, and encouragingly return after a couple or so years of apparent absence. The odd stray Grayling from nearby Link Wood is

AGMon Saturday Septetnber 16th 2000 By Richard Stewart Yes, two in one year, but we will call it the Autumn General Meeting. This has been done so we can reconcile our accounts with the National BC Financial Year, which we couldn't do if the AGM was in Spring. Our speaker is Ken Willmott, a leading member of Butterfly Conservation and very active in the Surrey and Hampshire Branches. His colour slides were used extensively in the Thomas 'Butterflies of the British Isles', definitely the best field guide to British Butterflies, and should be prominent in both the National Millennium publication and the new Suffolk book. He is also the author of two of the BC species booklets, on Purple Emperor and Holly Blue. Ken has been persuaded to give two talks, the first on butterfly variations and aberrations (I'm told he has some excellent slides) and, for the moth enthusiasts, 'Moths of South-East Englandselected biology and ecology. _____

There will also be an update on the Brimstones and Buckthorn campaign and a session for members' slides. We are also trying something different for refreshments. As well as drink and biscuits halfway through, we are asking those coming to bring some prepared food, sweet, savoury or both, so we can share it at the end of the proceedings. Please contact Richard Stewart (details on back) so we know what to expect. The venue is close to the middle of Ipswich. For those who are familiar with the Ipswich Museum, the route is up to the top of that road, turn right, and the Friends Meeting house in Fonnereau Road is two thirds of the way down, on the right. There is some parking in front of the building, in the street nearby or at Charles Street car park, close by. Please try and come-and bring a friend or two-they don't have to be in BC as we would like a big audience for someone who is recognised as one of the country's leading lepidoptera photographers.

c:._~_c:...w_"-'_ _E>_;r_t;.:-e.; __ :.____

The Suffolk Argus

Autuinn General Meeting

...... ..... .........

The Autumn General Meeting will take place at the Friends' Meeting House, Fonnereau Road, Ipswich at 2.30 pm on Saturday 16th. September 2000. The programme is:2.15 p.m. 2.30 p.m. 3.30 p.m.

Doors open. Talk by Ken Willmott. Butterfly Variations and Aberrations Autumn General Meeting.

Agenda 1. Apologies. 2. Chairmans opening address and report. 3. Treasurer's report. 11. Butterfly Conservation Officer's report. iii. Moth Conservation Officer's report. iv. Newsletter Editor's report. v. Membership Secretary's report. vi. Programme Secretary's report. 4. Election of Committee. 5. A.O.B. only items handed to the Chairman in writing prior to the start of the meeting will be accepted.

June 2000

4.15 p.m. 4.40 p.m. 5.00 p.m.

5.15 p.m.

6.15 p.m.

Members' slides. Refreshments - at a small charge. Update on the Brimstones and Buckthorn Campaign by Julian Dowding. Talk by Ken Willmott: Moths of South-East England- selected biology and ecology. Shared meal; chose wishing to stay for this are asked to contact Richard Stewart and bring something savoury and/or sweet.

Here's a list of the moth nights chat the group is holding this year which BC members are welcome to come along to.

Moth Nights

Note. Committee nominations will be taken on the day or in advance too the Chairman, all we need is a nominator, a seconder and the willingness of the member to stand.

(Held on Fridays) 16'hJune West Stow Country Park 23'd June Boyton Marshes 30'h June Pash ford Poors 7th July Sizewell Belts 21st July Bentley Long Wood 28th July Thelnetham Fen 4th August Reydon Wood 11eh August Dunwich Heath 18th August Alder Carr Fen, Creeting St. Mary 25th August Scaverton 1st September Market Weston Fen 8th September Darsham Marshes 15th September Wescleton Heath 22nd September Lineage Wood 29'h Se!ltember Cutlers Wood

Please try to attend and make this another successful event for the Suffolk Branch.

Some guidelines for people wishing to attend a moth night It is useful to bring warm clothing as it may get cold or rain, suitable foorwear for the countryside, a torch to find your way back in the dark, refreshments and something to sit cin as you could be there for a while. The lights that are used to attract the moths are more powerful than the normal household lights so it is not a good idea to stare at the lights for long periods of time. Eye protection is useful either by way of ordinary plastic lens spectacles, sunglasses, other plastic eye protection or a widebrimmed hat. Different species of moth fly at different times of the night, so the longer you stay after dusk the more the species you are likely to see. If anyone is interested then they can contact me for further details. Tony Prichard 3 Powling Road, Ipswich, IP3 9JR, Tel. 01473 270047.

