Suffolk Argus 6, Nov 1995 by Suffolk Naturalists' Society

Suffolk Branch Contacts

Branch Organiser

SteveGoddard,47 ColchesterRoad, Ipswich, SuffolkIP4 3BT (01473 252598)

TH£.

SUFFOLK

Membership Secretary Paul Gilson,18 CheltenhamAvenue,Ipswich, SuffolkIP4 4LN (01473 253276) Newsletter Editor

ARGUS November1995

SteveGoddard,47 ColchesterRoad, Ipswich, SuffolkIP4 3BT (01473 252598) ProgrammeSecretary AlanJohmon, 28 MedwayRoad, Ipswich,Suffolk IP3 0QH (01473 715701)

Volunteers Needed If you feel you could run a small sales operation or just help out now and then with the growingwork of the Branch, please contact Steve , Goddard on 01473

252598.

Conservation Officer &:County Recorder (Butterffies)

RichardStewart,63 BelsteadRoad, Ipswich, SuffolkIP2 8BD (01473 688725) Conservation Officer (Moths)

RogerKendrick,do BScConservationMgt, Otley College,Otley, Suffolk(01473 785543) County Recorder (Moths)

Arthur Watchman,Onchan, BackLane,Monks Eleigh,SuffolkIP? ?BA Secretary JanicePritchard,89 LeopoldRoad, Ipswich SuffolkIP4 4RN (01473 718137) Treasurer GrahamBull, Oakbank, ArdleighRoad, Dedham, EssexCO? 6EG (01206 323530) Committee Members Michael&JennyKelsey,25 Prospect Place, Leiston,SuffolkIP16 4AL (01728 830975)

Published by the Suffolk Branch of Butterfly Conservation (The British Butterfly Conservation Society Ltd.) R,g, No. 2206468 R<g-CharityNo. 254937 Head Office P,0, Box 222, Dedham, EssexCO? 6EY, TcL (01206) 322342

Strom Goss,YaxleyManor House,Yaxley, Eye, SuffolkIP23 8DG (01379 783386) Chairman JamesMann, The Old School,The Street, Darsham,Saxmundham,Suffolk,IP17 3QA (01728 668532) President HowardMmdeL do IpswichMuseum, High St., Ipswich,SuffolkIPl 3QH (01473 213761)

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Member's

Evening Invitation 1111 data:

Saturday, January 20th,1996

TIii Timi:

7pmfor1.30pm10.00pm

111a place:

St. John'sCEPrimary School,VictoryRoad, Ipswich (seemaponpage3)

We are delighted to be able to invite you to our second Member's Evening to be held in the New Year - and we really mean a 'Member'sEvening~ We don't really want it to be just comminee members talking to you (not that you would ever let us!) but all of us involved together. To achieve this how would you like to bring 10-12 of your favourite slides along for us all to enjoy together? Don't worry if you don't fancy presenting them yourself, help will be on hand. You may also have pictures ofbunerflies or moths with which you need help in identification, bring them along as well and let's all put our brains to work. Let's make it a truly open evening with a sharing of knowledge and experiences from slide show to - well, anything you like! Please contact our Chairman, James Mann, before Christmas giving him details of the slides you would like to bring along.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• The Newsletter of the Suffolk Branch of Butterfly Conservation

Volume 6

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION

The Suffolk Argus

November 1995

Contents Member's Evening Invitation .................................... Cover Member's Evening Invitation Map .................................... 3

Newsletter Details . . . . . . . . . . .........

Illustrations . If.you feel that you have any talents as an-

artist, please send your work to me and it will be included and acknowledged at the very first opportunity. • Photographs will also be very welcome.

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

Notes from the Editor ·····:·········..···································4-5 The Suffolk Show ......................................................... 6-7

Copy Dates

1995 Field Trips ......................................................... 8-12

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

Swallowtail Memories ..................... ,_.............................. 13 Question Time ........................................................... 14-15

January May

The Secrets of Suffolk's Butterfly Gardens ................ 16- 18

September

Christmas Eve April Fools Day August Bank Holiday

Christmas Gift ................... •............................................. 18 Any piece of writing that is considered to he of interest will be published together with line drawings/prints/photographs. The Suffolk Argus is your magazine; so please let us hear from you.

Newsletter Details & General Information ..................... 19 Suffolk Branch Contacts ................................... Back Cover

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

ButterflyLine 0891 884505 Grayling(Hipparchiasemele)

Regular Updates & Latest News All profits are used for the conservation of bunerflies and their habitats.

