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Home , Ashtead Common, Ash Ranges, Brassy ringlet, Chiddingfold Forest, Chipstead Downs, Farthing Downs

Number 61 £2.00 SURREYSkipper Spring/Summer 2016 49 field trips for 2016 4-page pullout

Butterfly & SW London Conservation branch magazine 2 Surrey Skipper

Contents

Chairman ...... 3 Social Media ...... 17 Big Butterfly Count ...... 38 Recorder’s report ...... 4 Harold Hughes ...... 18 Photo Show ...... 40 Marsh Fritillary ...... 6 Time to Fly ...... 20 iRecord ...... 40 Glanville Fritillary ...... 7 Odonata ...... 21 Members’ Day Quiz ...... 41 Releases ...... 7 Weather Watch ...... 22 Moth events...... 42 Steve Wheatley ...... 8 Glanville mosaic ...... 22 Membership ...... 42 Legacies ...... 9 Field trips...... 23-26 Poem ...... 43 Oaken Wood ...... 9 James Joicey ...... 27 Les Hill & Angela Evans Egg hunts...... 10 Winkworth 30 44 Family Nature Day...... 11 Soldierflies etc...... 30 New members ...... 46 Transects ...... 12 WCBS ...... 31 Committee...... 47 Around the transects ....14 Purple Emperor ...... 31 Butterflies of Fundraising...... 16 Transect statistics ....32-37 Surrey Revisited ...... back Website ...... 17 UK Butterflies 2010-14 38 John Lewis cheque ....back Surrey Skipper Spring/Summer edition includes the new season’s field trips. Autumn/Winter edition previews the annual Members’ Day. Copy deadline Published online Spring Feb 28 mid-March Autumn Sep 30 mid-October I Thank you to all who have contributed to this edition. Articles and photos are always greatly appreciated. Please contact editor Francis Kelly. I A PDF of this Skipper is available from [email protected] Free for branch members & transect walkers; £2 others. Media Email [email protected] Recording irecord.org.uk Websites butterfly-conservation.org/surrey Twitter @BC_Surrey butterfly-conservation.org/surreymoths Facebook Butterfly Conservation in Surrey (branch page) Surrey Butterflies (Mick Rock’s group) Dates Mar 24–Sep 11 Natural History Museum: Jly 15–Aug 7 Big Butterfly Count Sensational Butterflies Jul 16 New Members’ Day Jun 9–11 National Moth Night Oct 1 AES Exhibition, Kempton Jun 20–26 National Week Oct 24 Autumnal BioBlitz, Jun 25–26 SWT Big Wildlife Count: , Burpham Court Farm, I Front page photo: Small Copper, Gillian Elsom See page 40 Spring 2016 3

Chairman David Gardner

ELCOME to the Spring Skipper – the best magazine of all 31 branches according to BC Chief Executive MartinW Warren. Martin, along with BC Chairman Jim Asher, also enjoyed our AGM & Members’ Day in November. Many of you also attended the National AGM at the Hilton Cobham, where we did well with the raffle and branch sales. County Recorder Harry Clarke, assisted by other committee members, has been helping Senior Regional Officer Steve Wheatley prepare the new Regional Action Plan, which will determine conservation priorities for the next 10 years. Steve updates us with his progress on page 8. Transect Coordinator Bill Downey has increased the number of walks in Surrey from 2014’s record 59 to a staggering 82. For the first time in 2015 Surrey transects recorded over 100,000 butterflies: see page 12. Bill also introduced a series of Brown Hairstreak egg hunts during the winter: social events with conservation benefits, which have encouraged people to make their own searches: see page 10. The Committee welcomes Ken Owen, who succeeds Richard Bance as Membership Secretary. Richard took over in 2014 but found his other workload had not diminished as he had expected. Thanks also to Kirstie Banham, Committee Secretary since 2012. Another committee member, Phil Boys, our events manager, is unwell. We wish him a good recovery. This edition marks the passing last October of former branch Chairman Harold Hughes, who went on to become national Chairman. Tony Hoare remembers an inspirational leader on page 18. We welcome to this edition Les Hill, a BC employee who manages the National Moth Recording Scheme. Les now lives in Wimbledon with Angela Evans, who set up the Surrey Moths Facebook group. Read their story on page 44. Thank you Sophie Pettit (see back page), who raised £850 via the John Lewis Green Token Scheme. Mike Weller has again compiled the most extensive programme of field trips of any branch. Attending a field trip is a great way to build up your knowledge, see lovely parts of the county, and make new friends. I Please contact us on [email protected] if you could be Secretary to the Committee – you do not have to be a butterfly expert. The role involves taking minutes at committee meetings, usually three per year in , and the AGM.

I Given the increasing printing/postage costs and distribution workload, and with the majority of members now able to access the internet, the committee has decided that future Skippers will be online only, Mar 15 & Oct 15, size A4. An alert will be emailed to our contacts list. To join our contacts list, please email [email protected] NB all libraries offer free internet access. 4 Surrey Skipper

State of Surrey Butterflies in 2015 Harry Clarke

Spring was a little drier than normal. Summer was cool and wet (especially the beginning of August): butterflies that overwinter as an egg emerged later than in 2014. Dingy Skipper Apr 16–Jul 2 & Jul 31–Aug 17 (singletons from partial second brood at four sites); peak May; numbers similar to 2014. Grizzled Skipper Apr 15–Jun 24; peak Apr 21–May 30, about 4 days later than 2014. Small numbers, similar to last few years. Essex Skipper Jun 25–Aug 19; singleton Aug 29. Slightly better than 2014 but true state hidden as most records don’t distinguish between Small & Essex. Small Skipper Jun 16–Aug 21; numbers similar to 2014. Silver-spotted Skipper Jul 14 (early sighting)–Sep 15; main period Jul 25–Aug. Numbers above last 11 years, but below bumper year of 2003. Peak about 12 days later than 2014 and 2 weeks shorter. Large Skipper May 17, then May 30–Aug 28; numbers similar to 2014. Wood White May 4–Jun 17 & Jul 6–Aug 28 (2nd brood larger). Best year since 2011, although still below 2003–04. 1st brood peak about 15 days later than 2014. Orange-tip Apr 6–mid-Jun; stragglers to Jul 6. Peak last two weeks Apr, similar to 2014, despite later first appearance. Fewer than 2014 but better than 2012–13. Large White Apr 7–Oct 11; peak Jul–Aug. Numbers above average and improved from 2014, but still below 2013’s large numbers. Small White Apr 6–Oct 11, plus Mar 4 & Nov 12. Numbers average and improved from 2014, but below 2013’s large numbers. Green-veined White Apr 6–Sep 29; peak Jun 26 & 1st three weeks of August; numbers slightly below 2014. Clouded Yellow only 21 records, compared with 128 in 2014 and 276 in 2013. 1st May 13; last hanging on until Oct 26, suggesting local breeding. Brimstone Feb 25–Dec 28. 2015 brood emerged mid-Jul, most entering hibernation by Sep. Above average; slightly up on 2014. Speckled Wood Apr 5–Oct 27; numbers about average, a little lower than 2014. Small Heath Apr 22–Oct 1, plus Oct 27. Better than 2014, but below 2011–13. Ringlet May 28, then Jun 10–Aug 29; peak Jun 24–Jul 20. Another great year, slightly down on 2014, but well above average. Meadow Brown Jun 1–Nov 2; main period was over by Oct 11; numbers improving since 2010 low. Gatekeeper Jun 23–Sep 19; peak mid-Jul to mid-Aug. Best year since 1996. Marbled White Jun 3–Aug 16; stragglers until Aug 28. Another bumper year. Grayling Jul 6–Sep 17; peak mid-Jul to early Aug. Better than 2014, but below bumper 2006. Spring 2016 5

Silver-washed Fritillary early fem Jun 19, then Jun 24–Sep 20; another bumper year, improving on 2014 and 2006. Dark Green Fritillary Jun 17–Aug 22; small numbers except peak of 30 at , Jun 26–Jul 10. Unexpected sighting in Castle Green, Chobham, backed up by a photograph, well away from known populations. Overall numbers slightly below 2013–14, which are well above numbers for previous years. White Admiral Jun 19–Aug 8; numbers slightly above 2013–14. Purple Emperor Jun 29–Aug 1; numbers typical at 72, below bumper 181 in 2013, but above the low of 13 in 2012. Red Admiral welcomed in the New Year in Guildford, and saw out the old at Winkworth Arboretum; sightings for every month of the year. Peak (max 10) Mar & Jun–Aug. Good numbers, slightly lower than 2014. Painted Lady best year since the last large migration in 2009. One attempting to over–winter was recorded on Jan 13, but would not have survived the frosts. 1st migrant Apr 27; main arrival May 11. 2nd generation mid-Jul–Sep 26, Recent numbers : 2009 – 4,045, 2013 – 372, 2014 – 234, 2015 – 596. Peacock a few from Feb 9; main emergence Mar 27+, peak Apr 7–May 24; new brood peak Jul 20–Aug 5. All had entered hibernation by Oct 8; one on Dec 18. Numbers slightly down on 2014 and the peak in 2013, but still above average. Small Tortoiseshell Feb 9 & 17; main Mar 4–Sep 30; late sighting Oct 28; peak Apr 7, 14, 18; Jun 17; Jul 5, 22. Numbers down from 2014, but still significantly above lows of 2005–12. Comma Mar 7–Oct 27; one indoors on Dec 31. Good numbers, similar to 2014. Glanville Fritillary Hutchinson’s Bank, May 17–Jun 11. Best year so far. , Jun 7 & 11: up to 14, contradicting premature reports last year of their demise at the site. Small Copper Apr 14, then Apr 30–Oct 27. At least three overlapping generations: Apr–May, Jul–Aug, Sep–Oct. Numbers lower than previous 13 years, but still significantly better than 2000–02. Brown Hairstreak Jul 29–Oct 11. Egg hunts during the winter 2015/16 have improved the distribution map. The first transects for Brown Hairstreak have been set up so numbers can be monitored in future years. Purple Hairstreak Jun 24–Aug 21; seems to have done badly over the last four years, with a fraction of 2008’s numbers. This is not properly monitored. Green Hairstreak Apr 15–Jul 4; peak May 13 (May 3–18 in 2014). Slightly down on 2014, but well above lows of 2012–13. I continued next page Source of Surrey’s records in 2015 Big Butterfly Count ...... 8,838 UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme ....29,633 Branch website sightings...... 96 Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey....394 Brown Hairstreak transect ...... 14 TOTAL Records ...... 47,520 Butterflies for the New Millennium ..5,282 TOTAL Recorders...... 1,559 iRecord ...... 3,167 TOTAL Monads ...... (55%) 1,162 Migrant Watch – Painted Lady ...... 96 6 Surrey Skipper

I State of Surrey’s Butterflies 2015: from previous page White-letter Hairstreak Jun 26–Aug 8; a slightly better year, but still only 38 records, and below 2007–10. Small Blue May 13–Aug 23, plus extraordinary confirmed sighting on Sep 27, presumably a speculative third brood. Average numbers, slightly down on 2014. Holly Blue Apr 6–Sep 29; 2nd brood started last week of Jun; late record on Oct 25. First brood peak Apr 21–May 24 (just Apr 18 in 2014). Great year, with c. 3.5 more records than in 2014, well above previous peaks in 2004 and 2011. Silver-studded Blue Jun 6–Aug 8; peak Jun 16–Jul 25, about 7 days later than 2014; 8 days earlier than 2013. Numbers above 2014, but below bumper 2010. Brown Argus May 7–Sep 23; peak Aug–early Sep. Improving since 2012 lows. Common Blue Apr 10 early sighting, then Apr 18–Sep 25, although first generation didn’t really kick-off until mid-May. Improving since lows of 2012. Adonis Blue May 9–Jun 24; peak 10 days later than 2014; 2nd brood Aug 2–Sep 25 (larger than 2014). Improving since lows of 2012, but still well below the bumper years of 2003–06 and 2010. Reduced distribution at Box Hill. Chalkhill Blue Jul 4–Sep 30; large numbers (100+) at Denbies Hillside and in first two weeks of August. Numbers above 2014 but below 2013’s huge numbers. Peak started about 13 days later than 2014. I Thank you to everyone who contributed to a record number of sightings in 2015. I A fuller version of this report is on our website: see “Downloads” in right-hand sidebar.

