The Heather Beatie and its possible effect on the Silver-studded Blue

The heather beetle and its possible effect on the Silver Studded Blue butterfly

by Neil Sherman.

Conservation officer Ipswich Golf Club

Ouring the past 2 years, Ipswich Golf Club, a heathland site to the east of the town, has suffered from an outbreak of the Heather beetle, that has had an adverse effect on the heath habitats.

The beetle occurs on all Heathland flowers of Heather are produced mainly on the one-year growth, which, if the beetles kill off the shoots produce less flowers and hence less nectar sources for the adult butterflies. On Heathlands this is quite important, as there are few other flowers present to provide nectar source.

Another way the beetles could cause a problem could be of more importance. The larvae feed on young Heather growth, which if the plants are badly affected in the previous year, may not be as vigorous or are not present at all if the Heather is dead! Thankfully, young Heather seems to recover reasonably well from attacks. The more degenerate stands are usually more severely affected, but at the golf course some young Heather was killed, coincidentally in the area where the Silverscudded Blues could be found.

Only time will tell if this is che only site affected, although discussions with Richard Stewart revealed that there were

Holywells/Kissing Gate Lane Meadow, Ipswich. Grid ref: TM173433

by Julian Dowding

This hidden meadow, in the southwestern corner of Holywells Park, has recently come back into Parks jurisdiction from I.B.C. Property Services. le slopes gently ease - west and measures approximately 100m x 30m. It has good access. I became interested in the site when I chanced upon a colony of Orange rips on the Lady's Smock growing there. Because of the invertebrate interest, particularly butterflies, Sam Pollard from Ranger's Services would welcome some input from Butterfly Conservation regarding its future management. Historically, it was probably used as a paddock on the Cobbold Estate. With loss of use, the meadow became rank with vegetation. When the Rangers took on the area in 1985, they saw its potential as a living museum to threatened planes and also as part of the green corridor along the River Orwell into Ipswich. To achieve a maturity of wildflower and grass sward in a short space of time, the meadow was seeded and a small amount of wildflower planting was undertaken. In addition, a once - yearly cutting regime began. More recently, sycamores have been removed from a boundary hedge and replanted with native broadleaf hedgerow trees and shrubs. A derelict orchard on the southern side has been left as a non-intervention area.

Speckled Wood by Angie Steel

Ac present the meadow is looking reasonable, but Hogweed (paradoxically a good nectar species) is crowding out some of the more interesting plant species. Lady's smock in particular seems to have suffered badly from the competition and certainly this year there were fewer Orange Tips present. Eventually, all would be lose under a sea of frothy white heads. This summer, a group of volunteers have helped by removing Hogweed flowering stems and seeding heads. The work finished towards the end of July. Future proposals are to continue removing the Hogweed, possibly including a bit of hand digging and to monitor the site and hedges for new and existing species. It has also been suggested that a part of the site be harrowed, in order to help some of the wildflowers on site. Butterfly species seen co date are:Large Skipper, Small Skipper, Essex Skipper, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood, Orange Tip, Green-veined White, Large White, Small White, Clouded Yellow, Holly Blue, Common Blue,"'Comma, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock and Red Admiral. There are also Six-spot Burnet moths breeding on site.