Beryl Johnson

Calls charged at 49p per min. peak and 39p per min. at other times

The Suffolk Argus

garden having sunshine most of t~e day, no use of insecticides, beds of nettles m full sunshine, tall sunlit grassland, shelter around the garden edges, breaking up the gardens into smail-scale features especially the inclusion of a herbaceous border and vegetable area plus, more surprisingly, a minimal amount of hard surface. These features were followed up by telephone conversations with the owners of the 'best' gardens (the 'top total' for species being 22 in a Walberswick garden). With very few exceptions, the vast majority of the features identified by Stephens and Warren were either present, or at least close-to the most successful Suffolk gardens. A separate analysis of size and location underlined the superiority of large country gardens planted for butterflies and other insects though, as I have proved in my own Ipswich garden, it is possible to attract 20 species near to town and this number has been reached in other suburban gardens. One final bonus from the survey was that hopefully, all those who responded will be taking part in the first year of the Millennium survey which will, eventually, be published in a national atlas. Record sheets can be obtained from me c/o the Ipswich Museum, High Street, Ipswich, IPI 3QH: The same address is the contact for details about the 1995 edition of 'Suffolk Natural History' which includes the full details collected from the survey.

,Whata fascinatingarticle.Thefocus on nectarplants hasgiven me an ideathat membersmay wishto tell us moreabout the nectarsourcesin theirgardenwhich both they and butterfliesenjoyaboveall others.Please write in and tell us aboutyourplants; floweringperiod,speciesattractedetc., and we will.be delightedto shareyour enjoyment throughthesepages-Ed.

November

Christmas

Member's Evening

Invitation

Gift We have a few copies of the excellent 'Observer's Book of Butterflies' by professional wildlife photographer, author and lecturer, Paul Morrison, available at a reduced price of £2.50 to collect or £3.27 including postage & packing. This is a delightful little book, well written, beautifully illustrated and not just a beginners guide being packed with lots of useful information. Funher, it is a true pocket guide which can be taken into the field to help with identification of all species likely to be encountered in Britain. Not all popular field guides I might add carry the son of details of Camberwell Beauty (Nymphalis antiopa) as this little book does! In addition to the main part of the book - the species accounts, there are some fifry pages of very readable and interesting articles in particular, lifecycle and structure, habitats, photography, recording and butterfly gardening. Whilst there is a good selection of field guides on the bookshelves, none can be such excellent value for money. Whether you already own other guides or not, why not treat yourself, friend or relative to an 'Observer's' book this Christmas. You cannot really go wrong at this price! Please contact our Chairman, JamesMann if you would like one.

1995

Map ~,a\\eiy_o~\\'J'o'\

St. Jobn'sSebo

••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Orange Tip (A. Cardamines), Greened-veined White (P. napi) & Brimstone (G. rhamni) (see }ialesworth Area Field Trip, page 10)

The Suffolk Argus

Notes from the Editor

Understudy Required

The first thing I must say as editor is sorry. Sorry for the delay in sending this issue of Suffolk Argus. However, I hope it has been worth the wait. If not, you know where to contact me!

The position of Branch Conservation Officer (Moths) will be vacated by Roger Kendrick next July when he expects to leave the area following his conservation studies at Otley College. If you have an interest in moths, feel that you could run a field meeting or two and generally act as a focus for the promotion and conservation of moths in Suffolk then this post is just what you have been looking for. The post does not entail species recording , which is co-ordinated by Arthur Watchman as County Recorder (Moths). For further details, please contact Roger at the address shown on the rear cover (preferably before the Branch AGM on 30th, March 1996). The position of Understudy can then be taken up until full cover will be needed when Roger leaves us.

BranchAGM

Butterfly Action Weekend

Please note this will be held at The Butterfly Hotel, Bury St. Edmunds on Saturday evening, March 30th next year. Full details will appear in the next Newsletter.

First of all, I hope our distribution plans have worked and this issue has reached you before this event takes place! However, for 1995, Butterfly Conservation has designated the weekend of25/26 November as Butterfly Action Weekend to enable activities to span both days if required. For our part, we will be joining with our friends •from Martlesham Heath for scrub clearance in habitat occupied by the Silver-studded Blue (Plebejus argus). If you would like to help we propose to work from 10.00am until 2.00pm on Sunday 26th November (see enclosed letter from Phil Smith, Secretary, Martlesham Conservation Group, for full details). If we have not been able to inform you in time, please accept my apologies. However, if anyone would like to lead, join or has any ideas for future work parties pease get in touch and maybe we will not have to wait until next Butterfly Action Weekend to get our hands dirty again!

Apology

Records Request Can all recorders for the 'Milknnium Project'please note that Richard Stewart would be delighted if rec;ordswere not saved for sending at the year end but sent in now artd certainly well before the end of November. Richard has asked me to a9C11owledge that in all previous communications on this subject he has said 'by the end of December' but action now will help him collate information for feedback at the earliest opportunity next year. To help further, please remember grid references to en~,urethat valuable records are not lost.