Marsh Fritillary reintroduction Francis Kelly LANS are well advanced to reintroduce the Marsh Fritillary to a site in north-eastP Hampshire, two miles from the Surrey border. As reported in BC Hants & IoW’s October magazine, the project is a joint venture with the Wildlife Trust (HIWWT). In the mid-1980s strong populations existed in damp meadows near Fleet and Farnborough but declined in the 1990s. The land is owned by the Ministry of Defence and managed by HIWWT, who began conservation grazing. A survey in Marsh Fritillary. FK 2012 found a network of suitable habitat. Caterpillars will be taken from sites across east Dartmoor and bred over two generations in purpose-built cages. The plan is to release up to 20,000 caterpillars over two seasons. I BC also has plans to reintroduce the Chequered Skipper to Rockingham Forest, near Corby, Northamptonshire. The butterfly became extinct in in 1975 but survives in Scotland. Spring 2016 7

Glanville Fritillary at Hutchinson’s Bank Martin Wills

2015 Aug: home-bred larvae feed on Purple Toadflax in breeding cage. I put down five batches (one pictured) of up to 40 in the Cutting, which runs through the centre of HB. They wandered off to make hibernation webs and have not been relocated. Oct: remaining webbing moved from breeding cage into a propagator in garden shed near window, so they receive some natural daylight. 2016 Feb: propagator holds at least two hibernation webs (usual size 40-150 larvae); one is a mega web (500+). Feb 24: first larvae awake (Feb 26 in 2015). Spring: at 5th or 6th instar, or when the food runs out, most larvae will be returned to HB, away from where wild webs might be. Females will lay about five batches of eggs in their two weeks as adult, beginning 24 hours after pairing. I Glanvilles fly from 10.45; numbers drop from about 2pm. Flight period c. 4 weeks from mid-May. A gazebo will be in the Cutting during the last week of May. I Butterfly Conservation does NOT support this unofficial release. Unofficial releases: BC’s view Martin Warren HE Glanville Fritillaries at Wrecclesham and now Hutchinson’s Bank might have given pleasure to many, but these unplanned releases are not approved by ButterflyT Conservation. The scientific objections to captive breeding and release: 1 Collecting eggs, larvae and adults from the wild may reduce natural populations. 2 Captive-bred stock lacks genetic diversity and is weakened through adaptation to an indoor environment. It can introduce disease and reduce the vigour of natural populations. 3 Recording provides objective evidence of the status of UK species. Releases may disrupt such monitoring and invalidate the scientific value of the data. 4 Releases can mask underlying trends, affecting decisions about habitat management and our understanding of the impact of climate change. It is against the law to collect/release: 1 The six fully protected species listed in the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981: Heath, High Brown & Marsh Fritillaries, Large Blue, Large Copper, Swallowtail. 2 Any species on Site of Special Scientific Interest. 3 On land owned by The National Trust or Forestry Commission with applicable bye-laws. 4 It may be against the law to collect wildlife from a site without the landowner’s permission. I Martin Warren, BC Chief Executive since 2003, will step down in December. 8 Surrey Skipper

Steve Wheatley Senior Regional Officer – South East

BC England has five regions. Steve Wheatley, based in Brighton, is Senior Regional Officer for: Surrey, Hants/IoW, Kent, Sussex, Upper Thames HICH butterfly and moth species are most in need of conservation in our area? Compiled with the helpW of members in Surrey and across the South East, and due to be completed this spring, the new Regional Action Plan (RAP) will review our priority species and where we can most effectively use our resources over the next 5–10 years. Thanks to the enthusiasm of Harry Clarke, Surrey leads the way in the Region. By February, the branch had shortlisted the “high priority” butterflies and moths – other species will be also included. The focus areas for conservation action have been identified based upon each species’ current range, areas of conservation concern and areas of potential. The priority area may be where the species is struggling rather than its stronghold. The key challenge is to communicate our RAP to individuals and organisations who can work with us or for us: BC members, conservation partners, local authorities, even MPs. We are already sharing our new Surrey’s priority species priorities: with the Woodland Trust at Langley Vale (potential for White- High: Wood White, Adonis Blue, letter Hairstreak, Brown Hairstreak and Small Blue, Silver-spotted Skipper, Small Blue); the Forestry Commission White-letter Hairstreak at Bury Hill & Redlands, SW of Medium: Grizzled Skipper, Grayling, Dorking; and, very importantly, at Silver-studded Blue . Low: Brown Hairstreak, Purple Emperor Our RAP restates the importance of High-priority moths, to be confirmed; the Chiddingfold woodland cluster for candidates include: Betony Case-bearer, Wood White and Betony Case-bearer Common Fan-foot, Drab Looper, (only known UK site). FC can also Heart Moth, Phyllonorycter scabiosella, help White-letter Hairstreak and the Shoulder-striped Clover, Silvery Arches, Common Fan-foot moth. Sloe Carpet, Straw Belle Other key species that will benefit from good woodland management include Purple Emperor and Grizzled Skipper, and the moths White-spotted Sable, Sloe Carpet and Drab Looper. I Many thanks to all recorders, notably transect walkers. We are now turning your data into action. I More RAP details, with maps, are on our website: access via right-hand sidebar. Spring 2016 9

Legacies UTTERFLY Conservation wish to express their thanks for a £10,000 Blegacy from Ewhurst member Keith Cleaves (right), who died in 2013. Keith requested that the money be used to support BC’s general activities. Francis Kelly writes: Keith was a regular on field trips, 2005–2010. He was on my first trip: Oaken Wood, May 2005; and the first trip I led: , Jul 2010. I The Committee also acknowledges a donation to the Surrey Small Blue project of money raised from the sale of books belonging to Gay Carr. This was organised by Jenny Shalom. The sum was boosted by donations from members in Gay’s memory. Gay, who died in March last year after a long illness, walked the transect at , 2005-14 and was a regular on field trips. I If you could consider leaving a legacy to Butterfly Conservation, please contact Helen Corrigan: 01273 453313 [email protected] Thank you Oaken Wood John Davis – BC’s Head of Reserves ORESTRY Commission have cut the open grassland and Moth Officer Tony Davis is inputting through Steve Wheatley on the Betony Case-bearer and other managementF for moths. FC also removed shading track-side trees along the southern boundary of the extension area leading to the western corner to improve it as Wood White habitat. I visited in mid-February and found that FC had not done as much work as I had hoped. FC had not promised to do the works – only to see if they could be fitted in. Having held back with the contractor work we had lined up until we were clearer on what would need to be progressed, we will now press on that way. OAKEN WOOD, our branch reserve since 1995, is 12ha of woodland and grassland in the south-west of the county, 2.6km south of . The licence for 2013-2017, renewed in 2015, includes a 3ha extension west to Lagfold track. The site is part of the Forestry Commission’s 324ha . Access: SU993338, via track (usually no vehicular access) that runs west from Plaistow Rd at SU994338; GU8 4PG. Parking for only a few cars. Western (Botany Bay) entrance to Chiddingfold Forest is off High Street Green at SU978348; GU8 4YA. Parking here is slightly easier — beware of roadside ditches! Oaken Wood is 2.5km to the east. 10 Surrey Skipper

Jan 5, Horton CP: the hunt for Brown Hairstreak eggs becomes more sophisticated as bamboo sticks mark 5m sections. Ken Elsom

Brown Hairstreak egg hunts Bill Downey eggs per hour site hunters minutes eggs success rate Dec 1 Brickworks ...... 11 ...... 90 ...... 114...... 6.9 Dec 11 , Ewell ...... 15 ...... 75 ...... 58...... 3.1 Dec 17 ...... 15 ...... 100 ...... 92...... 3.7 Jan 1 Bookham Common ...... 8 ...... 77 ...... 15...... 1.5 Jan 5 Horton CP, ...... 16 ...... 90 ...... 83...... 3.5 Jan 29 Little Mead, ...... 9 ...... 75 ...... 56...... 5.0

N discussing the Regional Action Plan, we realised there was a need Ifor more Brown Hairstreak records. In November, Butterfly Conservation also issued a standardised methodology for egg counts. So Francis Kelly and I set up a number of fixed routes where Brown Hairstreak eggs can be sampled annually – along with eggs of the Blue-bordered Carpet moth, which also lays on blackthorn. Horton CP: eggs of Brown Hairstreak (left) Searching lasts no more than two & Blue-bordered Carpet moth on blackthorn. Ken & Gillian Elsom hours and is followed by lunch, which allows members to socialise at I was pleased with the attendance and we an otherwise uneventful time of year. have learned to minimise double counting Some searchers have subsequently via the use of 5m sticks. checked blackthorn in their own A programme of egg hunts will be areas and recorded their findings. announced in the autumn Skipper. Spring 2016 11

Brown Hairstreak distribution Feb 24, Harry Clarke

Family Nature Day Sophie Pettit am planning a Family Nature Day, making nature “Cool for Kids”, at Chipstead Downs, 10.00-15.00, Saturday 23 July. IIn the Holly Lane car park I hope to set up a nature table with larval cases, feathers, shells etc, and a selection of books and charts to help children, accompanied by parents/grandparents, with their identification skills. I also hope to arrange children’s activities, such as colouring, and we would supply charts for the Big Butterfly Count. Walks onto the Downs, starting on the hour between 11.00 & 14.00, would last up to one hour. People could even record what they see via the iRecord app. I If you would like to help with this event, by leading one of the walks or helping on a table, please contact Sophie on: [email protected] I Sophie receives £850 cheque: see back page Email addresses Francis Kelly THANK YOU to members that supplied an email address following the appeal in the last Skipper. If your email address is on our database you should have received a recent alert to the temporary availability of a PDF of this Skipper on our website. If you did NOT receive that email and wish to be added to our database, please email your name to [email protected] 12 Surrey Skipper

Transects Bill Downey

record 82 transects were walked by 100+ volunteers in Surrey last year. For the first time over 100,000 butterfliesA were recorded. My thanks go to all walkers. The increase was a result of adding new routes and picking up monitoring that was already taking place but not being recorded via the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme. Ten species produced 21st century one-day records: Marbled White 270, Common Blue 243, Large Skipper 94, Brimstone 81, Dark-green Fritillary 41, Glanville Fritillary 33, Wood White 31, Holly Blue 21, Comma 17 and Brown Hairstreak 3. Not bad for what was, by common consensus, an underwhelming year! Weaknesses remain in our portfolio. We lack routes in the Lower , particularly around Chiddingfold where there is a need to monitor the Wood White. We also need more heathland sites, particularly in the Thames Basin north of the downs. In 2015 we improved monitoring on the Greensand Heaths with routes at the RSPB’s Heath and SWT sites at Rodborough Common and Royal & Surrey transects with most species in 2015 Hutchinson's Bank 36 Box Hill Dukes 29 28 Quarry 33 Box Hill Zig Zag 29 Riddlesdown Quarry 28 Denbies Landbarn 32 Juniper Hill, Epsom 29 Box Hill Viewpoint 27 Limeworks 31 Park Downs, 29 Farthing Downs 27 Blatchford Down 30 Pewley Down 29 Hill Park, Tatsfield 27 Newlands Corn East 30 New Hill, 28 Pk grassland 27 30 Newlands Corn West 28 27

Presence on Surrey's 82 transects in 2015 Large White 81 Small Tortoiseshell 65 White Admiral 15 Meadow Brown 81 Orange-tip 63 Purple Hairstreak 14 Peacock 80 Small Skipper 61 Silver-spotted Skipper 12 Brimstone 79 Marbled White 58 Silver-studded Blue 11 Gatekeeper 78 Small Copper 56 Clouded Yellow 9 Speckled Wood 77 Small Heath 49 Adonis Blue 8 Small White 75 Essex Skipper 44 Small Blue 8 Ringlet 73 Silver-washed Fritillary 42 Brown Hairstreak 7 Common Blue 72 Brown Argus 39 Grayling 7 Large Skipper 72 Painted Lady 39 Wood White 4 Comma 70 Chalkhill Blue 23 Purple Emperor 2 Small/Essex Skipper 69 Dingy Skipper 23 Glanville Fritillary 1 Holly Blue 68 Green Hairstreak 22 White-letter Hairstreak 1 Red Admiral 68 Grizzled Skipper 20 Green-veined White 66 Dark Green Fritillary 18 Spring 2016 13

Bagmoor Commons. I am pleased that late in the season we added our first site in Kingston – Tolworth Court Farm – since I am a resident of the borough! New routes are planned at Heath, Merrow Downs, Barnes Common, Chipstead Downs, Blindley Heath, Dawney Heath & Brookwood Cemetery, Wisley and Ockham Commons, , Frimley Fuel Allotments, Bourne Woods near Farnham and Nonsuch Park. Some are at a more advanced stage than others. Peter and Ruth Cureton, who walked Oaken Wood last year, are leaving the county, so our one reserve again needs a walker. There are also vacant slots for Hackhurst Down and the prospective route at Nonsuch Park. I would like to find an additional walker for Wimbledon Common. I Special thanks must go to Derek Coleman, who is retiring from the transect after 30 years. The transect scheme was launched in 1976. Banstead in 1986 was Surrey’s first. Derek has recorded 32 species over the years, but only 22 last year. Peter Brown is stepping into Derek’s shoes. I UKBMS now offers the facility to record timed counts online. This allows one-off surveys at sites not covered by transects, and improved monitoring of species not well recorded via the transect methodology, such as Purple Emperor or White-letter Hairstreak. This is something I want to explore this year. I Around the transects: next page; More statistics: 32–37.