Puss Moth by Mervyn Ceawford

Suffolk Moth Group Events 2000

Secaceous Hebrew Character by Mervyn Crawford

The Suffolk Argus

strengd of this colony. Holly Blue second brood reports were very low, su~esti11g tha1 its cyclical nadir will give sevn,11 yc.m of low rernrds. Red Admirals were flving well into late Au1um11as a consequence of favourable wea1her and this also produced -~ new 'latest ever' records: a Large White from Richard Havard at \X'rnhasron 011 I". November (equal) latest ever. Rich.ml Champion's Small Hc.nh on 4'". Octoha at Aspal Close West and Will Br.1111e fought off determined competition to be rhe last one ro see the late Brown Argus at Suffolk Water Park on 23d. October. Generally it was a poor year for migrants, other than Red Admiral - only scattered reports of Painted Lady, just 6 Clouded Yellows, no Camberwell Beaury and just one Queen of Spain Fritillary at Minsmere on I ?'hand I S'h. July. This means it has been recorded at this site in all 5 years of the survey. There were, however, 6 Swallowtail records, from I I 'h. July to 9,h_ September. Thanks ro the response arising from my article about the Wall Brown on the coastal strip, and Richard Champion's detailed sightings in West Suffolk, the species ended with a plus tetrad score compared to the previous survey, leaving just Dingy Skipper, White-letter Hairstreak and Small Heath lower than before. The Survey is now ended, with all records included up to 30'h. November 1999. I would like to thank all who contributed, i.e. well over 700. Everyone who sent in 1999 records will have a new recording sheet, in the hope that this period of concentrated recording can continue in future years.

June 2000

National Moth Night 2000

1999 Field Trips

Following on from the success of the National Moth Night 1999, Atropos and lnsectLine are organising a second National Moth Night for this year on Saturday 23,d September 2000. Last years event raised a lot of interest around the country with many moth night events being organised specifically for this event. The Suffolk Branch held a moth night at Martlesham Heath as part of a joint meeting with the British Entomological and Natural History Sociery-which was well attended by members of the local SWT group. Over 13000 moth records for the night were sent to Brian Coodey (Essex Macro-lepidoptera Recorder) who took on the onerous task of processing all the moth records received from around the country. Recording took place at 30 I sites with a total of 773 species being seen on the night across the country. One hundred and fifty pounds was raised by the event and donated to the Marsh Mallow moth in Kent. Several recorders from around the counry sent in records but probably the most notable record for the counry was the Pauper Pug (red data book species) which was recorded by Rafe Eley, Mike Hall, et al. at Nowton Park, near Bury St. Edmunds. I have not yet planned any specific moth recording event for this year's National Moth Night but one will be organised please contact me nearer the date for details.·

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August 6th to 8th 1999

by Tony Prichard

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Three days in Surrey

by Richard Stewart

Although heavy rain led to the abandoning of the intended North Downs walk on the last day, the rest of the trip was a great success. Ten members stayed at Bulmer Farm, Holmsbury St. Peter, near Dorking, a lovely area with a site that included woodland, meadows and lakes. The first site visited, the celebrated Bookham Common, didn't give us a repeat of the incredible close-up view of a mud-puddling Purple Emperor in July 1994 - we had to be content with more distant neck-aching views high up in the master tree area. The White Admirals were over but other species seen were Silverwashed Fritillary, Large, Small and Essex Skipper, Small and Green-veined White, Purple Hairstreak, Speckled Wood, Comma, Peacock, Red Admiral, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Common Blue and what.was for some their first Painted Lady of the year. Close inspection of the elm hedge failed to locate any White-letter Hairstreaks. The meadows at !field, near Crawley, were the venue the next day. This was a return visit after failure to previously locate the Brown Hairstreak. Initially the abundant thick blackthorn hedges gave us a frustrating time since Purple Hairstreaks, Gatekeepers and Speckled Wood all gave