November

Altogether, 31 species were recorded, a figure enhanced by rhe presence of two rare migrants, Camberwell Beauty (Nymphalis antiopa) and Monarch (Danaus plexippus) which were seen in gardens. Other single records were for Purple Hairstreak (Quercusia quercus) and White Admir;i! (Ladoga camilla), with two gardens beirtg visited by another rare county variety, White-letter Hairsrreak (Strymonidia walbum). A comprehensive list of nectar-rich plants was included on the recording sheet and, as expected, Buddleja lh·ed up to its alternative name of 'butterfly bush' by attracting butterflies in 110 gardens. Species numbers recorded nectaring on this shrub totalled 18 with one garden recording 13. The other favoured plants were Lavender, Michaelmas Daisy, Sedum, the Mints, Marjoram and Bramble. One purpose of the survey was to make recommendations and the following plants were noted as attracting mar1y species but being absent from most gardens: Asters in variety (other than the popular Michaelmas Daisy, Aster novae-belgii), Candy Tuft, Heather, Helichrysum, Hemp Agrimony, Ivy, African Marigold, Phlox, Privet, Sweet Rocket, Thyme, Valerian aiid Wallflower. Over one hundred additional nectar sources were listed and from these I made a 'short list' of further nectar-rich sources to consider for future planting. These are: Garlic Mustard, summer and winter flowering Jasmine, Osteospurmum, Purple Loosetrife, Ragwort, Rudbeckia and Statice. You may wish to seek advice before purchasing any of the plants mentioned due to a number of species having specific varieties that are best for butterflies. Note _ also, that whilst Ragwort attracts many •'" ins~cts it can be poisonous if eaten by • animals.

1995

Butterflies when feeding, are vulnerable to predators and these included cats, birds and single instances of attack by spider, hornet, bumble bee and wasp. Dragonflies were noted preying in two gardens but the main predator was a bird, the agile Spotted Flycatcher. The mo.st unusual record was of a black labrador", which ate a hibernating Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)! Egg-laying was included in the survey and, in addition to the activities of Large and Small Whites (P. brassicae and P. rapae) on brassica, the following food-plants were used (butterfly species in parentheses): Nettle (Peacock), Aubretia (Large and Green-veined White), Garlic Mustard (Green-veined White and Orange Tip), Honesty (Orange Tip), Hop (Comma), and Currant (Comma). Selecting one specific year for a survey is fraught with problems and the fact that gardens have their own specialised microclimates was reflected in comments ranging from "You couldn't have chosena worseyear" to "the bestyear since we moved here". There was general agreement however, about the poor season and the remarkable recovery in sunny July but again comments about numbers ranged from low records to 'hundreds' of Gatekeepers in one garden and up to 20 Painted Lady on one garden Buddleja. Wh,at did emerge from these records and additional recorder comments was verification of the findings made in a detailed study by Stephens and Warren in 1985. This was not conducted in Suffolk but made a list of recommendations for a species-rich butterfly garden. They concluded that it needed to be large, in a rural setting and close to a rich natural habitat. Other recommendations included 20 or more nectar sources planted in drifts and dumps rather than singly and within a

November

The Suffolk Argus

New survey reveals the secrets of Suffolk's butterfly gardens .................... by RichardStewart

Buddleja& butterflies

If you want a garden that attracts a wide variery of butterflies then you need to live in the country, next to one or more narnral habitats and your garden should be large and sunny. This is one recommendation to come from the survey which I carried out with the help of Butterfly Conservation and the Suffolk Narnralists' Society in 1994. Those who responded to the survey included members of local wildlife groups and the Suffolk Wildlife Trust. In total, I received 152 garden records, 34 from the notth-east of the Counry, 39 from the west and the majoriry from the south-east, with 26 from Ipswich. The survey revealed that the Small Tottoiseshell (Aglais urticae) is the most recorded garden butterfly in Suffolk. It was noted in 140 gardens, with Peacock (Inachis io) 138, and Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) 137, close behind. The others in the 'top ten' were, in order, Large White (Pieris brassicae), Meadow Brown (Maniola junina), Small White (Pieris rapae), Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus), Orange Tip (Anthocharis cardamines), Painted Lady (Cynthia cardui) and Comma (Polygonia calbum). This list bears a remarkable similariry to the 'top ten' of the 1994 National Garden Survey run by Butterfly Conservation. Nine of the ten were the same with the exception being Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) which, despite its recent spread across Suffolk, was only 18th compared to 9th equal in the National Survey.

1995

Scientific Names This is the first time that Scientific names have been included throughout the Newsletter (the term scientific name is preferable here to Latin name as many names derive from languages other then Latin, for example Greek). However, do you want to see them included in all future issues. • Scientific names are universally understood (some moths of course only have a scientific name) whereas vernacular names of course can vary (e.g. Nymphalis antiopa to us is the Camberwell Beaury but to the Americans it is the Mourning Cloak). However, does this matter for our Counry Newsletter? Let me know what you think? If we consider that name confusion is not a problem in Suffolk then what about the value of the scientific name in understanding a species still funher? For example, most of us will recognise Pieris brassicae (Large White) as a Cabbage White from the species name brassicae but how many of us are familiar with Quercusia quercus which once understood, tells us the food plant of the bearer of this name. Quercus being the Latin name for oak which is the foodplant of the Purple Hairstreak. Then what about Callophrys rubi (Green Hairsrreak). How many of us I wonder have observed what lies behind this scientific name? Callophrys is Greek for 'beautifuleyebrow'.Next time you get really close to a Green Hairstreak, have a good look at the shining bands of white and black over the black oval eye. Rubi is also relevant here, meaning 'of the bramble'. Bramble was the only foodplant known to early entomologists but as we now know, it is only a secondary foodplant with Gorse and Broom being the main foodplants in Suffolk.