Surrey transects Transects Named Section-level Received Walkers Species Records Butterflies 2013...... 47 ...... 72 ...... 40 ...... 17,096 ...... 72,133 2014...... 59 ...... 87 ...... 40 ...... 23,737 ...... 83,908 2015...... 82 ...... 103 ...... 42 ...... 29,633 ...... 103,297 Not recorded: 2013 W-letter & Brown Hairstreaks; 2014 W-letter Hairstreak, Wood White

Walking a transect A TRANSECT is a fixed-route, weekly walk, typically 1–3km, lasting 30–90 mins. Volunteers record butterflies in a 5m band in suitable weather in the 26 weeks Apr–Sep, 10.45–15.45. Data is managed by the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS). If you would like to walk a transect or help with an existing one (many are shared), please contact: [email protected] I More details, including how to view transect data online & data to download: butterfly-conservation.org/7524/Surrey-transects.html 14 Surrey Skipper

Around the transects

Bealeswood Common Philippa Hall: Common Blue and Orange-tip numbers up. Through misunderstanding, Council contractor cut on Aug 20, not “as late as possible”. This won’t happen again. Box Hill Dukes Ken Owen: No Green Hairstreak (seen intermittently over years). Grizzled Skipper hanging on (2015=2, 2014=2, 2013=3); Dingy slipping back (7-30-2); Silver-spotted Skipper declining (39-89-51). Adonis held up with 65. Increases: Holly Blue (19-1-0); Com Blue (893-140-257); Brown Argus (70-12-2). Denbies Hillside Phil Boys: different species seem to have favourite area. For example, Large Skippers seem to have meeting places along the carriageway. Richard Burgess: most of our 23 species decreased, notably Meadow Brown from 348 to just over 200. Gatekeeper, Marbled White and the “cabbage whites” showed reasonable increases. Purple Emperors were still present. Overall 2015 was 3rd-best of the last eight years, 11% up on the average. Hutchinson’s Bank & Chapel Bank Martin Wills: White-letter Hairstreak and Purple Emperor were the only absentees from the area’s 37 possibles, although White-letter larvae were seen at Chapel Bank. Marbled Whites and Ringlets, which reached HB in the 2000s, were down on normal. London Wetland Centre Richard Bullock: Brimstone and Holly Blue had their best year; Peacock had its 3rd-best. Thanks to Bill Downey’s encouragement, we tried to separate Small & Essex Skippers for the first time: Small appeared to be marginally more numerous, with their combined total being Gatekeeper male, ab. lucida, a record. Small Coppers remain scarce; London Wetland Centre. Bruce Page Small Heath was not reported at all. Green Hairstreak (four records) was on site for the third year in the last four. It was also recorded on Barnes Common (Adrian Podmore). Brown Argus (Rupert Kaye) was a first, as was the colony of the Brassy Longhorn moth (Catherine Beazley). A leucistic Gatekeeper (ab. lucida) was the most unusual sighting. Priest Hill David Robinson: 25 species, including our first Small Blue. Three female Brown Hairstreaks together included two on a rotting apple. Two Brown Hairstreak females on rotting apple, Priest Hill, Sep 17. David Robinson

Runnymede Cathy Clarke: in 2014 I realised that a large patch of Fleabane and Blackberries attracted more butterflies than the entire transect! In 2015 this was added to become the 9th section and made up one 3rd of the records. But, like-on-like, 2015 was down by a third. Losers Common Blue 63%, Green-Veined White 33%, Gatekeeper 47%, Meadow Brown 59%, Small Skipper 13%. Small Tortoiseshells dropped from 12 to zero. Meadow Browns and Gatekeepers would probably have been higher without June mowing. In the long term mowing the hay meadow should be beneficial. Winners Holly Blue: 5 in 2015, one in 2014; Large White 14-3; Peacock 39-26; Small White 29-5. Small Heath (2) was recorded for the first time. Section 9 highlights: 45 Common Blues; 10 Small Coppers; 2 Small Tortoiseshells in April were the only sightings WCBS TQ0071: total down from 303 to 112. Shortfield Common Philippa Hall: Sheep’s-bit (Jasione montana) did particularly well, flowering from May into September, and attracting Common Blues. This was the third year of cutting and collecting in September rather than June, in accordance with the management plan designed with the help of . The first year of the transect usefully coincided with approval for designation as a I Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI). continued next page 16 Surrey Skipper

I Around the transects: from previous page Sydenham Hill Wood Daniel Greenwood: my concerns are: tidying up and lack of understanding; continual use of herbicides in streets; need for mowing to be reduced in parks rather than installation of low-nectar pictorial “meadows”; continual suppression of flora-rich grasslands on housing estate land through monthly strimming and mowing. Tooting Common Alan Wilkinson: the transect’s first year found the expected species plus Marbled White. White-letter Hairstreak was refound. The Councils are allowing wild vegetation and grassy areas to grow during the summer months, but I suspect targeted interventions with specific plants will be needed to sustain a variety of species. I got the impression that butterflies like Orange-tip, Brimstone and Marbled White were using railway lines to reach the Common. Coordination between the London conservation bodies to improve verges, especially of railway lines, could help biodiversity. Warren Farm Peter Camber: 25 species over three years; Small Heath and Brown & White-letter Hairstreaks not recorded this year. Winners Small Blue: 171 versus only 25 in 2014; 32 on Jul 23 alone (2014 max 9). Small Copper: 60 versus 23 in 2014; 11 on Aug 9. Holly Blue: 32 versus only 4 in 2014, echoing similar increases at other sites. Marbled White: substantial numbers throughout; 509 was the highest total to date. 226 on Jul 3 was a record for a single visit. Losers Small Tortoiseshell: 13 versus 35; still compares favourably with only 3 in 2013. Speckled Wood, Ringlet; 2nd year of decline for Com Blue & Meadow Brown. West End Farm Philippa Hall: an explosion of Ringlets but they came and went quickly. We have therefore decided to leave part of our fields uncut in rotation. The Small Tortoiseshell recovery seems to have stalled.

Fundraising David Gradidge OUR thanks are due to Sophie Pettit, who raised £850 at John Lewis in (see back page). This should give the stimulus to try John Lewis in Kingston and perhaps Guildford. Do consider Waitrose. Make yourself known at the desk and ask how the Green Token scheme works in that branch. Spring 2016 17

Branch website: Uunique weekly visitors Francis Kelly 2015 2016

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OUR new branch website, butterfly-conservation.org/surrey, launched in Sep 2014, continues on an upward curve. Unique weekly visitors peaked last year at 283 during week beginning Jul 31. There was a late-season spike to 254 on Oct 2 when the new Skipper was made available online. Visitors in the first two months of 2016 are double those in 2015. Two popular pages are Sightings, and Surrey People. Please email notable sightings/photos for either page to [email protected] For general records, please use irecord.org.uk Social Media Francis Kelly Facebook page: Butterfly Conservation in Surrey 1 Create your account at: www.facebook.com 2 Go to www.facebook.com/ButterflyConservation.Surrey and click “Like”. This adds to your News Feed any items posted or shared by the page managers (Mick Rock & Francis Kelly). 3 Like, Comment or Share a Post. 4 Visit the page to post your own message/photo, which will appear in the left-hand sidebar, along with other PHOTOS and VISITOR POSTS. Twitter: @BC_Surrey 1 Create your account at: www.twitter.com 2 Please follow @BC_Surrey to see tweets by account managers (Mick Rock & Francis Kelly) and retweets. 3 Mention @BC_Surrey in your own tweets and they will be retweeted to our followers as well as seen by your own followers. I Feb 2016: Surrey branch had 192 Facebook likes and 463 Twitter followers. I Butterfly Conservation on Twitter: @savebutterflies Butterfly Conservation’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/savebutterflies I Mick Rock’s personal Facebook group: Surrey Butterflies 18 Surrey Skipper

Harold Hughes OBE 1934-2015 Tony Hoare

HEN Harold Hughes died last October, age 81, I had known him for over 30 years. Harold joined the local branch of the British Butterfly Conservation SocietyW in 1983 and that simple event proved pivotal to the conservation of butterflies in this country. In those early days the Society was largely run by John Tatham from his home in Quorn. He was able to respond to only a tiny proportion of the many pressures on our butterflies as he had no scientific background in either butterflies or conservation and only limited assistance from his committee who, apart from Robert Goodden who ran (and still does) Worldwide Butterflies, had limited knowledge as well. The branches were only just getting under way and also finding their feet, with London Branch founded by Ian Hardy in 1980 and me as his branch secretary. Harold was at that time the director in charge of British Gas off-shore operations, a high-powered and demanding job, and he soon brought his operational skills to bear on the branch, organising field trips to distant locations in search of the species that did not fly locally. My earliest recollection is of a visit to the Isle of Wight to see the Glanville Fritillary when we nearly lost his wife Elizabeth down a rabbit hole. Other visits included Dorset for the Lulworth Skipper, Norfolk for the Swallowtail and, most memorably, Gaitbarrow Reserve and Arnside Knott, where he had organised overnight accommodation in an unused British Gas office.

Harold Hughes (right) with BC National Chairs past and present (L-R): Jim Asher (2014), David Dennis, Maurice Avent, Dudley Cheesman, Stephen Jeffcoate. Kenilworth AGM 2014. Katie Callaghan Spring 2016 19

He soon joined the committee and took over as Chairman in 1986 when Ian Hardy stood down after six years. I continued as Secretary and soon learnt that he could be phoned up at almost any time. Harold was characterised by a can-do mentality and he soon persuaded the committee to sign up to the first of our Branch Festivals in 1988. Typically, he organised many of the features: British Gas brought along a tethered hot air balloon and we had musical entertainment from the Thurston Clarinet Quartet. The Festival was opened by the then President of the BBCS, butterfly artist Gordon Beningfield. Kenneth Baker, the local MP, was invited along to say a few words. On learning that British Gas were disposing of a fitters’ caravan, Harold saw that it could be used to hold the sales goods for the various shows that the branch attended. The caravan duly arrived and was fitted out by Dennis Newland and painted by Bryan Ceney. It was very four-square and heavy but Harold’s new car did not sport a tow bar so others found themselves with the job of towing this brute around the countryside. In 1987 Harold became a member of the National Committee and, upon the Society’s incorporation, a Director in March 1988. By 1989 he felt that he should devote his energies at that level and also that he needed to move on after three years as Branch Chairman but he remained on the Branch Committee under my own chairmanship. It was at the national level that Harold made his greatest contribution to the conservation of butterflies. That story is to be covered more fully in Butterfly, the national magazine. Briefly, after Harold became National Chairman, he put the Society on a totally new path, rebranding us as Butterfly Conservation, putting the finances into order after a period of disarray and employing the first paid staff, which included Martin Warren as Conservation Officer. The Society now rests solidly upon his foundations. As a person Harold bubbled with humour and ideas, not all of them practical, but always worthy of consideration. He was never without a joke to tell and, as well as a lover of butterflies, he was a keen swimmer, a passionate lover of music, especially Berlioz, and a fine cook. He will be sorely missed by his wife Elizabeth, his family and his many friends in many fields. I Tony Hoare was Chair of London branch, 1989-93

Members’ Day IF you missed our AGM and Members’ Day last November, the following comments may inspire you to give this year’s event a try: Jim Asher, National Chairman: It was a real pleasure to be there and I had a number of interesting conversations with members during the breaks. Martin Warren, Chief Executive: Thank you for an excellent AGM and day, it was heart-warming to see such an active and vibrant Branch . . . it made me very proud of what BC does. 20 Surrey Skipper

Time to Fly Robert Edmondson Anthropomorphic fantasy on the theme of spring, produced for a creative-writing group have been here for a long time now. Is my imprisonment to endI at last? I lie here virtually immobile alone with my thoughts among the dead leaves and stalks, the rough stones and soil at the edge of a woodland near the town of Dorking in the County of Surrey, England. I started life, like all my kind, during late April or early May as a tiny yellowish egg laid by my mother on a stalk of cuckooflower, honesty or another cruciferous plant but most commonly on garlic mustard or, as the humans call it, Jack by-the- hedge. My mother was so careful to Photo: lay only one egg on each plant Nick Broomer and to confirm that no other parent had laid an egg of the same kind on the same plant. The reason is, sadly, that as youngsters we tend to eat our brothers and sisters if we encounter them on our foodplant. I believe that the word used to describe us is “cannibals” but, gentle reader, do not judge us by your laws. We in the insect world are not subject to your moral strictures. We aliens have our own codes of appropriate behaviour and it is futile for humans to disapprove of them. My first vague memory, in my first phase of active and conscious life, was eating the shell of the egg from which I had emerged, after which eating was still my main, indeed my only, preoccupation. My food consisted of the leaves of the plant on which I was based. I lost most of my brothers and sisters (on other plants of course!) to parasites, bacterial or fungal disease and to the occasional bird, which was not deterred by the unpleasant chemicals related to mustard that we consume in our food and retain in our bodies. Our green colour makes it difficult for a hungry bird to detect us but we are not invisible and many of my relatives ended their lives in the nests of birds. Spring 2016 21

As they say, it has all worked out well for me. I have been one of the lucky ones. After three or four weeks my childhood was over. I matured and, casting off my youthful outer skeleton, I changed into an elegant, straw coloured triangular object, called a pupa, clinging onto my plant by a silken thread. I have endured the trials of the heat of summer, the rains and winds of autumn and the frosts and cold of winter. However I survived as you see me now. So far no hungry or insect has found me nor have any of the multitude of parasitic which lay their eggs on larvae or pupae. I have neither been drowned by a sudden flood nor crushed by a falling branch. I lie here with my hopes for the future – to become a beautiful flying creature, dancing in the sky on my wings and sipping nectar from the flowers. Some of us will have attractive orange ends to our wings. I wonder if I shall be one of the chosen ones. Another day is dawning. I have the unshakeable feeling that this day is special. Everything is different now. The weather is warmer and even the breeze is mild. The daylight, which I can sense through my surface layers, now lasts for well over half the day. I have the impression that I already have rudimentary wings and six long thin legs and that my whole body has changed. However I am trapped in a cage from which I have to escape. Today I will struggle to fulfil my destiny to become a fully functional adult Orange-tip butterfly. There is no doubt about it. It must be Spring.