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Purple Emperor

by BerylJohnson false alarms. On our way to the best area a few in front had a magnificent view of an antlered Roe deer, with a russet red coat, which was a few yards out in a field and stayed long enough for good views before it seemed alarmed by a dog bark behind it and ran back into the camouflage of the hedge. While we had lunch some wandered off to continue the search and Geoff Hayes was successful in locating a lovely female which was at low level, in pristine condition, and allowed everyone to get good close-up views and photos. The thoughts of a person with a dog, approaching our group, would have been interesting. Initially a quiet, seated clump of people, eating and drinking, someone shouting to them from a distant hedge, and an almost instantaneous mass race across the field, in some cases leaving bags and other items behind! Still it was worth it and everyone was particularly pleased for Paul Johnson, after several previous detailed searches had been unfruitful. Other site species were: Meadow Brown, Green-veined White, Large White, Small Heath, Small Copper, Essex Skipper and Common Blue.

The Suffolk Argus

The second day bonus was a clay pit near Holme Wood Common. This could have been an anti-climax bur ir turned ouc co be a sunny, sheltered habitat with an incredible amount of flowering fleabane. The actual numbers of butterflies didn't match the habitat: Holly Blue by the entrance hedge, Comma, Essex and Small Skipper, Common Blue, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Large White, Speckled Wood and Small Heath (see following article). Our thanks go to the J ohnsons for all their work, beforehand and during the trip.

Brown Hairstreaks

by BerylJohnson

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June 2000

Small Heath Aberration by Jim Foster Having seen Brown Hairstreak earlier in the day, after discussion with our leader, Paul Johnson, it was decided to visit Holm Wood clay pit. We were not expecting to see any unusual butterflies - how wrong we were! We descended into the pit, which resembled a vegetated 'moon crater' and a 'white' butterfly was soon spotted. le was eventually agreed char ir was an aberrant Small Heath. In flight it appeared co have •significantly reduced orange/brown pigmentation. I was fortunate co obtain a number of photographs. My book on aberrations, Howarth, did nor illustrate a suitable example so a visit co Ipswich Museum was arranged. They had no Small Heath aberrant specimens but their book, Russworm, did illustrate an aberrant Alba. The problem with both books is chat the illustrations are of mounted specimens showing the upper side. However my photographs were of the underside, as rhe Small Heath at rest always has closed wings. Coincidentally we were due co spend a short break with our daughter in London. We rook rhe opportunity co visit the Natural History Museum and received excellent service. We spoke ro Mr. David Career (cop butterfly man: ed.) and were able co see numerous specimens of aberrant Small Heath. He kindly removed a likely specimen so we could check the underside and this marched our photographs. The aberration appears to have numerous names (about 18) but the earliest name, we were informed, should be used, which was Albescens. Having seen and photographed my first brown Hairscreak as well this was certainly a day to remember.

Butterflies in Suffolk:

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by Richard Stewart

County BunerAyRecorder The early sightings of the previous year were not repeated in 1999 but the Red Admiral at Capel St. Mary

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on January 29'h_ (Colin Hawes) ,. ....-.:-~:.:.'.:"· I was a welcome addition to the •,,, / ·-- .. lengthening list of winter sightings for ·,,. this migrant. The Large Tortoiseshell at Snape on I G'hMarch was seen by five recorders and became the second to be authenticated during the Millennium Survey. There was litrle else our of the ordinary until another wet June fortunately was transformed towards the end of the month and rhe period from 21" June to 4,h July produced 4 new records for early sightings: Silver-scudded Blue at Purdis Heath on the 2 I" (Steve Goddard), Purple Hairstreak at Ipswich Golf Club on 22"J June ( Neil Sherman), 5 White Admirals at Mildenhall Woods (Richard Champion) also on the 22 nd - this was 13 days earlier than the previous record - and Richard Havard's White-letter Hairstreak at Wenhaston on 4,h.July. Summer highlights included the survival of the Silver-scudded Blue colony at Aldringham Walks, established in 1998 and topped up this year, under licence, and at nearby North Warren Rob Macklin has highest ever index counts on his Tran sect for Speckled Wood, Red Admiral and