There are many other examples; Aglais unicae (Small Tonoiseshcll)-unicae being the latin name for nettle, the foodplant of this species. Indeed, a past name was the Nettle Tortoiseshell. Cynthia cardui (Painted Lady)-Cardus nutons is a known foodplant, the Musk Thistle. Strymonidia w-album (White letter-Hairsrreak)-album meaning white and the letter 'W being the tell-tale underside marking. This list is not exhaustive- let me know if you have funher examples of your own. But please, let me know what you think about the use of Scientific names.

Illustrations Thank you to RoyBedford of Yorkshire Branch for allowing us to use his splendid line drawing of a Swallowtail (Papilio machaon), see page 13. Thank you also to BerylJohnson for her beautiful Grayling (Hipparchia semele), see page 2.

1996 Events List If not enclosed with this newsletter, it will cettainly be with you in January, we hope this will whet your appetite for warm butterfly days ahead.

Stop Press- RareButterflies Most of you will be aware of rare butterfly sightings this year. To date we can repott that up to 36 observations of Camberwell Beaury (Nymphalis antiopa) have been reponed, 28 confirmed and 8 outstanding. Futther, 5 sightings of Queen of Spain Fritillary (Argynnislathonia) have been repotted and confirmed. These sightings represent the 2nd - 6th in Suffolk since 1900. More details in the next Suffolk Argus.

The Suffolk Argus

The Suffolk Show: May 31st- lstJune 1995

.................... byJames Mann

November

This is now our second successive year of attendance at this premier show and once again we were delighted to share the Suffolk Naturalists' Society marquee. It had been six months since we had first begun to plan this event, final careful arrangements having been made at a specific 'Show' committee meeting on 19th, May. Books, Posters and Plants had to be purchased and priced. Delivery, erection, dismantling and removal of display equipment had to be organised together with basic furnishings, carrier bags, identification badges, and not to forget the watering can! After a final meeting of some 2 1/2 hours duration we believed that we had it right. Come the morning of Wednesday, 31st May at the dreaded hour of?.30 am things did not go quite to plan. Andrew Phillips had delivered the display equipment and plants during the previous evening. Roger Kendrick had turned up on the day with tables and chairs amongst other things only to find that he was on his • own in setting up, a situation which will not be allowed to happen in future. Thankfully, Martin Sanford of SNS was briefly able to lend a hand before Richard Stewart, Steve, Anne and Helen Goddard arrived for their morning Show visit (Richard and Steve having the afternoon slot with the irrepressible Roger). Between them they had the stand virtually ready before Alan Johnson and Steven Goss arrived to take up their morning positions and to add the finishing touches. James Mann opened the stand on Thursday morning being joined by the hard working Alan Johnson and in the afternoon by Janice Pritchard and yet again Roger Kendrick. Having overcome the inauspicious start we had all long been enjoying two marvellous days and were delighted to see the last few plants sold to

seemedcertainthat the Cinnabarmoth (Tyriajacobaeae)was the insect concerned.Theflight period of this moth beginsin }.1aycomparedto June for the Five-spotBurnet (Zygaena trifollii).Althoughthe Cinnabarhas two scarletspotsalongthe outermargin of eachwing, the 'clincher'is the long scarletstripealongthe leadingedgeof the wing. Fortunately,theyare commonin Suffolk andfly from May toJuly in one generationand althoughnot strictlya day-flyingmoth, theyare readily disturbedfrom low hrrbageby day. Mostpeoplewill.befamiliar with the yellow-and-blackbandedcaterpillars whichfeed gregariously and conspicuously on ragwortwithoutfear of predatorsdue to their highlydistastefal nature.Cinnabarmothsare very attractiveinsects.Who saysmothsare colourless nightflyers?

Q3. When should I visit a site to cover the main flight periods of all its butterflies?

Four timesat leastin a year:

1995

worthwhilevisitingduring sunshine. But evenon a sunny day, if the temperatureis below13C expectonly a few sightings.Also,few sightingsare likelyin windy weather.It is worth notingthat on dry, hot days, butterflies may disappearto shadearound midday to avoid dessication. Time of Day. Butterfliesget up late and go to roostearly.Even in highsummer it is often approaching8.30 am before they willfly and by 630 pm, the majoritywill have disappeared. Exceptionsare Purpv Hairstreak (Quercusiaquercus)when in fact these aregood timesto ser.them. Painted Lady (Cynthiacardui)will alsofly late and on gooddays,odd onesmay be seen up to 8.3019.00pm. During September to June, thereare usuallyfew butterfly sightingsof any kind beforearound 10.30 am or after 4.00 pm. Morning,providingit is warm and sunny, isprobablythe.)mt timefor observationwhen butterfliesare busy feedingafter their overnightrest.A particularlygood time is when the sun eventuallybreaksth;oughafter_a wet or dull start to the day. •

EarlyMay Mid-June Mid-July Late August It is alsoworth mentioningthe following;the importanceof air temperatureand time of day.