Surrey’s Damsels & Dragons Francis Kelly

Odonata (Damselflies & Dragonflies) attract plenty of attention on field trips. Here is a summary of Surrey’s 29 regular species, with notes on their county status (widespread unless stated otherwise). 12 DAMSELS Total Blues Azure, Blue-tailed (both in gardens), Common (larger ponds), White-legged (rivers), Red-eyed (lily pads), Small Red-eyed (spreading since 2003) ..6 Reds Large (gardens), Small (heaths)...... 2 Emeralds Emerald (heaths), Willow (spreading west from 2014)...... 2 Demoiselles Banded (rivers), Beautiful (streams) ...... 2 17 DRAGONS Hawkers Emperor, Southern, Migrant (late summer), Brown, Hairy (spring & early summer; Wimbledon Common, ), Common (uncommon on heaths) ...... 6 Cordulegastridae Golden-ringed (small streams on heaths etc) ...... 1 Chasers Four-spotted, Broad-bodied, Scarce (Wey at Wrecclesham; Ewhurst Brickworks) ...... 3 Skimmers Black-tailed, Keeled (heaths) ...... 2 Emeralds Downy, Brilliant (both favour selected larger ponds) ...... 2 Darters Common, Ruddy, Black (heaths) ...... 3 22 Surrey Skipper

Weather Watch David Gradidge EOPLE have short memories when it comes to the weather. Yes, they remember the great storm of 1987, theP summer of 1976 and many of us the winter of 1963, Then there was February 1947. But how many remember that December 2010 was the coldest for over 100 years? Last September had the unusual combination of being very sunny (9th in a series going back to 1929) and cool – the coldest since 1993. October was dull and mild but on the dry side. November started a trend that really went on until the end of January. Persistent SW winds controlled by the jet stream, little sunshine and often very mild. November was the dullest on record (this is for the SE) with just 30 sunshine hours, and the 3rd-mildest in the 100 year record. But it wasn’t wet. That all happened in the NW sector of the UK. Then it repeated itself in December, only more so. It was by a long way the mildest (warmest?) December, a huge 2.4ºC above the previous record. It was also as mild as the mildest November in the last 100 years and for good measure milder than over half the Octobers in this series. Again it was very dull and not wet in the South East. It changed a bit in January. Those on higher ground woke up to snow – yes snow – one morning. The wet weather extended South to make the month the 7th-wettest in the record and continued on the mild side and somewhat sunnier. February has returned to a “normal” winter month nothing unusual apart from the lack of really cold weather. 2015 as a whole was a little sunnier, wetter and milder than average. What of the year to come? Blossom is out, daffodils have been out for ages and the grass never stopped growing. I was always told that mild winters were bad for butterflies as the predators were not killed off. The worldwide effects of El Nino are fading to be replaced by La Nina and the sun is getting steadily quieter, but I stray into the area of climate.

IF you visit the Isle of Wight, look out for the Glanville Fritillary mosaic on the promenade at Horseshoe Bay. It was created in 2013 by the Ventnor School of Mosaic and presented to the Bonchurch Community Association. Peak flight time is last two weeks of May and first week of June. Robert Edmondson Spring 2016 23

Field trips 4-page pullout Mike Weller FIELD trips are open to all BC members and their guests. Other non-members welcome but should contact us in advance. Details for leaders of more than one walk: inside-back. I Postcode & grid reference indicate meeting place. I Unless stated otherwise, walks start at 11am, lasting until mid-afternoon. Lunch, drinks, walking boots, hat, sunscreen & close-focusing binoculars are advised. NO DOGS PLEASE I Bad weather: cancelled/rearranged dates will be emailed to our contacts list and posted on www.butterfly-conservation.org/surrey I Any queries, or to join our contacts list, please email [email protected] APRIL 20 Wed Ham Lands TW10 7RS, TQ169731: car park south of Thames at north end of Ham Street, Petersham. MORNING ONLY Early flyers, e.g. Brimstone, Peacock Leader: Malcolm Bridge (MB) 26 Tue Sheepleas, KT24 6AN, TQ088525: car park behind St. Mary’s church, south of A246 between East & West Horsley. Spring Skippers, Green Hairstreak, Vanessids Francis Kelly (FK) MAY 3 Tue Rewell Wood, West Sussex BN18 0NJ SU98290909: 2nd lay-by on A29 , 2.5km SW of A284 jct. Pearl-bordered Fritillary FK 7 Sat Denbies Hillside RH5 6SR, TQ141503: Ranmore NT car park east. STEEP! Spring Skippers, Green Hairstreak Robert Edmondson (RE) 8 Sun Oaken Wood GU8 4PG, SU993338: branch reserve entrance via unmade track west of Plaistow Rd. Wood White MB 10 Tue RH5 5DN TQ20324260: SWT car park. Coming south along Hogspudding Lane (aka New Barn Lane), turn first left into Mulberry Place then keep left. Spring Skippers FK 11 Wed Hutchinson’s Bank CR0 9AD, TQ377619: Farleigh Dean Crescent, off Featherbed Lane. Downland species, incl. day-flying moths MB 17 Tue Brookwood Cemetery GU24 0JE, SU946560: Avenue de Cagney, Green. Spring Skippers, Green Hairstreak FK 22 Sun Denbies Hillside see May 7. Spring Skippers, Adonis Blue RE 24 Tue Chantries/Five Fields & Pewley Down GU4 8PZ TQ02174842: St Martha’s car park, Halfpenny Lane. Small Blue FK 25 Wed Hutchinson’s Bank see May 11. Small Blue, Glanville Fritillary MB I In an EMERGENCY call 112: wait 1 min; if no signal, turn 180o and retry. If still no contact, text 112. 24 Surrey Skipper

26 Thu KT23 4BP, TQ146543: cul-de-sac end of Downs Way, , south of A246 Leatherhead to Guildford road. Park considerately in residential road. Downland species Mike Weller (MW) 29 Sun Merrow/Pewley Downs, Guildford GU1 2QP, TQ022499: car park on right at top of High Path Rd or Grove Rd, off A246 Epsom Rd. Small Blue Clive Huggins (CH) 31 Tue Clandon Wood Natural Burial Reserve GU4 7TT, TQ048512: north of A246, 300m east of A247. Small Blue FK JUNE 4 Sat 10.30 SM2 7HS, TQ236622: outside St Paul’s church at roundabout junction of busy A232 and Northey Avenue, Cheam. Park considerately in residential roads.MORNING ONLY Small Blue. Donation please towards site upkeep. Peter Wakeham 0208 642 3002 14 Tue 10.30 Fairmile Common KT11 1BL, TQ117617: from Cobham take A307 towards Esher; after 2km turn left at sign for Cobham International School; car park 300m on right. MORNING ONLY Silver-studded Blue MW 19 Sun Box Hill KT20 7LB, TQ179513: NT car park opposite shop. Beware cyclists! Dark Green Fritillary, orchids Dave Warburton (DW) 21 Tue GU24 9PY, SU938613: Red Road car park B311, 1st-left turn 275m west of A322 roundabout. MORNING ONLY Silver-studded Blue Ben Habgood (SWT) 07891 850882 & MW 22 Wed 10.30 Downs CR8 3QL, TQ305628: Plough Lane, off Foresters Drive, Wallington; park on street. MORNING ONLY Browns & Skippers DW 26 Sun Norbury Park RH5 6BQ, TQ158524: Crabtree Lane car park, 1.2km NW of Box Hill & station; 1.6km west of 465 bus stop on A24. Down/woodland species Tony Hoare (AH) 28 Tue St Martha’s & Newlands Corner GU5 9BQ, TQ035485: car park east of St. Martha’s Hill, Guildford Lane; north of A248 via Albury; south of White Lane via Guildford. Dark Green Fritillary FK 30 Thu Whitmoor Common GU3 3RN, SU987542: car park by Jolly Farmer pub. From A3 southbound take Burpham/Merrow exit; from A320 north of Guildford, take Burdenshott Rd NW for 1km. Silver-studded Blue, Silver-washed Fritillary, White Admiral FK JULY 3 Sun Bookham Common KT23 3JG, TQ130557: NT Tunnel car park north of Church Rd, 200m east of Bookham railway station. Purple Emperor, Silver-washed Fritillary, White Admiral AH 5 Tue Cucknells Wood GU5 0UD TQ03314338: Christ Church car park, south of Shamley Green, west of B2128. Silver-washed Fritillary FK Spring 2016 25

7 Thu 10.30 KT18 7TR, TQ182611: Stew Ponds car park south of Christ Church Rd. MORNING ONLY Purple Emperor, White Admiral Alison Gilry 07736 962466 10 Sun Holmwood Common RH5 4DT, TQ182463: NT car park on brow of hill, west of road from Dorking to Newdigate. Purple Emperor, White Admiral 14.00 Inholms Clay Pit RH5 4TU, TQ175474: park in Holmbury Drive. MW 12 Tue Sheepleas, West Horsley see Apr 26. Purple Emperor FK 14 Thu Common KT21 2DU, TQ179589: Ashtead Common estate office; go over level crossing at Ashtead railway station, then left 200m along Woodfield Rd. Park considerately before level crossing or at far end of Woodfield Rd. Purple Emperor, White Admiral MW 16 Sat 14.00 Walton Downs & Juniper Hill, Epsom KT18 5PP, TQ222578: large car park inside racecourse at SE corner. Cross the course east of grandstand at junction of Rd & Old London Rd then follow the track round. Chalkhill Blue MW 17 Sun 10.30 GU24 8TL, SU965649: MORNING ONLY Roundabout car park, jct B383/B386. Grayling Alan Hunt 01483 476901 19 Tue Broadstreet Common GU2 8LW, SU968509: Hartshill, Park Barn, Guildford. From A323 Aldershot Rd turn west into Broad Street (heading towards Wood Street village); after 250m, 2nd-left – Broadacres; 1st right – Wood Rise; keep right at roundabout into Barnwood Rd; turn right at T-junction into Cabell Rd; 1st right into Hartshill. Park in residential street. Wood/grassland species MW 20 Wed 10.30 , Woodside & Shirley Leisure Gardens CR0 7EZ, TQ352663: Car park on right, 240m along Glenthorne Ave, east of A215 Shirley Rd. MORNING ONLY Grassland species incl. Brown Argus MB 21 Thu Headley Heath KT18 6NN, TQ204538: Main (not Brimmer) car park west of B2033 Headley Common Rd, 200m south of Leech Lane. STEEP. Purple Emperor, Small Copper, Silver-spotted Skipper CH 23 Sat 10.00-15.00 Chipstead Downs CR5 3NR TQ27305831: car park south of B2219 Holly Lane; access from B2032 Outwood Lane via Lower Park Rd. Big Butterfly Counts hourly, 11.00–14.00, making nature Cool for Kids; bring your children/grandchildren Sophie Pettit 020 8645 9400 24 Sun Wimbledon Common SW19 5NR, TQ229724: Windmill Rd car park. Purple Hairstreak, grassland species MB 26 Tue Great Train Journey East: VERY STEEP! dep Dorking DEEPDENE 9.14, arr Betchworth 9.19. 6km return walk via Betchworth & Brockham Chalk Pits and Box Hill Dukes, ending at Stepping Stones NT car park (RH5 6AE, TQ171513), which is 600m south of Burford Bridge roundabout, east of A24. We advise to park here and walk 1.4km (15min) south along A24, past Dorking Main, to Deepdene Station. 25 species in 2015, incl Chalkhill Blue, Silver-spotted Skipper, W-letter Hairstreak MW 26 Surrey Skipper

