The Suffolk Argus
Spring 2001
Friend or Foe
2000 Autumn GM
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ByJames Mann In March of the year 2000 I saw the first of the Lang's Short-tailed Blues flitting about the garden. I saw them from time to time over the next few weeks and the on 18 th April I saw what I thought was a beautiful specimen to photograph sitting on our roses. I took a photo but was not happy with my identification for although it had tails it looked too large, the underwing markings looked wrong and the upperwings were a uniform brown lacking any sign of blue. Directly I got the photos developed I studied the plates in my Butterflies of Britain and Europe. Tolman and Lewington and my considered opinion was that it was Cacyreus marshalli the Geranium Bronze, a native of South Africa. I did a crosscheck with my Butterflies of Southern Africa by Mark Williams and confirmed the identification. He says they are common throughout South Africa, all the year in frost-free areas. They lay their eggs on the buds and flowers of pelargoniums and geraniums, the larvae bores holes into the soft stems causing parts of the plants to die. Back to Tolman and Lewington. Apparently the immature stages of the butterfly were introduced into the Balearic Islands in Pelargonium cultivars, first reported in Mallorca in 1990. It quickly spread and became a pest in all the Islands. It reached the Spanish mainland being reported in Logrono, northern Spain, in 1992 and Granada, southern Spain, in
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1995. A further report came from the viciniry of Rome in 1996. They add that due to the popularity of pelargoniums it would seem conductive to further dispersion. The butterflies must have heard about the Geranium producers of Le Boulou for the Geranium Bronze is now a common Butterfly here, in fact the most numerous of any species in our garden this year. I have taken several photos of Anne's geraniums that include single butterflies, mating butterflies, butterflies egglaying on the flower buds, the larvae walking about the plants and the holes they have bored in the stems causing the plants to die. Anne says "Get rid of those pests, they even come after my indoor geraniums". I say, "Leave them they are beautiful butterflies". It is now the end of August and Anne has just had to chop down most of her geraniums as the stems are riddled with holes and the plants are dying. How do you feel, Friend or Foe? The specieshas now bun recorrud in England (see BC News 67: P.12) but not in Suffolk -
Ed.
The 2000 Autumn GM at the Friends Meeting House, Ipswich started with our Chairman, Rob parker welcoming those present at the meeting. Unfortunately, due to the fuel crisis the attendance was very low, only 14 which mainly consisted of Committee members and other members from Ipswich. This was particularly disappointing in view of the fact that our guest speaker, Ken Willmott, had travelled a long distance to get here despite the crisis. The meeting got underway with our guest speaker for the evening Ken Willmott, a leading member ofButterfly Conservation, giving us a presentation on butterfly variations and aberrations. Ken had some stunning slides, which everybody thoroughly enjoyed. After ken's first talk the serious part of the afternoon began with a full account of recent activitiesby our Chairman Rob Parker. Each Branch officer then gave a separate report and these included the presentation and acceptance of the annual financial statement (details overleaf).A short break was taken for refreshments, which gave members a chance to talk to committee members and guest speakers. Julian Dowding then gave us an update on the Brimstones and Buckthorn campaign. Early indic;itions are that many of the shrubs that have been planted are growing well but it is still too early to say whether they are helping the Brimstone population. In his second presentation, Ken gave us an excellentslide show and talk on the Moths of South-East England. Again his presentation contained some excellentslides.The meeting concluded with our Chairman Rob Parker thanking Ken Willmott for his presentations albeit in front of a much reduced attendance. Members and guests then stayed on to enjoy an evening meal together.
Editorial by Richard Stewart 2001 Programme Enclosed is this year's programme of meetings and other activities. My calculation is that about 40 of our butterfly species could be seen if someone attended every meeting. New venues include the Stoke-by-Clare area, led by Roger and Stella Wolfe, who know this area very well, and at the other end of the counry the Carlton Marshes day will also, given good weather, provide plenry of dragonfly species. Rare species that include Duke of Burgundy, Wood White, Swallowtail, Adonis and Chalkhill Blue, Black and Brown Hairstreak, are the targets further afield, and at least three of the meetings will be led by the wardens. There is also the chance to see a butterfly transect in operation in the Fynn Valley, and also join in one or more of the Silver-studded Blue counts, which are vitally important to monitor the current health of this high-profile species and recommend any management work, if necessary. Tony Prichard can be contacted about additional moth evenings as well as those on the programme and we shall be liasing with our good friends at Thornham on three occasions: the Suffolk Show (if you have any butterfly plants that could be sold, contact Paul Gilson), a walk in July and for an afternoon/evening in September, to include the AGM and a moth evening. More details of this will be in the next edition. Finally, please read the safery guidelines carefully, as these apply to all field meetings.
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