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Purple Hairstreaks

by DouglasHammersley Ringlet. Steve Goddard's incredible urban garden roral rose co 24 when a Purple Hairscreak visited a pot Buddleia in his Ipswich garden and at the other end of Suffolk Glynnis Crouch had 150 Peacocks on rwo adjacent buddleias in her St. Olaves garden. Richard Champion commented 'I have never seen so many butterflies in half an hour in all my life' abouc Small and Essex Skippers feeding on Viper's Bugloss in the King's Forest and the Speckled Wood colonisation continued with Ipswich reports from all bur the North of the town and a welcome sighting in Bawdsey (W.A.Butterworth). Poor numbers of Small Tortoiseshell· were given later reinforcement by a small Conrinental influx and the Kelseys report of about 2000 Common Blues at Sizewell Dunes on 31 ". July reinforces the continued

The Suffolk Argus

Brown Hairstreaks

by BerylJohnson

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June 2000

Butterflies in Suffolk:

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by Richard Stewart

County BunerAyRecorder The early sightings of the previous year were not repeated in 1999 but the Red Admiral at Capel St. Mary

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• • • • • • •

Purple Hairstreaks

The Suffolk Argus

June 2000

National Moth Night 2000

1999 Field Trips

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August 6th to 8th 1999

by Tony Prichard

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Three days in Surrey

by Richard Stewart

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Purple Emperor

The Suffolk Argus

Autuinn General Meeting

...... ..... .........

The Autumn General Meeting will take place at the Friends' Meeting House, Fonnereau Road, Ipswich at 2.30 pm on Saturday 16th. September 2000. The programme is:2.15 p.m. 2.30 p.m. 3.30 p.m.

Doors open. Talk by Ken Willmott. Butterfly Variations and Aberrations Autumn General Meeting.

June 2000

4.15 p.m. 4.40 p.m. 5.00 p.m.

5.15 p.m.

6.15 p.m.

Here's a list of the moth nights chat the group is holding this year which BC members are welcome to come along to.

Moth Nights

Note. Committee nominations will be taken on the day or in advance too the Chairman, all we need is a nominator, a seconder and the willingness of the member to stand.

Please try to attend and make this another successful event for the Suffolk Branch.

Puss Moth by Mervyn Ceawford

Suffolk Moth Group Events 2000

Secaceous Hebrew Character by Mervyn Crawford

The Suffolk Argus

June 2000

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The Suffolk Argus

Talks Three members of che Suffolk Branch give talks and details are below:

Michael and Jenny Kelsey

'Discovering Butterflies' With colour slides. Fee £15 plus I 5p. per mile. Address: Inglescar, 25, Prospect Place, Leiscon, IP16 4AL. Within 30 mile radius. Tel: 01728 830975.

Julian Dowding

'Garden Butterflies' With colour slides. Contact for fee details. Address: 84, Clapgace Lane, Ipswich IP3 ORE. Ipswich area and Ease Suffolk. Tel: 01473 414092.

Richard Stewart

Peacock by Douglas Hammersley

June 2000

Hibernating Butterflies:

. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . ..

The commentabout having notedall of the county'.rresidentspeciesof Hawk moth was made beforethe discoveryof the NarrowborderedBee Hawkmoth in Suffolk - Ed.

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Blossom U nderwing

by Mervyn Crawford BELOW:

Pale Tussock Larva by Mervyn Crawford

The Suffolk Argus

June 2000

............ SilverStudded Blue by Douglas Hammersley

Minsmere 2000 Summer help is needed, in July and August, especially to help in the Silver-studded Blue colony counts in early July. Again contact Richard Stewart.

The Suffolk Argus

June 2000

The

Suffolk Argus

Down the Stallode Wash to Botany Bay by RichardChampion

June 2000

Butterfly

Conservation

Income and Expenditure Account for the Year Ended 31st March 2000

1998/9 779 00 164.50 19.85 130 00 13.89 1,107.24 83.87

Income

1999/00

Membership Subscriptions Granrs Dnnations: General Fundraising Butterfly Plants Sale of Merchandise

1,023.37

1998/9 50.00 12.50 455.17 116.50 108.75 31.39 58.78

713.00

204.81 210.07 1,127.88 49.60

Cost of Sales

1078.28

1999/00

Income Donation Retirement Suffolk Show Subscriptions Newsletters/Program Butterfly Action Plan

20.00 81.00 15.00 346.42

181.69

Member'sNight/ACM

95.25

FWAG Conference Repairs Office Expenses Conference Expenses

2.46 29.00

858.09

770.82 Surplus on current year

307.46

Balance Sheet as at 31st March 2000 Consolidated Fund Balance 1.4.2000 Add surplus on year