If you would like 'Question Time' to continue, please make sure that you send in your questions fo the editor before the end of the year and we will do our best to , provide answers in the next Suffolk Argus.

Air Temperature.If this is greaterthan I 7C manyspecieswillfly evenif thereis nofall sun. BelowI 7C it will onlybe

The Suffolk Argus

November

- tzon

In Suffolkfor example,we are mainly concernedwith TL and TM with which map referencesareprefixed. The sidesof each I 00km squareare then subdivided into 100 points I km apart, measured.from the south-westcornerof the square eastwards(eastings)and northwards(northing,). Theparallel grid linesjoining thesepoints and marking out 10,000 squaresof 1km sidesarefamiliarly numberedon the map margin which we use to identify a particu/,arpoint. Blocks of four I km squares representa tetrad (2km x 2km cover the same area).

•

In response to a number of interesting questions which were put to us by keen visitors to the Suffolk Show we thought that a 'Questions and Answers' spot might usefully become a regular part of this magazine. To start us off, here are three Questions that were put to us which will hopefully be of interest to all our readers.

National atlasesoften disp'4y recording units of I 0km squareswhich contain 25 tetrads (5 acrossand 5 down). Regional atlasessuch as Mendel and Piotrowski (I 986) The Butterfliesof Suffolk, The Suffolk Naturalists' Society,are usually plotted by tetradsbut with the actual data gathered by I km squares.The recordsfor The Millennium Projectwill beformu'4ted in a simi'4r way, national recordingby I 0km squaresbut with Suffolk recordingby 2km squares.

QI. What exactly is a tetrad and why is su~h a measurement used to record butterfly sightings?

Let'sgo back to squareone so to speak and briefly reviewthe National Grid systemwith which we should all at least befamiliar due to the excellentseriesof 1:50,000 OrdnanceSurvey maps( those with the magentacovers!).The National Grid systemis broken down into squareswhich get progressively smaller. They begin with 500km squares(identified bysingleletters} which are then divided into I 00 km squares(identified by the 500 km squarektter plus a farther letterof the alphabet,excluding T).

Q2. What are the black and red butterflies we have been seeing? We cannot find any descriptions in our butterfly book.

Interestingly,more than oneperson took the time to describetheir observations. It_soonoccu"ed to us that the descriptionswereeither that of Cinnabar or Burnet moths. From the descriptionsand thefact that we were being told that thesesightings had occurredduring the previous two weeksi.e. the last two weeksof May, it

1995

late-leaving visitors whose attention had been attracted by finding plants placed under their very noses as they streamed out. What a good idea it was to put them outside. By 6.30 pm we had packed away, James now finding himself custodian of the display material. During both days we had many visits from friends new and old and we rarely had a moment when we did not have someone at the stand. Our old friends came to chat and give us support. Our new friends, who we hope will become old friends, asked all sorts of questions and showed great interest in what we are trying to achieve. Special thanks must go to The Suffolk Naturalists' Sociery for allowing us to share their space and for bearing with us and lending a hand on that first morning. To Roger Kendrick for providing tables and chairs. To Paul Gilson for supplying many of the plants and to Paraphernalia of Westleton for providing the watering can and transport. Indeed thanks to all involved in what turned out to be a very successful show. Hopefully, in the years to come ., we will be able to welcome many more";' of you in helping us to promote our cause. It really is an enjoyable experience.

As well asproviding an interestingview of thisyears'show, this reportdemonstratesthe hard work and effort requiredto make such an event a successas well as the true value of'a dedicatedgroup of enthusiasts.If you feel able to help in any way next year pleasecontact any member of the committee. They will be delightedto hearfrom you - Ed.

The Suffolk Argus

1995 Field Trips

Comma (Polygoniac~album) • • • • • • • ! .•: • • • ••••

November

Freston Area, near Ipswich, Sunday April30th by Richard Stewart 33 members ofboth Butterfly Conservation and Suffolk Naturalists' Society attended this joint meeting on an afternoon which proved the fickle nature of early spring weather. It had been sunny late morning and early afternoon but as we left the car park it clouded over and stayed that way. Thankfully, there is a spot in Freston wood which seems to have.a ,distinc~microclimate and here we saw two Peacocks (Inachis io) and one Comma (Polygonia calbum). Although the lanes next to the wood are,bordered by Garlic Mustard, the Orange Tip (Anthocharis cardarnines) did not materialise. To compensate however, there ·were many areas carpeted with Bluebells and a few plants of Meadow Saxifrage were in flower in Freston churchyard. Birds recognised by call or sight included Blackcap, Chiff-chaff, Garden Warbler, Cuckoo, Swallow and Green Woodpecker. Tea in Cutler's wood was enriched by the melodies of Cuckoo and Nightingale. A few Wood Anemones were flowering here and later, there were good views of four variously coloured fallow deer, one limping badly. A Whitethroat was also heard and on our return the Bluebells and carpets of wild Garlic in Freston wood were noticeably more aromatic as evening approached.

