The SuffolkArgus
Suffolk Butterflies • 1n
1994
by RichardStewart
The Wall (or Wall Brown) : (Lasiommatamegera)•
24
May 1995
The first record was of a Small Tortoiseshell in a Woodbridge garden on 25th, January. By March 14th, Brimstone, Comma, Peacock and Large White had been added. Of the early flying single generation butterffies, the Green Hairstreak was seen in good numbers at the coastal colonies and at Bixley Farm but the OrangeTip's flight periodwas punctuated by cold and wet conditions. However, it was recordedup to the last week ofJune and was presentin 74% of the gardens covered in the 1994 survey. Wall Brown, Common Blue and to a lesser extent Green-veinedWhite, were noted in smallernumbersand comparativefigures from North Warrengave a Common Blue first generationindex of 39, comparedto 251 in 1993; the Wall Brown index was 16, comparedto 66 and LargeWhite numberswere the lowest ever recorded there. Thankfully, the County's rarest breeding species, the Dingy Skipper, was seen at its two breeding sites though concern has been expressed about the suitability of management along the preferred rides of the Icknield Way. The Holly Blue continued its recent 'crash' and was only recorded from just over 18% of the gardens in the Suffolk survey. Early Painted Lady such as that at Fagbury on 24th April, sounded a more promising note, bearing in mind the relative scarcity in 1993. Generally, the firsthalf of the year in County and National terms was one of reduced populations of most species and June was a particularly depressing month. Dire warnings in the press and on regional TV along the 'Take a walk in the country and something is missing' lines were however, thankfully premature. In the words of one recorder, 'July seemed to be the trigger time' and it proved to be a superb month for butterfly watching. By the 24th,
Notes from the Editor,
Continued ...
'Summer Lilacs' . . . . . . . . . . .........
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How would you like to see 400 varieties of Lilac and 30 varieties ofBuddleja? As members of Butterfly Conservation, 1 am delighted co inform you that we are invited by one of our fellows, Colin Chapman to his national collection of Lilacs which includes the 'summerlilacs',Colin's own designation of the 'butterfly bush'. Colin, who is Executive Vice-President Europe of the International Lilac Society Inc., holds the collection at his home, Norman's Farm, Wyverstone, Scowmarkec, f P 14 4SF. For insurance reasons, visits co the Lilac collection must be by appointment only as must be the visits to the Buddleja's which are open to members of Suffolk Branch only, during August. Please make your own arrangements with Colin by telephoning 01449 781081. Admission is free but it would be appreciated if a donation of £1 is made co Butterfly Conservation during August and to the NCCPG National Collection ofSyringia at other times. To whet your appetites for the Buddleja visits, Colin tells me that there have been times when the number of butterflies about one's head has, literally, taken his breath away. Add to this a record of 19 species of butterfly (including the Vanessa aberrant, see page1.\), and this becomes an attraction I
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