30 Sat 10.30 ‘Vale End’, Tillingbourne Valley, St Martha’s Hill, Albury Downs GU5 9BE, TQ042478: we are invited to Vale End, John & Daphne Foulsham’s home, north side of Chilworth Rd (A248), 0.5km west of Albury. Park in field opposite on south side. After coffee & biscuits we wander along the Tillingbourne Valley then steeply up onto the Downs. Return downhill for tea & cakes. End 4pm. Chalkhill Blue MW AUGUST 3 Wed Reigate & Colley Hills RH2 9RP, TQ263523: Reigate Hill NT car park, SE of M25 jct 8; turn off A217 towards Gatton – car park is immediately signposted. Silver-spotted Skipper, Chalkhill Blue MW 6 Sat Great Train Journey West: VERY STEEP! dep Dorking DEEPDENE 9.45, arr Gomshall 9.53 (you could join here). 10km return walk over some of the finest butterfly country on the Downs. Parking options: 1 Dorking Main station (RH4 1TF, TQ170503), 250m north of Deepdene, £3+. 2 Ashcombe Road, west end (RH4 1NB, TQ161500) is on return route, 1.3km (15 min) west of Deepdene: cross A24 via underpass, turn right. MB 9 Tue Dawney Heath & Brookwood Cemetery see May 17. Grayling FK 14 Sun Box Hill see Jun 19: STEEP walk to Lower Viewpoint & Dukes. Blues, incl. Adonis & Chalkhill; Silver-spotted Skipper RE 17 Wed 10.30 Bookham Common see Jul 3. MORNING ONLY Brown Hairstreak MW 21 Sun Denbies Hillside see May 7: STEEP! Blues, incl. Adonis & Chalkhill; Silver-spotted Skipper DW 24 Wed 10.30 Bookham Common see Jul 3. MORNING ONLY repeat of previous week’s visit for Brown Hairstreak MW 27 Sat 10.30 GU24 0DH, SU93435381: Henley Park Range, north of A324 Aldershot Rd, bottom of track opposite Cobbett Hill Rd, 2.5km SW of Pirbright, 1km SW of Royal Oak pub. WELLIES ADVISED Dragonflies & butterflies. FK 30 Tue Newdigate Brickworks see May 10. Brown Hairstreak FK SEPTEMBER 1 Thu Merrow/Pewley Downs, Guildford see May 29. Brown Hairstreak Nigel Jackman 020 8391 4437 6 Tue Little Mead, Cranleigh GU6 8LT TQ04603985: Notcutts Garden Centre, B2128 Guildford Rd, 1.2km NW of village. Brown Hairstreak FK 8 Thu Priest Hill, Epsom KT17 3BZ TQ22686095: MORNING ONLY Ranger’s house, east of A240 Reigate Rd, 1.2km south of A24. Brown Hairstreak David Robinson 07944 602992 Spring 2016 27

James Joicey - collector extraordinaire Nigel Jackman

MAGINE acquiring one and a half million butterfly specimens from all over the world. This is the remarkable story of James John Joicey (1870–1932), one of the Igreatest butterfly collectors of all time and certainly the greatest collector that Surrey will ever know. James Joicey was born in Durham on December 28, 1870 and educated in Yorkshire and at Hertford College, Oxford. As the son of a millionaire colliery owner he enjoyed a privileged lifestyle. He established a reputation as an entomologist, lepidopterist and general naturalist, and travelled widely in Europe, Asia and the Americas. As a wealthy man of leisure he established a passion for orchids, competing with Walter Rothschild to build the world’s premier collection. When Joicey was bankrupted for the then very large sum of £30,000 the judge made him promise to abandon collecting orchids. However, he then turned his attention to . Joicey started a small collection of British and foreign specimens when he was 16, but then forgot all about it. Years afterwards when he chanced upon his discarded cabinets he was immediately fired by his boyhood hobby. In 1901 Joicey was resident in Lewisham, but by 1912 he was living at “The Hill”, a mansion and 63 acres of garden at , south of , previously the home of the popular Victorian illustrator and watercolour artist Myles Birket Foster. Joicey acquired substantial private butterfly collections and such was the size and importance of his collection that he used his home to construct his private “Hill Museum” in 1913. James John Joicey The main building of the museum in which the butterflies were housed was as large as a dance hall, with specimens kept in special cabinets stacked almost to the roof. In a converted army hut, 80' x 20', a photographic department and a setting room were added, and another building was used as a dissecting laboratory. At one time Joicey employed a curator (George Talbot) and seven assistants. In the early 1920s he also privately published four editions of the Bulletin of the Hill Museum. In his lifetime Joicey is reputed to have collected one and a half million butterflies and moths, and for 20 years sleepy Witley in the heart of Surrey was the centre of a massive lepidopteral undertaking and home to a staggering collection of specimens. The Hill Museum represented lepidoptery on a factory scale! Joicey did not personally do any systematic work of original value himself, but he professed that the purpose of his collection was to advance scientific knowledge and he frequently collaborated on articles of great scientific interest. From 1920 to 1922 I continued next page 28 Surrey Skipper

I James Joicey: from previous page he was a Member of the Council of the Entomological Society of London (now the Royal Entomological Society). Joicey himself was not a field collector; he purchased other people's collections, employed agents in all parts of the world and sent special collectors to explore parts of Africa, China, India, Japan, South America, Europe and elsewhere to bring back new and rare specimens which he bought from them. One account relates: “Deep in the heart of the Belgian Congo during 1919 the British explorer, big-game hunter and professional butterfly collector Thomas Alexander Barns (1881–1930) reached the River Lindi after a 20-day trek through the dense rainforest from Stanleyville (Kisangani). Barns, accompanied by his wife , was at the end of a year-long 3,515 mile journey of which 1,655 miles was on foot through Central Africa. “Collecting lepidoptera for James Joicey, Barns and his wife had started in the south-east Belgian Congo, crossed Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania then headed north through Rwanda to explore the Ruwenzori Mountains on the border with Uganda. Now back in the lower Congo they began collecting butterflies by foot and canoe along the River Lindi. On his return to England Joicey was very pleased with the collections. Barns had collected 4,300 specimens of Lepidoptera, among them many wonderful new moths.” James Joicey was always reliant on allowances from his father until his death in 1912 and then from his mother after The money his father had been careful to leave no money to his son in his ‘ will. Consequently when he built his collection by competing seems to against the more successful Lord Rothschild and others, financing his passion by borrowing at extortionate rates from have gone money lenders, he was no stranger to the bankruptcy courts. like snow One judge commented on his obsession saying that “he seems hardly to have grown up when one considers his infantile taste in an oven which his mother helps him to gratify.” ’ In 1922 Joicey’s gross liabilities were stated at Surrey County Court in Guildford to be £496,457. The Official Receiver commented “I think the money seems to have gone like snow in an oven”. It hardly does justice to his achievements, but in 1926 another bankruptcy judge described Joicey as “hapless, extravagant and simple.” Joicey was a munificent benefactor of the Natural History Museum and at intervals he presented 200,000–300,000 specimens. In July 1931 he presented to the Museum a series of butterflies which were described at the time as the most valuable, both scientifically and intrinsically, which the Museum had received for the past two decades. Many specimens were included of the magnificent bird- winged butterflies of the East Indies and Papua, and there were several of the brilliant blue Morpho butterflies of the South American tropics, together with great rarities from the mountains of New Guinea, Buru and the Celebes. After further donations to the Museum there were still at least half a million James Joicey (2nd left) at The Hill, Witley, 1920, with (L-R): A Pratt, F le Cerf (Paris Museum), George Talbot, P Lathy, Thomas Barns specimens in Joicey’s museum, including the valuable African collection, and he announced more than once his intention of bequeathing all of them to South Kensington. Despite still being bankrupt almost to the time of his death on March 10, 1932, James Joicey’s wish was eventually fulfilled and the remaining 380,000 or so butterflies still in his collection were bequeathed to the Natural History Museum. With the collections of Lord Rothschild and one or two others this is the reason that the Natural History Museum enjoys such numerical superiority over other collections throughout the world. Until recently the historic cabinets, mainly of Honduras mahogany, of James Joicey, Lionel Walter (2nd Baron Rothschild) and a John Levick, provided the Natural History Museum with storage for the largest and finest collection of butterflies ever assembled. However, with the collection moved to state-of-the-art, pest proof, climate controlled metal cabinets in the Museum’s new Darwin Centre which will protect and preserve it for future generations, the cabinets were sold at Bonhams in London in 2011. Today sadly there is no remaining trace of The Hill or its museum. The property was demolished c.1952 and replaced with new houses. One of these, Witley Court (SU952382), half a mile north-east of Witley station in Petworth Road, bears a plaque stating that Myles Birket Foster (and hence Joicey) once lived in a house on this site. However, James Joicey’s memory lives on in Surrey at Educational Museum. It has some of his collection of butterflies and moths, mainly from Africa and Asia, with some from Australasia, displayed in one of his original cabinets in their Natural History Gallery. If James Joicey were alive today he would surely be a passionate member of Butterfly Conservation, but allowed nowhere near its bank account. 30 Surrey Skipper

Winkworth Arboretum Matt Phelps

Matt Phelps recorded 23 species in his first year as a gardener at Winkworth, the National Trust’s only arboretum, 2m SE of Godalming. Here are his highlights. Feb 17: the first Peacock enjoyed the sunshine in the lower arboretum. Mar: the cold spring meant a slow start, with just a few Brimstones, and the odd Comma & Red Admiral. Apr 14: one of the first properly warm days produced Orange-tip, Speckled Wood, Small Copper & Small White. Apr 20: first Holly Blue, which had a good year in keeping with the rest of Surrey. Summer: Rowe’s Flashe Meadow, our largest area of grassland, delivered good numbers of Small Heath, Meadow Brown, Small Skipper & Common Blue. Painted Lady. MP A few Essex Skippers & Marbled Whites, mostly in the Badger’s Bowl – a smaller meadow area surrounded by trees. The predicted Painted Lady invasion didn’t happen, but individuals were seen on Jun 18 & Aug 22. Silver-washed Fritillaries & Purple Hairstreaks were numerous in the arboretum. White Admirals were less common and I was unable to find a Purple Emperor. Oct: the odd Red Admiral, Speckled Wood & White spp. still flying. Dec 31: unseasonal Red Admiral flying high around the treetops in the Bowl.

Soldierflies, their allies and Conopidae of Surrey HIS latest volume in the Surrey Wildlife Trust atlas series was written by David Baldock and branch member Jeremy Early. TSoldierflies and their allies (collectively “Larger Brachycera”) are a group of Diptera consisting of 11 separate families including bee-flies, horseflies, robberflies, snipeflies and stiletto flies. Some are just a couple of millimetres across while the Dark Giant Horsefly is ten times that size. Surrey has 104 of Britain’s 159 species. Conopidae are parasitoids, mostly of bees and wasps. Surrey has 19 of Britain’s 23 species. £18 (+p&p) www.surreywildlifegifts.org.uk I Jeremy Early is Chair of the Bees, Wasps & Ants Recording Society. More details: www.bwars.com Spring 2016 31

Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey Harry Clarke

HE WCBS, run by Butterfly Conservation and the Centre for and Hydrology (CEH), in partnership with the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), monitorsT the abundance of countrywide species away from hotspots. Volunteers make monthly visits, May–Aug, to a randomly selected monad and count butterflies for one hour along two 1km survey lines running roughly north-south. Surrey branch has been allocated 36 monads. WCBS 2015 Sites needing Monad Location Walker a walker SU8737 Beacon Hill Briony Hill Monad Location SU8748 Clare Grindrod SU8736 SU9038 Bowlhead Green Harry Clarke SU8960 Camberley SU9647 Compton Gill Hanson SU9047 Seale TQ0071 Runnymede Cathy Clarke SU9133 Haslemere TQ0944 Peaslake Gill Hanson SU9150 Ash Green TQ0960 Cobham Harry Clarke SU9351 Normandy TQ1144 Bill Downey SU9364 Windlesham TQ1354 Bookham Harry Clarke SU9760 Chobham TQ1662 Lawrie de Whalley SU9951 Guildford TQ2654 Mugswell Janet Cheney TQ1247 Wotton Matthew Tugwell TQ2657 Banstead Wood TQ2042 Newdigate Alison Gilry TQ2059 Epsom TQ2759 Andrew Loader TQ2355 TQ3045 Ray Baker TQ2562 Belmont TQ3069 Norbury Malcolm Bridge TQ3079 Westminster TQ3269 Malcolm Bridge TQ3279 Borough Janet Cheney I Please contact Harry Clarke TQ3378 Bermondsey Lindsay Stronge if you can help. TQ3559 David Gough I Visit Surrey’s WCBS page TQ3566 Shirley Malcolm Bridge via the Recording module on TQ4352 Limpsfield Chart Jim Yeeles our home page.