Swallowtail Me01ories

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

by Peter Baker

Swallowtail (Papilio machaon)

1995

Would you believe Swallowtails (Papilio machaon) in my airing cupboard? Well it's true. My late father and I used to breed and raise them at our home in Reydon ' m~y years ago. I was then entrusted to release them on Filby Broad in Norfolk. We used to choose rhis particular location because we had seen them there over many years and what is more, I could easily get to the water's edge in my little open-topped car! Sometimes I would take father's friends to watch the release who included the likes of Claude Morley, Baron de Worms and H. Chipperfield. On looking back it must have seemed strange to my schoolfriends that together with these 'odd' gentlemen, I used to paint trees at night with black treacle and use a 1amp to attract moths but it was so enjoyable - and the summers seemed to last from Easter to Christmas time! Breeding the Swallowtails used to be no problem. I remember making cotton wool and gauze 'mice' soaked in sugar water for feeding the adults. We used to have 50 or so caterpillars in the airing cupboard although mother was not amused! Once eventually hatched, father would often paint sugar onto his hand to attract these beautiful creatures out so that he could place them into containers. Sometimes they flew out. What a sight it was to see them flying around the room. What great days they were. Thankyou for this contribution Peter. What fond memories you must have and in the company of such eminent Suffolk Naturalists-

Ed.

The Suffolk Argus

The King's Forest, Sunday June 11th byRichard Stewart Eight members met at Rampart Field on a cold, overcast and occasionally rainy day; not a day for butterflies and none of the three target species of Dingy Skipper (Erynnis tages), Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi) and Brown Argus (Aricia agestis) was seen. We managed to find one Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) and one Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) plus several Cinnabar moths (Tyria jacobaea). Bird life was more interesting with a singing Nightingale, Woodlarks, Cuckoo, Whitethroac, two Green Woodpecker and calling Turtle Dove and Yellowharnmer. Views of a Common Lizard and Sparrowhawk also helped to balance the lack of butterflies. Two other moths, Latticed Heath (Semiothisa clathrata clathrata) and Common Carpet (Epirrhoe alternata) were recorded together with Brown-lipped Banded Snails. The high point of a disappointing morning was, however, a butterfly. Despite the cold, gloomy conditions an early Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) took flight as we approached, definitely my earliest sighting of this species. After lunch, an unsuccessful attempt was made to locate the Brown Argus (Aricia agestis) colony where ride 203 meets the Brandon road bur I understand Tony Pritchard returned in better weather and found several close by. Finally, the four left in the party by this time made their way past a colony of Stinkhorns in

November

various stages of growth and decay to explore Chalk Lane, discovering ten Common Blues (Polyommatus icarus) at rest, most on a wide open corner with Viper's Bugloss and many other nectar sources. This w9uld have been very productive had the sun come our. We also found and photographed a Cream-spot Tiger moth (Arctia villica britannica) and Bordered White moth (Bupalus piniaria). Steve Goddard had a relatively close encounter with five Fallow deer and this was for me the highlight of the day. I had already seen one Roe, one Muntjack and four Red deer and these Fallow made it the first time that I had seen all four species in one day. Despite the weather, we all agreed that it had been a very satisfying day, demonstrating that butterflies, as well as other wildlife, can be found with a little hard work regardless of the depressing conditions.

Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina)

. ........ .

1995

Butterfly Transect Training Day, R.S.P.B., Minsmere, Sunday May, 21st by Roger Kendrick In spite of cool and overcast conditions, a very successful outdoor "hands-on" day was enjoyed by nine enthusiastic butterflywatchers keen to learn of, amongst other things, section totals, index figures, five metre boxes and constant pace! Enough butterflies were seen to demonstrate a transecr and allow the theory to be put into practice after a break for lunch (when the sun came our!) The day closed by collating the data from the practice walks and working through the figures as if producing a full transect' s results. [Full details of the procedure will be available in the next Suffolk Argus when the Branch should have a stock of the 'Butteifly Monitoring Scheme' handbook, published by the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology]. For the record, butterflies seen included Orange Tip (Anthocharis cardamines), Green-Veined White (Pieris napi), Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi), Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas), Peacock (Inachis io), Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) and Brown Argus (Aricia agestis). Cinnabar moths (Tyria jacobaeae) were present .in good numbers, nettles were rife

with the Nettle-tap moth (Anthophila fabriciana), a member of the Choreutidae family and several longhorn moths (Adela reamurella) were seen on the leaves of Hawthorn awaiting the afternoon sunshine. Our thanks to Geoff Welch, warden at Minsmere, for allowing the event to be held on the reserve.