817.35 307.46 1,124.81

Assets as at 1.4.2000 Generator Software Projector Table Exhibition Tent Srock - Merchandise Liabilities

Net Worth

Suffolk Branch

150.00 29.99 100.00

Represented by: Girobank pie Cash in hand

1,122.46 2.35 1,124.81

Written down value@ 20% 61.44 No present value 15.35 64.00 140.79 190.90 (60.00)

1,396.50

The Suffolk Argus

June 2000

Wall Brown

by DouglasHammersley

Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk moth

by Mervyn Crawford

The Suffolk Argus

June 2000

Up to 2 copies Up to 4 copies Up to 6 copies Up to 7 copies Up to 9 copies Up to 11 copies

19p 30p 40p 5lp 60p

Up to 13 copies

70p 80p

Up to 15 copies

92p

Please make your cheques payable to Butterfly Conservation and send your orders to:-

Paul Gilson 18 Cheltenham Avenue Ipswich Suffolk IPl 4LN Please do not send any cash through the post!

There are just-two other points to note: I.

Members who do not pay income tax cannot panicipate in this scheme.

Articles for - -.· the Suffolk Argus

The Suffolk Argus

June 2000

Contents Editorial ...............................................................................

Newsletter Details

....................

Talks/Hibernating

butterflies ..............................................

Autumn General Meeting ..............................................

1999 Field Trips ..........................................................

To Advertisein

11-12

Butterflies in Suffolk: 1999 ......................................... 13-14

14-15

My favourite patch .......................................................

16-1 7

Silver-studded Blue-Aldringham

Walks ............................

Magic moments in place of tranquilicy .............................

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

Christmas Eve

June October

April Fools Day August Bank Holiday

Any piece of writing chat 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.

ThSuffolk Argus

9-1 0

National Moch Nighc/SME Events .............................

Copy Dates

Please contact:

Paul Gilson (01473 253276)

Back Cover

A purpose built Hotel with all the facilities that today travellers reqttireyet in a

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Butterfl~ Hotel, Al4 Bury Ease Exie. Moreton Hall, Bury Sc. Edmunds

01284 760884

Butterfly Line 09068 884505

,~ Regular Updates & Latest News All profirs are used for the conservation of butterflies and their habitats. Calls charged at 60p per minute at all times

A purpose built Hotel with all the facilities that today travellers require yet in a rustic traditional environment that is welcoming and comfortable.

BuccerflyHotel, A 14 Bury Ease Exie. Moreton Hall, Bury Sc. Edmunds

01284 760884 23

Suffolk Branch Contacts

Chairman Rob Parka, 66 Cornfield Road, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk IP33 3BN (01284 705476) Membership Secretary Paul Gilson, I 8 Cheltenham Avenue, Ipswich, Suffolk IP! 4LN (01473 253276) Newsletter

Editors (temporary)

Paul Gilson (address as above} Richard Stewart, 'Valezina', 112 Westerfield Road, Ipswich, Suffolk 11'1 2XW (01473 216518) Publiciry Officer

Richard Champion, 7a St. John's Street, Beck Row, Bury Sr. Edmunds, Suffolk JP28 BAA (0 I 638 714768)

Volunteers Needed If you feel you could help out now and then with the growing work of the Branch, please contact Paul Gilson on

01473253276.

Programme Secretary

County Recorders (Moths) Jon Nicholls, 18 Berners Road, Felixstowe, Suffolk IP! l 7LF (01394 271500) Tony Prichard (address as above} Secretary

Tony Prichard, (address as above} Treasurer

Graham Bull, Willow Cottage, l The Street, Raydon, Suffolk 11'7 5Ll' (01473 310371)

Committee

Members

Beryl Johnson, 28 Medway Road, Ipswich, Suffolk 11'3 0QH (01473 715701)

lune 2000 • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Stella Wolfe President

Howard Mmdel, c/o The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BO (0171 938 8782)

BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION

White Admiral by Beryl Jo mso,

The Newsletter of the Suffolk Branch of Butterfly Conservation Volume 20

Suffolk Argus 20, June 2000

Articles inside

Magic moments in place of tranquilicy ............................. 1 9 Down the Scallode Wash to Botany Bay

1999 Field Trips

Back issues of the Suffolk Argus/Gift Aid

My favourite patch ....................................................... 16-1 Silver-studded Blue-Aldringham Walks ............................ 1 8