Purple Emperors on AMPSTEAD HEATH has claimed the record for the Purple Emperor sighting nearest to central London. Last year males were seen from Jul 4 to Aug 9, includingH three together by Frank Nugent, near the radio mast, east of Spaniards Road, at TQ26568686. That is 7.9km NW of St Paul’s Cathedral. Surrey’s nearest record: Jul 24, 2013: Putney Heath TQ235741; 11.1km SW of St Paul’s. I With thanks to Liz Goodyear, Herts & Middlesex branch. 32 Surrey Skipper

Surrey transects: top single count in each week

Week number 123 4 5 6 7 8 910111213 APRIL MAY JUNE 2015 1815222961320273101724 Peacock 25 22 21 21 16 15 11 5 6 6 4 3 2 Brimstone 19 56 81 31 26 35 45 59 26 61 39 63 18 Small Tortoiseshell 12 13 25 55153123117 Comma 883 4 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 3 Red Admiral 211 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 4 6 2 Orange-tip 157 1011914 74331 1 Small White 156 5 10137 6 8124 4 6 Speckled Wood 146 118 8128 712131313 Green-veined White 113 5 4 9 7 5 4 3 1 2 2 Holly Blue 46 6 6 7104 421 2 3 Large White 34 3 4 4145 674 5 3 Dingy Skipper 7113033 24 21 8 6 5 2 1 Grizzled Skipper 4554859 65 1 1 Green Hairstreak 12527 3 7 21 2 Small Heath 16512182112284858 Common Blue 11636583448412913 Small Copper 3233334 2 2 Brown Argus 10 20 15 19 14 17 8 12 Adonis Blue 11138 30 18 5 4 1 Small Blue 15112427127 Painted Lady 111113 2 Clouded Yellow 11 Glanville Fritillary 33 15 8 4 Wood White 14 Meadow Brown 26 94 17 40 180 Large Skipper 33111342 Marbled White 20 7 84 270 Silver-studded Blue 22 115 19 Ringlet 12 38 78 Small Skipper 2361 Small/Essex Skipper 2324 Essex Skipper 1 Gatekeeper 14 5 Dark Green Fritillary 9 41 White Admiral 2 Silver-washed Fritillary 2 Grayling Chalkhill Blue Purple Hairstreak Purple Emperor Silver-spotted Skipper White-letter Hairstreak Brown Hairstreak Spring 2016 33

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER 181522295121926291623 2015 225920157321312 Peacock 661312181719655343 Brimstone 12 10 4 1 1 2 3 1 1 1 1 1 2 Small Tortoiseshell 7717 14 8 8 4 2 2 4 2 2 3 Comma 24357 53112222 Red Admiral Orange-tip 11 17 16 12 23 26 17 10 11 14 11 6 4 Small White 19 10 8 12 20 15 23 17 27 27 32 20 8 Speckled Wood 498913 97445433 Green-veined White 36116111621 12 3 7 7 1 Holly Blue 13 20 18 17 15 19 15 20 8167 3 5 Large White 311 Dingy Skipper Grizzled Skipper Green Hairstreak 49 38 12 30 13 10 6 12 14 18 20 18 15 Small Heath 541032243 237 217 67 44 27 17 4 1 Common Blue 23106811 5863957 Small Copper 12 10 19 9 7 12 22 16 10 10 5 3 1 Brown Argus 12783123531 Adonis Blue 3232 23 17 7 6 Small Blue 3111416 1121 1 Painted Lady 1111 11 Clouded Yellow Glanville Fritillary 19 21 31 27 3 Wood White 350 269 218 188 161 167 119 84 156 87 68 30 54 Meadow Brown 63 85 59 94 32 14 7 1 1 Large Skipper 268 192 96 16 8 7 4 1 1 Marbled White 64 18 7 12 2 Silver-studded Blue 262 213 125 39 38 11 24 7 5 Ringlet 37 25 38 27 10 24 44 30 Small Skipper 103 197 165 29 14 23 3 3 3 Small/Essex Skipper 91922 19 4 4 3 1 Essex Skipper 21 41 160 131 126 105 85 37 22 16 5 1 Gatekeeper 35 36 10 6 3 4 1 1 Dark Green Fritillary 7511 82 1 White Admiral 52036 36 26 11 32 11 3 1 2 1 Silver-washed Fritillary 2556771187912 2 Grayling 11479253322438 306 181 68 49 11 5 2 Chalkhill Blue 1 6 145 4 2 Purple Hairstreak 2 1 Purple Emperor 2133162 43 22 10 4 Silver-spotted Skipper 1 White-letter Hairstreak 111113 1 Brown Hairstreak 34 Surrey Skipper

1st Grid ref Surrey transects 2015 year TQ1859 Ashtead Common B, CLC Zuza Kukielka, Shaun Waddell 2002 TQ1760 Ashtead Common North, CLC Frank Boxell 2015 TQ2561 Banstead Downs, Banstead Commons Conservators 1986 Derek Coleman, Peter Trew TQ3551 , SWT John Christlieb, Jan Campbell 2015 SU8240 Bealeswood Common, , Waverley BC 2008 Philippa Hall, Alison Bosence, Anne Tutt TQ2051 Betchworth Quarry, SWT Michael Jones 2011 TQ1048 Blatchford Down, , NT Cathy Mead, Bill Downey 2013 TQ1851 Box Hill Dukes, NT Ken Owen, Janet Cheney 1994 TQ1751 Box Hill Viewpoint, NT Janet Cheney, Ken Owen 1994 TQ1752 Box Hill Zig Zag, NT Janet Cheney, Geoff Woodcock 1994 SU9361 Brentmoor Heath, SWT Natalie Kay 2015 SU9361 Brentmoor Heath - Cuckoo Hill, SWT Natalie Kay 1990 TQ1951 Brockham Limeworks, SWT Bill Downey, Ken Owen 2013 TQ3860 Chapel Bank, , LWT Malcolm Bridge, Martin Wills 1997 SU9834 Chiddingfold Forest East, Forestry Commission Bill Downey 2015 SU9832 Chiddingfold Forest South Bill Downey 2015 SU9833 Chiddingfold Forest West Bill Downey 2015 SU9765 Chobham Common NE, SWT 2002 David & Audrey Moss, Paul Wheeler, Vicky Russell SU9763 Chobham Common Sth, SWT Paul Wheeler, Vicky Russell 2004 SU9764 Chobham Grazing South, SWT Vicky Russell 2015 TQ3257 Coulsdon Common, CLC Andrew Scott, Richard Van Neste 1990 TQ1550 Denbies Hillside, Dorking, NT Phil Boys, Bill Downey 1988 TQ1349 Denbies Landbarn B, Dorking, NT Gail Jeffcoate, Bill Downey 2002 TQ3158 Dollypers Hill, Coulsdon/, SWT Malcolm Jennings 2014 TQ1860 Epsom Common, EC Association Alison Gilry, Sarah Clift, Bob Yeo 2009 TQ1161 Fairmile Common, Cobham, Elmbridge BC Dave Page 2006 SU8448 Farnham Park, Friends of FP Richard Burgess 2004 TQ3057 Farthing Downs, Coulsdon, CLC Gill Peachey, Andrew Scott 1990 TQ3160 Foxley Wood, Purley, Friends of FW Andrea & Bill Bessant 2015 SU8541 Little Pond, Waverley BC Gerry Pearson 2005 TQ0948 Hackhurst Down, Gomshall, NT John Curtin 1988 TQ3056 Happy Valley, Coulsdon, Croydon BC Nick Press, Dominic North 2000 TQ1953 Headley Heath, NT Donna Dawson 1990 TQ4256 Hill Park, Tatsfield, SWT Jim & Ruth Yeeles 2014 TQ2163 Hogsmill LNR, Epsom & Ewell BC 2014 Bob & Carole Guille, Sarah Clift, Pete Howarth TQ1745 Holmwood Common, NT Lucy Halahan 2012 TQ1862 Horton CP, Epsom & Ewell BC Sarah Clift, Pete Howarth 2010 TQ3861 Hutchinson's Bank, New Addington, LWT Martin Wills 1997 TQ2257 Juniper Hill, Epsom Downs Conservators Peter Brown, Bill Downey 2000

Spring 2016 35

TQ3358 Kenley Common, CLC Bill Bessant 1990 TQ3844 Lingfield Wildlife Area B, LWA Association John Madden 2002 TQ2276 London Wetland Centre, WWT Richard Bullock, Bill Downey 1996 TQ2867 A, Conservators for Merton BC Paul Moorhouse 1994 TQ2668 Morden Hall Park, NT Philip Bryan & MHP Nature Group 2014 TQ3057 New Hill, Coulsdon, CLC Elaine Dolton, Andrew Scott 2003 TQ0449 Newlands Corner East, SWT Lucy Bryce, Bill Downey 2015 TQ0349 Newlands Corner West, SWT Lucy Bryce, Bill Downey 2015 TQ1553 Norbury Park grassland SWT Julia Collyer, Andrea Neal 2014 TQ1553 Norbury Park woodland SWT Julia Collyer, Andrea Neal 2014 TQ3757 Nore Hill, Woldingham, SWT June Wakefield, Brian Thomas 2000 TQ1954 , Headley, SWT 2010 Dick Beasley, Julia Edwards, Deborah Holttum SU9933 Oaken Wood, BC Peter & Ruth Cureton 1995 TQ2658 Park Downs, Banstead Commons Conservators 1998 Jill Hall, Roger Hawkins TQ0048 Pewley Down, PD Volunteers for Guildford BC 2005 Peter Curnock, Francis Kelly SU8547 Pilgrim's Meadow, Farnham BC David Haughney 2015 TQ2361 Priest Hill, Ewell, SWT David Robinson, Rachael Thornley 2014 TQ3153 Quarry Hangers, Chaldon, SWT Geoff Hewlett, Bill Downey 2008 TQ0658 RHS Wisley Main Garden 2015 Emma Hockly, Anna Platoni, Jane Renshaw TQ0659 RHS Wisley Wild Area & Pinetum as above 2015 TQ1974 , Royal Parks 2003 Sarah Elliott, Raymond Garrett, Eleanor Lines TQ3359 Riddlesdown Common, Purley, CLC 1990 Mick Rowland, Andrew Scott TQ3359 Riddlesdown Quarry, Purley, CLC Andrew Scott 2000 SU9341 Rodborough Common, Milford, SWT 2015 Jamel Guenioui, Owain Slater TQ3062 Roundshaw Downs, Wallington, Sutton BC 2007 Dave Warburton, Peter Trew, Peter Wakeham SU9242 Royal & Bagmoor Commons, , SWT 2015 Fiona Haynes, Bill Downey SU8642 RSPB Farnham Heath – Tankersford Sam Richardson 2015 TQ0071 Runnymede, Egham, NT Cathy Clarke 2014 TQ0851 Sheepleas, East Horsley SWT Bill Downey, Guy Kent 2015 SU8442 Shortfield Common, Frensham Parish Council 2015 Dick Beales, Mayonne Coldicott, Philippa Hall TQ3568 CP, Croydon BC Malcolm Bridge 1998 SU9132 Swan Barn Farm, Haslemere, NT Matt Bramich 2002 TQ3472 Sydenham Hill Woods & Cox's Walk, LWT 2010 Daniel Greenwood & volunteers

I continued next page

36 Surrey Skipper

Surrey 2015: the 97 monads covered by 82 transects

70

60

50

40

30

SU80 90 TQ00 10 20 30 40

I Surrey transects 2015: from previous page SU9040 Common, Natural England Doug & Penny Boyd 2013 SU8748 Tice's Meadow, Badshot Lea, 2014 Blackwater Valley Countryside Partnership Lindsay Patterson TQ1964 Tolworth Court Farm, Kingston BC David Stevens 2015 TQ2972 Tooting Common, Wandsworth BC Alan Wilkinson, Andrew Harby, Michael 2015 Marsden, Mike Fry, Monica Stalio, Naomi Burt, Rebecca Barnard, Victoria Bridges, Victoria Carroll TQ2362 Warren Farm, Ewell, Woodland Trust Peter Camber 2014 SU8242 West End Farm, Frensham Colin & Philippa Hall 2015 TQ0649 West Hanger – Shere Woodlands, SWT 2015 Rob Bonfield, Leo Jennings TQ2372 Wimbledon Common 2015, Commons Conservators Simon Riley 2015 TQ2171 Wimbledon Common SW & Fishponds Wood 2015 Simon Riley, Pedro Pires, Bill Downey SU9240 , NT Mike Lawn 2005

Abbreviations: BC-Borough Council; CLC-City of London Commons; CP-Country Park; LNR-Local Nature Reserve; LWT-London Wildlife Trust; NT-National Trust; SWT-Surrey Wildlife Trust; WWT-Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust

Spring 2016 37

Top single count 2015 red: 21st-century top Top count 2000-14 Date Transect Chalkhill Blue Aug 7 Denbies Landbarn 438 3,308 Meadow Brown Jul 1 Kenley Common 350 846 Marbled White Jun 29 Box Hill Dukes 270 209 Ringlet Jul 1 West End Farm, Frensham 262 412 Common Blue Aug 3 Box Hill Dukes 243 127 Small/Essex Skipper Jul 9 Warren Farm, Ewell 197 450 Gatekeeper Jul 18 Priest Hill, Ewell 160 248 Silver-studded Blue Jun 23 Fairmile Common 115 268 Large Skipper Jul 27 Royal & Bagmoor Commons 94 58 Brimstone Apr 20 Royal & Bagmoor Commons 81 52 Silver-spotted Skipper Aug 17 Brockham Limeworks 62 99 Small Skipper Jun 29 Richmond Park 61 156 Small Heath Jun 24 Denbies Landbarn 58 123 Dark Green Fritillary Jun 26 Newlands Corner West 41 39 Adonis Blue May 24 Denbies Landbarn 38 600 Silver-washed Fritillary Jul 21 Chiddingfold Forest East 36 40 Dingy Skipper May 10 Denbies Landbarn 33 53 Glanville Fritillary May 21 Hutchinson's Bank 33 12 Small Blue Jul 23 Warren Farm, Ewell 32 129 Speckled Wood Sep 10 Epsom Common 32 79 Wood White Aug 4 Chiddingfold Forest East 31 18 Small White Aug 9 Morden Hall Park 26 82 Peacock Apr 7 Happy Valley, Coulsdon 25 32 Small Tortoiseshell Apr 15 Quarry Hangers 25 47 Brown Argus Aug 17 Hill Park, Tatsfield 22 67 Essex Skipper Jul 18 Kenley Common 22 66 Holly Blue Aug 17 Sheepleas 21 18 Large White Jul 9 Betchworth Quarry 20 147 Comma Jul 16 Sheepleas 17 15 Orange-tip Apr 19 South Norwood CP 14 17 Green-veined White Jul 30 Sheepleas 13 41 Grayling Sep 10 Farnham Heath 12 56 Small Copper Aug 9 Warren Farm, Ewell 11 61 White Admiral Jul 21 Chiddingfold Forest East 11 19 Grizzled Skipper May 30 Headley Heath 9 12 Green Hairstreak May 13 Hutchinson's Bank 7 16 Red Admiral Aug 2 Hill Park, Tatsfield 7 12 Painted Lady Aug 22 Newlands Corner West 6 148 Purple Hairstreak Jul 9 Wimbledon Common 6 29 Brown Hairstreak Sep 17 Priest Hill, Ewell 3 2 Purple Emperor Jul 9 Ashtead Common North 2 2 Clouded Yellow May 13 Brockham Limeworks, etc 1 9 White-letter Hairstreak Aug 2 Dollypers Hill 1 3 38 Surrey Skipper

State of UK’s Butterflies Francis Kelly

TATE of UK’s Butterflies 2015, by Butterfly Conservation and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH), was published last December, covering 2010-14. SIt is the fourth quinquennial report in a series updating the Millennium Atlas, which covered 1995-99. It includes general data (BNM – Butterflies for the New Millennium) and transects data (UKBMS – UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme). The report finds agricultural intensification and changing woodland management as major causes of the decline of habitat specialists. Climate change and pesticides may be affecting wider-countryside species. Of Surrey’s 42 butterflies, the Green-veined White has the widest UK distribution, occupying 2,297 of the 4,361 hectads (10x10km squares: GB 4,190; N. Ire 171). Glanville Fritillary, Silver-spotted Skipper and Wood White occupy fewer than 100. UK trends of Surrey’s butterflies 1976-2014 Biggest Winner % Biggest Loser % Abundance 1976+ Silver-spotted Skipper ..+943 White-letter Hairstreak ..–96 2005+ Small Tortoiseshell ...... +146 Glanville Fritillary ...... –88 Distribution 1976+ Brown Argus ...... +115 Wood White ...... –89 2005+ Purple Emperor ...... +135 White-letter Hairstreak ..–41 I The 28-page report is available from the downloads page of our branch website.

Big Butterfly Count www.bigbutterflycount.org

record 52,000 people recorded almost 600,000 butterflies in the 2015 Big Butterfly Count. Holly Blue, up 151% compared to 2014, was a highlight. AI 2016 Big Butterfly Count: Fri 15 Jul – Sun 7 Aug. UK 2015 TOP 20 % change 10 Common Blue ...... 17,932...... −12 from 2014 11 Green-veined White ....14,437...... −42 1 Gatekeeper ...... 106,995...... +17 12 Speckled Wood...... 12,342...... −25 2 Large White ...... 83,042...... +46 13 Large Skipper ...... 11,198...... +24 3 Meadow Brown ...... 76,713...... +16 14 Holly Blue ...... 10,334....+151 4 Small White ...... 72,483...... −3 15 Six-spot Burnet moth ....9,448...... +2 5 Peacock ...... 42,754...... −61 16 Marbled White ...... 8,071...... +52 6 Small Tortoiseshell...... 31,322...... −57 17 Painted Lady ...... 7,416...... +28 7 Ringlet ...... 27,604...... +75 18 Brimstone ...... 6,075...... +18 8 Red Admiral ...... 21,027...... −28 19 Small Copper ...... 4,395...... −28 9 Comma ...... 18,765...... +42 20 Silver-Y moth ...... 1912...... +92

In Pursuit of Butterflies Matthew Oates Butterflying is all about the collecting of memories in moments of time in idylls of place. Page 380 Bloomsbury £18.99 Spring 2016 39

UK status of Surrey's 42 species 2015 report 2010-14 1976-2014 change % 2005-14 change % covering UK UK BNM UKBMS BNM UKBMS 2010-14 Hectads Monads Distribution Abundance Distribution Abundance Glanville Frit 17 81 -66 -42 10 -88 Silver-sp Skip 42 233 10 943 7 12 Wood White 48 184 -89 -88 -25 -18 Silver-st Blue 105 590 -64 19 19 -9 Adonis Blue 125 721 -6 175 -12 -43 Brown Hstrk 155 1,297 -49 -15 8 -58 Purple Emperor 213 754 -47 69 135 -35 Chalkhill Blue 249 1,122 -50 20 8 55 Small Blue 279 1,116 -44 90-27 Grizzled Skip 340 1,441 -53 -37 70 White Admiral 427 1,958 -25 -59 -14 -45 Grayling 542 2,007 -62 -58 -18 10 W-letter Hstrk 641 1,642 -45 -96 -41 -77 Dingy Skipper 643 3,052 -61 -19 21 69 Essex Skipper 725 4,228 104 -88 3 -66 Silver-w Frit 775 4,526 56 141 55 6 Marbled White 798 7,967 29 50 26 25 Brown Argus 860 5,361 115 -25 2 -11 Purple Hstrk 934 3,819 -30 -54 -15 -10 Cloud Yellow 996 4,432 84 734 -19 -57 Green Hstrk 1,107 3,880 -30 -41 -14 -34 Dark Green Frit 1,223 4,110 -33 186 44 18 Brimstone 1,346 19,169 20 1 14 -1 Holly Blue 1,431 14,051 39 37 -12 -61 Gatekeeper 1,458 29,070 15 -41 1 -44 Small Skipper 1,483 13,062 -7 -75 -1 27 Large Skipper 1,553 15,484 -12 -17 12 23 Comma 1,718 24,447 57 150 11 -28 Painted Lady 1,886 11,528 14 133 -16 -84 Small Copper 2,081 16,321 -16 -37 5 -19 Speck Wood 2,085 32,136 71 84 3 4 Small Heath 2,102 12,556 -57 -54 -7 18 Small White 2,153 38,701 -8 -25 79 Large White 2,239 35,459 -3 -30 2 -28 Orange-tip 2,240 24,280 8 10 -4 59 Ringlet 2,26225,902 63 381 21 72 Common Blue 2,291 21,906 -17 -17 11 Red Admiral 2,436 33,760 25 257 1 -40 Peacock 2,490 39,716 16 17 3 21 Meadw Brown 2,525 38,282 -3 1 -2 -15 Small Tort 2,607 41,149 -15 -73 13 146 Green-v White 2,697 38,624 5 -7 -1 72 40 Surrey Skipper

iRecord – how to create a filter Francis Kelly irecord.org.uk is our recommended recording platform. Upload records via computer or the iRecord Butterflies app for smartphone/tablet. You can create filters for any category, in any area, in any period. This is how to create a filter for butterflies in Surrey (VC17) in 2016: 1 Go to Explore – All records in top menu. 2 Select Create a filter via button on far right of the menu immediately above the map. Seven categories are shown: What Build a list of groups, select insect - butterfly...... Add then Apply Where Choose an existing site or location, select Vice County Surrey.....Apply When Field record date 2016 Jan 1 to Dec 31...... Apply Who IGNORE: gives option to include only your own records. Record ID IGNORE: option to filter by record ID numbers. Quality Records to include: All records; Automated checks: Not filtered. Apply Source IGNORE: defaults to all sources. 3 Save filter as: key 2016 Surrey Butterflies into the window. 4 Save filter via button to right of window; press OK (try later if server is busy) 5 To apply filter: Explore – All records in top menu. Select filter window: choose Butterflies Surrey 2016 ...... Apply 6 Select Modify filter to amend or bin it. The records are listed below the map. Each of Surrey’s 33 hectads (10x10km sq) received at least one record in 2015. Increase the map’s resolution (via slide-bar) to show monads (1x1km sq) with at least one record. I More details, with links, are on our website’s Recording Guide page.

Surrey data on iRecord includes records received to Feb 28 Species Recorders Records Species Recorders Records 2013 30 ...... 32 ...... 344 2015 42 ...... 159 ...... *3,182 2014 41 ...... 116 ...... 1,004 *Includes 1,492 via iRecord Butterflies app

Digital Photo Show: 2015 result GILLIAN ELSOM won our Members’ Day Prize Digital Photo Show with six of the 51 votes cast. The show attracted 104 photos of 35 species from 24 photographers. The winning photo of a Small Copper is featured on the front page. I All show photos are on our website via link in right-hand sidebar. 6 Small Copper...... Gillian Elsom 3 Silver-studded Blue ...... David Hasell 4 Essex Skipper ...... Robert Edmondson 3 Small Skipper...... Francis Kelly 3 Marbled White ...... Phil Boys 3 White Admiral ...... Peter Brown Spring 2016 41

iRecorders

HANK you to all who submitted records of 2015 Surrey butterflies. Those listed below used iRecord via computer or App. IanT Addis Mike Cordina Clare Grindrod Carey Lodge Eleanor Salt Paul Atkin Karen Coutts Susan Groves Simon Lumsden Simon Saville Kirstie Banham Eleanor Cruse Claudia Harflett Sue Mailes Graham Saxby Henry Barnard Michael Cuff Keith Harris Martyn Mance Richard Kate Barnett Darragh Culley Martin Harvey Amanda Seargent Sally Bell Ruth Cureton David Hasell Marshall Jenny Shalom Bill Bessant Peter Cureton James Herd Ella Marti Liz Shaw Rachel Bicker Stephen Menchu Herrera Graham Mays Megan Shersby John Blackett Darlington David Hicks Judith McNickle Ewan Shilland James Blackwood Jenny Desoutter Gertrud Hill Cryss Amy Smith Thomas Blumire Marg Dier Les Hill Mennaceur Richard Marc Botham Bill Downey Barry Hilling Helen Stephens Frank Boxell Kevin Duncan Mark Holling Middlemas Claire Stewart Linda Boys Bill Dykes John Hooton David Millen Keith Stewart Malcolm Bridge Stephen James Howsam Michael Miller Bill Syratt Peter Brown Eddleston-McGrath Hubert Hung Sonya Belinda Taylor Lizzie Bruce Robert Elliott Ruth Ibbotson Miller-Smith Finlay Taylor Darlene Bullard Gillian Elsom Christopher Iles Ryan Mitchell Martin Taylor Gary Burford Linda Peter Irvine Geoff Morley Dave Thomson Sasha Cain Etherington Nigel Jackman Andrew O'Brien Anna Tivey Peter Camber Angela Evans Laurie Jackson Ken Owen Julia Todd Caroline Clive Faulkner Patrick Jackson John Parr Dave Trew Cardew-Smith Stuart Fisher Nathan Francesca Raymond Bryony Chapman Paul Foulkes- Jenkinson Partridge Turner Peter Charles Arellano Rosy Jones Edward Paxton John Vallas Steve Chastell Richard Fox Shaun Jones Robert David Jean Cheadle Tony Fox Natalie Kay Pennington Warburton Debora Olly Frampton Francis Kelly Sophie Pettit Stephen Ward Chobanian Peter Gammie Nick Kennedy W Potter Keith White Ralph Clark John Gibbons Keith Kerr David Powles Becka Whiting Ryan Clark Mike Gibbons Carol Langridge Katie Powling Genelle Windsor Simon Colenutt Colin Gibbs Carol Lewis Neil Prince Howard Wood Paul Collins Kathryn Gilbert Gareth Lewis Marcus Rhodes James Woodman Richard Comont David Gough Elliott Lloyd Simon Riley Jim Yeeles Larissa Cooper Diane Grant Matthew Lloyd David Roy Ruth Yeeles Members’ Day Quiz GRAHAM COLLINS won Lawrie & Bridget de Whalley’s quiz at our annual Members’ Day in November. Graham will set the questions for this year’s quiz. I Full quiz, with answers, is on our website via link in right-hand sidebar.