The Suffolk Argus

Halesworth Area, Sunday, May28th by Paul Gi~on With conditions overcastand breezy,twentysixofus (a superb turn-out) assembledat the town centre car park offSaxonsway.We were introduced to Wilfred George (wellknown for his excellentfootpath maps),who outlined our route for the morning. Wilfred had even managed to find someOrange Tip . (Anthochariscardamines)eggsand chrysalis for us to inspectbeforewe set off. Leavingthe car park weweresoon walkingbesidea disusedcanal,the banks of which were coveredin a varietyof wild plants. This differedgreatlyfrom the main riverwe had alreadycrossed.Our firstbutterfly of the day, a Green-VeinedWhite (Pierisnapi), arrivedon the canalbank and alightedfor a short while on Garlic Mustard before continuingonitsway. = After leavingthe canal, the party crossed an area of rough pasturewhich led us underneath the main railwayline and the old Halesworthto Southwoldnarrow gaugeline. At this shelteredlocation a maleQrange Tip (Acardarnines)appeared.An overgrowngravel pit was our next destination.A femaleBroadbodied Chaser dragonflywasseenstalkingthe areaand evencameto rest on a gorsebush for everyoneto get incredibledose-up viewswith binoculars,monocularsand cameras. The weathercontinued in its overcast and breezymood aswe made our wayalong a shaded footpath. This_footpathbecamea track which continued up to the main road, however we carried straighton into Wilfred'sveryown nature reserve.The now narrowpath led us to a pond dug by Wilfredhimselfwhich he had planted with YellowIris. It wasjust a little further on from here where Wilfredshowed us an ingeniousdevicehe had made for the

November

capture and inspection ofHoverflies and other such insects. Upon our return to the trackleadingro the main road, the nettle beds either side revealedmany secrets.EarlystageSmall Tortoiseshell (Aglaisurticae)larvae, a beautifullycamouflagedAngleShadesmoth (Phlogophora meticulosa)and both LargeRed and Common Bluedamselflies.The most unusual find of the walkwasdiscoveredat this spot by the youngest member of the party, Ben.After much consultation it seemsthat he had found a Glow-wormlarva,a veryrare find indeed! On returning through the gravelpit area, a LargeWhite (Pierisbrassicae)made a brief appearanceand further on near the railway bridge, a Wall Brown (Lassiommaramegera) wassponed. A quick detour from the main party by Wilfred and myselffailedto find two RedAdmirals (Vanessaaralanta)which Wilfred had located on an earliervisit. More Orange Tips appeared at the shelteredspot wherewe had seendiem earlier. The sun started to show itselfagain aswe made our way acrossthe rough pasture towards the canal. Wilfred managed to capture a Common Blue (Polyommatusicarus)which allowedeverybodya closeinspection. Our attention.wasthen drawn to a distant lowflyingbi~d,a Green Woodpecker without the famous'yaffie'. The canal bank wasto hold two more surprisesfor us, a nectaring Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) and on the opposite bank, an intriguinglycamouflaged femaleOrange Tip which wasonly evident through binoculars. Backat the car park everyoneagreedthat it had been a successfulmorning, made even more interesting by the leaderWilfred George, having such a wealth oflocal knowledge.So much so that a number of the parrystayed to carryon the visit after a welcomelunch-break. Thanks again to Wilfredforamostenjoyable fieldtrip.

1995

Moth Night at Bawdsey, 9thJune, 1995 by RogerKendrick A cold and wet June day had peoplereachingfor the telephoneto checkwhether thisevent would be goingahead.I have to admit the thought had occurredin my mind but with the ground dryingand the cloudslifung (but not breaking), the outlookwas much more positiveand the replywas "be there". The twenty specimensseen between 9.00pm and midnight provideda superb opportunityfur the smallgroup of hardy souls presentto get to gripswith fieldidentification. Indeedthiswas the idealfollow-upto the last articlein the SuffulkArguson the subjectof fieldnotes,as representatives of the threemajor moth f.unilies(Noctuidae,Geometridaeand Pyralidae)wereall present.The smallnumbers of speciesseenallowedample time fur everyone to get a goodideaof the observationskills requiredto determineeach speciesusing distinguishing featuressuchasbodyshape, restingposture,wingpaneming and antennae structure.

The star of the show must have been the aposematic Cream-spot Tiger (Arctia villica britarmica) which was much photographed by some of the group. Its display of black, yellow, red and white patterning clearly illustrated the classical combination of colours saying "keep away", I'm distasteful". Of the other species, the Light Brocade (Laconobia w-latinum), Treble Lines (Charanyca trigrammica), The Seraphim (Lobophora halterara) and The Spectacle (Abrostola triplasia) were either noteworthy or of particular interest in terms of identification or distribution bur there were no. real surprises. Despitethe weatherand the poor species total, a thoroughlygoodtime was had by all (especially those who brought their thermos flask!).

Cream-spotTiger (Arctiavillica britannica)

The Suffolk Argus

November

1995

Cream-spotTiger (Arctiavillica britannica)

The Suffolk Argus

November

Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina)

. ........ .

1995

The Suffolk Argus

1995 Field Trips

Comma (Polygoniac~album) • • • • • • • ! .•: • • • ••••

November

Swallowtail Me01ories

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

by Peter Baker

Swallowtail (Papilio machaon)

1995

Ed.

The Suffolk Argus

November

- tzon

•

QI. What exactly is a tetrad and why is su~h a measurement used to record butterfly sightings?

Q2. What are the black and red butterflies we have been seeing? We cannot find any descriptions in our butterfly book.

1995

The Suffolk Argus

The Suffolk Show: May 31st- lstJune 1995

.................... byJames Mann

November

Q3. When should I visit a site to cover the main flight periods of all its butterflies?

Four timesat leastin a year:

1995

EarlyMay Mid-June Mid-July Late August It is alsoworth mentioningthe following;the importanceof air temperatureand time of day.

Air Temperature.If this is greaterthan I 7C manyspecieswillfly evenif thereis nofall sun. BelowI 7C it will onlybe

November

The Suffolk Argus

New survey reveals the secrets of Suffolk's butterfly gardens .................... by RichardStewart

Buddleja& butterflies

1995

1996 Events List If not enclosed with this newsletter, it will cettainly be with you in January, we hope this will whet your appetite for warm butterfly days ahead.

The Suffolk Argus

Notes from the Editor

Understudy Required

The first thing I must say as editor is sorry. Sorry for the delay in sending this issue of Suffolk Argus. However, I hope it has been worth the wait. If not, you know where to contact me!

BranchAGM

Butterfly Action Weekend

Please note this will be held at The Butterfly Hotel, Bury St. Edmunds on Saturday evening, March 30th next year. Full details will appear in the next Newsletter.

Apology

November

1995

The Suffolk Argus

November

Christmas

Member's Evening

Invitation

1995

Map ~,a\\eiy_o~\\'J'o'\

St. Jobn'sSebo

The Suffolk Argus

November 1995

Contents Member's Evening Invitation .................................... Cover Member's Evening Invitation Map .................................... 3

Newsletter Details . . . . . . . . . . .........

Illustrations . If.you feel that you have any talents as an-

artist, please send your work to me and it will be included and acknowledged at the very first opportunity. • Photographs will also be very welcome.

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

Copy Dates

1995 Field Trips ......................................................... 8-12

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

Swallowtail Memories ..................... ,_.............................. 13 Question Time ........................................................... 14-15

January May

The Secrets of Suffolk's Butterfly Gardens ................ 16- 18

September

Christmas Eve April Fools Day August Bank Holiday

Newsletter Details & General Information ..................... 19 Suffolk Branch Contacts ................................... Back Cover

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

ButterflyLine 0891 884505 Grayling(Hipparchiasemele)

Regular Updates & Latest News All profits are used for the conservation of bunerflies and their habitats.

Beryl Johnson

Calls charged at 49p per min. peak and 39p per min. at other times

Suffolk Branch Contacts

Branch Organiser

SteveGoddard,47 ColchesterRoad, Ipswich, SuffolkIP4 3BT (01473 252598)

TH£.

SUFFOLK

Membership Secretary Paul Gilson,18 CheltenhamAvenue,Ipswich, SuffolkIP4 4LN (01473 253276) Newsletter Editor

ARGUS November1995

SteveGoddard,47 ColchesterRoad, Ipswich, SuffolkIP4 3BT (01473 252598) ProgrammeSecretary AlanJohmon, 28 MedwayRoad, Ipswich,Suffolk IP3 0QH (01473 715701)

Volunteers Needed If you feel you could run a small sales operation or just help out now and then with the growingwork of the Branch, please contact Steve , Goddard on 01473

252598.

Conservation Officer &:County Recorder (Butterffies)

RichardStewart,63 BelsteadRoad, Ipswich, SuffolkIP2 8BD (01473 688725) Conservation Officer (Moths)

RogerKendrick,do BScConservationMgt, Otley College,Otley, Suffolk(01473 785543) County Recorder (Moths)

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Member's

Evening Invitation 1111 data:

Saturday, January 20th,1996

TIii Timi:

7pmfor1.30pm10.00pm

111a place:

St. John'sCEPrimary School,VictoryRoad, Ipswich (seemaponpage3)

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• The Newsletter of the Suffolk Branch of Butterfly Conservation

Volume 6

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION

Suffolk Argus 6, Nov 1995

Articles inside

1995 Field Trips

Member's Evening Invitation Map

Newsletter Details & General Information

Question Time

Swallowtail Memories