To visit butterfly-conservation.org/surrey 1 Download Quick Response Reader app. 2 Scan QR barcode (right) with smartphone or tablet. 42 Surrey Skipper

Moth events Paul Wheeler

FINAL details, and other short-notice events, will be posted on butterfly-conservation.org/surreymoths and emailed to our Surrey Moth Group contacts. To join the contacts list, please email [email protected] JUNE 5 Sun Clandon Wood Natural Burial Reserve GU4 7TT mid-morning 25/26 Burpham Court Farm: GU4 7PL: SWT Big Wildlife Count JULY 1 Fri Chilworth Gunpowder Mills GU4 8RD: Guildford BC AUGUST 5 Fri Redhill Memorial Park RH1 1NA 23 Tue Pewley Down GU1 3SN: Guildford BC 31 Wed Banstead Woods SEPTEMBER 1 Thu Riverside Park GU4 7ND: Bowers Lane car park. Guildford BC OCTOBER 24 Mon Mere Pond, Walton on the Hill KT20 BC household membership by branch November 2014 2015 2014 2015 Hampshire & IOW 1,359 1,403 East Scotland 564 578 West Midlands 1,158 1,274 Cheshire & Peak 534 571 Yorkshire 1,126 1,229 Gloucestershire 507 530 Sussex 1,109 1,168 Wiltshire 498 512 Upper Thames 1,036 1,094 Suffolk 467 488 SURREY & SW London 1,023 1,060 Beds & Northants 452 475 Cambs & Essex 951 1,005 Glasgow & SW Scotland 385 415 East Midlands 893 958 North East 350 385 Somerset & Bristol 830 932 Warwickshire 336 382 Herts & Middlesex 866 908 Lincolnshire 356 378 Kent 818 869 Cornwall 327 361 Dorset 794 845 Highlands & Islands 280 298 Devon 693 786 Cumbria 277 282 Norfolk 684 727 North Wales 236 267 Lancashire 584 611 Northern Ireland 235 238 South Wales 547 581 TOTAL households 20,275 21,610 Surrey: new 151, lost 114, +3.6%. Individuals: Surrey 1,409; National 28,830 Spring 2016 43

The Butterfly Year Richard Stewart

Under the deep snow Drifting and gliding And beneath daggers of ice The white petal flutters down New life is waiting. Becomes a Wood White.

Late February Two Peacocks spiral A calm day with warming sun Up and up into blue sky The first butterfly. Drifting with white clouds.

Out of long darkness A bright Swallowtail A Comma with widespread wings Wings luminous in the sun Soaking up the sun. Be still and thankful.

Prefers hedge garlic In the bramble glade Warmed by rays of evening sun Large Whites glide like admirals Roosting Orange-tip. Through shafts of sunlight.

On such a dull day Flying to the feast Even a single Small White Vanessids land on the first Brightens the landscape. Sunlit buddleia.

From a coal blackness On grey paving slabs To this large-eyed radiance Wide wings of Small Tortoiseshells Peacock’s open wings. Basking in the sun.

Along the leaf spine Two feeding Commas Brimstone caterpillar rests On fermenting blackberries Green on green unseen. Out of the wind’s edge.

Green Hairstreaks emerge Juicy chunks of plum With a scent of yellow gorse A dripping pile on the lawn Heavy on the breeze. Feeding butterflies.

Common Blues in grass From a pine’s darkness A mundane name for these bright One Red Admiral seeks sun Reflections of sky. And the last nectar.

I Haiku, a traditional form of Japanese poetry, is three lines observing a fleeting moment in nature. The first and last lines have five syllables, the middle line has seven. The lines rarely rhyme. 44 Surrey Skipper

First Person Focus on a branch personality

Les Hill Senior Data Manager, National Moth Recording Scheme Y interest in moths started in 1991 when, having just bought my first home in Milton MKeynes, a large yellow moth flew in and settled on the living room wall. I felt an overwhelming need to find out more about my visitor, having never seen anything like it before. I made a rough drawing and took it to work the following day where a colleague who was into entomology lent me a copy of Bernard Skinner’s Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles. I was in awe at the number of species, mostly small brown jobs which all looked the same it has to be said, but I soon found my unmistakable moth — Swallow-tailed Moth. Having named my visitor and noted the beauty of some of the other species I could potentially see with little effort in my back garden, I started a new hobby. I bought my own copy of ‘Skinner’ and a small 6W Heath trap, which I upgraded to a 125W MV Robinson trap in 2000. In 2003 I became County Macro-moth Recorder for Bedfordshire. The role had been vacant for some time and I wanted to take my recording to another level. Late 2006 I moved to Lulworth in Dorset to take up the role of Data Manager of the new lottery- funded National Moth Recording Scheme (NMRS) with Butterfly Conservation. This was the fulfilment of a dream, to live and work in Dorset. Not only was moth- recording a hobby, it was now my vocation as well. By 2010, I and my Moths Count Project colleagues had amassed over 11 million macro-moth records and produced the first provisional atlas for the British Isles. Some families, like the Geometridae, had never been mapped before. Since the provisional atlas, we have managed to nearly double the number of macro-moth records and are now looking to produce a major Britain & Ireland atlas for publication in 2018. From this year I now incorporate micro-moth records into the NMRS, so all species are included for the first time. In 2011 I succeeded Peter Davey as Dorset Macro-moth Recorder. I remain in that role to this day, adding micro-moths to my responsibility last year. Although I am now a resident of Surrey, it seems the moth recorders of Dorset remain content with me looking after their recording affairs. Spring 2016 45

Since 2014 I’ve been a resident of Wimbledon, having met my partner Angela through our mutual interest of rock music in 2011! It soon became apparent during those early days that Angela would develop an interest in moths. Listing is not my primary goal, however, to-date countrywide I have recorded about 966 species. In Surrey I have managed 537 species, mostly from Wimbledon Common. This is some way off the 745 species I saw in Dorset but a good figure in a short space of time.

Angela Evans Communications Officer and PA to Chief Executive, Wimbledon & Putney Commons IKE most people, moths to me were creatures that annoyingly flew around lights, seemingly bent on self-destruction. Unlike many people, they didn’t scare Lme and I always tried to scoop them up and put them back outside. That was the extent of my knowledge. In 2011 I got chatting to a chap I met on a Facebook group for Planet Rock radio station. We became Facebook friends and I noticed him promoting the Big Butterfly Count. As I worked on Wimbledon and Putney Commons, and had a passing interest in nature, I offered to help promote it in our Information Centre. When I learnt about his odd hobby of moth-recording, I wasn’t sure whether to be bemused or intrigued. But My first I couldn’t help but be caught up by his enthusiasm and ‘ obvious knowledge. Fortunately I fell down on the side of experience intrigued and invited him, and his moth trap, up to of a lamp Wimbledon Common. That chap was Les Hill. My first experience of a lamp and sheet that weekend and sheet was enough to get me hooked. Seeing all these amazing moths – with colours and patterns I never knew existed – that weekend and flying mere metres from my front door was a real eye- was enough opener.Les lent me a spare Skinner trap and I began running my own trap every night. The differences in the to get me moths between Dorset and Wimbledon were quite marked hooked and I trapped moths that Les had not seen before, ’ particularly the Gypsy Moth and Double-line – both quite local. Les moved up to Wimbledon in 2014 and we now run two traps: a Robinson and an actinic. We are fortunate to live in the middle of Wimbledon Common and be able to do field work in what is an under-recorded area. 46 Surrey Skipper

New members Ken Owen A warm welcome to all new members. Jan total membership 1,105, up 69 from Sep L & D Abrahams ..Coulsdon C Gouriet ..Englefield Green A Norton...... Aldershot A Afzal & L Izadi I Greetham...... SW11 E & M Otway ....Godalming New Malden B Greig ...... Wrecclesham D Pattenden ...... Haslemere C Alcock ...... Sutton S Grimstead M Paul ...... Surbiton M Angel ...... Farnham E Paxton...... Oxted J Barker & J Roswell L Grundy ...... Dorking C & M Pearson .... Morden ►B Habgood & J Taylor M Phelps ...... Chilworth J Beer ...... Ewhurst Woldingham ►R Piatkowska & B Frye T Blumire ...... Redhill S Hampson...... Godalming W3 V Bradfield...... Fetcham A Haynes ...... Croydon M Povey ...... Byfleet K & G Burgess....Limpsfield ►A Heidari ...... Croydon A Reid ...... Dorking J Canty ...... Woking R Hepburn ...... Woking Carole Reynolds ...... SW3 G Caterham-Ashford J Hewitt...... Ashtead Catherine Reynolds ....SW3 Ashtead R Higgins...... E14 J & J Robini ...... Haslemere ►P & C Chisnall ....Redhill J Hiscock ...... Redhill J Rogers ...... W9 C Clifton ...... Chertsey J Horne ...... Farnham T Saunders ...... Sutton A Coleman ...... SW19 P Hosp & S Shakespeare J Scott & J Guy ..Carshalton ►H Collings ...... Epsom Oxted T Sheldon ...... Caterham C Comben ...... Redhill ►A & R Hubbard G Shelford ...... Farnham R Cooper ...... SE27 Beare Green A & J Smart ...... Brookwood J Corr ...... Wimbledon S & D Hughes ....Carshalton D & A Snow ....Twickenham M Costa ...... Wallington J Hutchinson ...... Blackwater ►D Stone ...... Cranleigh E & K Cox ...... Ashtead ►M Jarvis & ►M Stone ...... SE24 M Cox...... SW16 W Macdonald ...... Mitcham A Suarez ...... Aldershot R W A Craigie ...... Purley J Johnston ...... Elstead C Summers & ►C Crawley ...... Croydon S Jones ...... Virginia Water B Romanowicz ....Haslemere E Crookenden ...... SW11 S Keene-Elliott J Surrey ...... Guildford M & C Dalton ....Limpsfield New Addington R Szanto ...... Esher ►J & P Dingain ....Banstead M Kettell ...... Guildford R & P Taylor ...... Redhill S ...... Woking J Kirkpatrick...... Guildford J & M Templeton ....Albury J Doubble ...... Epsom D Knight ...... Blackwater K Thomas ...... Dorking P & M Drew ...... W13 A Lawton & V Cobley Z Thomas...... Hersham R Drew ...... Blackwater H Thorpe ...... Egham B Duncan...... Woking H Leek ...... SE27 A Torok ...... E18 R Edmonds ...... Wimbledon K Lisle ...... Aldershot S Tyler ...... Worcester Park M Edwards...... Gomshall R Luker ...... E18 ►A Van Heerden ....Ashtead E Evans...... K Macintosh ...... SW15 L Wallis...... Leatherhead M Evans ...... Fetcham L Major ...... Pirbright T Walsh ...... Woking S Everitt...... Farnham S Marsh...... Puttenham ►M Wharmby ...... W4 Z Farmer ...... Blackwater A Martin ...... Wallington J Williams ...... SW7 D Ferguson...... Surbiton P Mckee ...... West Molesey L Willows...... SE17 S Finch ...... Redhill S Menzie...... W3 C Wilson...... Guildford D & R Forder ...... Guildford S Miller ...... Blackwater C Wilson & N Beare ..SW19 F & R Frier ...... Guildford D Morris...... Camberley S Wolfenden ...... Guildford M Garson ...... W12 I Nancarrow ...... Sutton C Woodley ...... SW15 S Gibson ...... Guildford G Newton & B Donovan J Zhuang ...... SW5 ►B & C Goudie ...... Redhill Guildford ► We do NOT have an email address for names indicated by pointer. If you would like to be added to our contacts database, please email [email protected] Spring 2016 47

Branch Committee butterfly-conservation.org/surrey Chair: David Gardner (first elected 2008) Branch Contact: Malcolm Bridge (1999) Conservation Adviser: Ken Willmott (1995) County Butterfly Recorder: Harry Clarke (2013) Editor of Surrey Skipper & Publicity Officer: Francis Kelly (2012) Events Organiser: Phil Boys (2000) Field trips Organiser: Mike Weller (1997) Fundraising Officer: David Gradidge (1995) Membership Secretary: Ken Owen (2015) Moth Officer: Paul Wheeler (2006) Transects Coordinator: Bill Downey Treasurer: Peter Camber (2011) Webmaster: Francis Kelly, assisted by Ken Owen Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey Coordinator: Harry Clarke Committee member: Geoff Eaton (2008) Committee member: Clive Huggins (2014) Other Surrey contacts Moth Recorder: Graham Collins BC Senior Regional Officer – South East: Steve Wheatley (Mar 2015) Additional field-trip leaders: Robert Edmondson 01306 885085, Tony Hoare (AH) 01372 379807, Dave Warburton 07736 338366

Email addresses are online HERE

©Surrey Skipper is published by Surrey & SW London branch of Butterfly Conservation, a charity registered in England & Wales (254937) and Scotland (SCO39268). Company limited by guarantee, registered in England (2206468). Tel 01929 400209 Registered office: Manor Yard, East Lulworth, Wareham, Dorset BH20 5QP www.butterfly-conservation.org I Printed by Crown Design and Print, Aldershot First Person – Les Hill & Angela Evans: see pages 44–45 Sophie Pettit receives a cheque for £850 from John Lewis’s Max Hobden. The money was raised after Sophie secured a place for our branch in the Croydon store’s Aug-Oct Community Matters scheme. Sharing the celebration are Sophie’s sons Jack 9, Jonty 7 and Charlie 4. Keith McMahon

Crammed full of up-to-date and comprehensive information, but with a historical perspective and very attractively presented, this book is both a good read and an essential reference for anyone with any interest in Surrey’s wildlife. And at only £16 it is an absolute bargain. Steve Chastell Surrey Bird Club

£16 (+ p&p) from www.surreywildlifegifts.org.uk 01483 795440