On the Spot – April 2012

OOnn tthhee SSppoott Glasgow & South-West Scotland

Branch Newsletter April 2012

www.southwestscotland-butterflies.org.uk

Contents Chair’s notes…………………………………………………...... 3 Glasgow & SW Scotland branch Committee News...... 4 Butterfly Identification Workshop...... 5 Third Butterfly Conservation Reserve for Scotland…………...... 6 Glasgow’s Butterfly Leaflet Renewed...... …………….…...... 7 Robroyston Park Local Nature Reserve Butterfly Transect...... 8 New Butterfly Transect – The David Livingstone Centre...... 9 Insect Photographic Competition for National Insect Week...... 11 Show Your Support for Butterfly Conservation with a Fleece or T-Shirt...... 12 Mountain Ringlet Surveys 2011...... 12 Results From 16 Wider Countryside Butterfly Sites in 2011...... 15 Small Blue Reintroduction Project Update ...... 17 Butterfly Records Update 2011...... ………………...... …...... 19 Butterflies of Southwest Scotland Atlas ...... 23 Why Not Moths – They’re Just as Wonderful as Butterflies...... 23 2011 Dumfries and Galloway Moth Update ...... 25 2011 Stirlingshire, West Perthshire & Dunbartonshire Moth Update...... 26 2011 Mid Ebudes (Mull, Coll & Tiree) Moth Update...... 29 2011 Argyll Main (Vice County 98) Moth Update ...... 30 2011 Isle of Bute (Vice County 101) Moth Update...... 30 Garden Moth Scheme...... 31 Field Trips and Events in 2012...... 35 Recorder/Committee Member Contact Details...... 38

If you would like to receive a copy of the newsletter by e-mail rather than by post, please send an e-mail to the editor: [email protected]. This will ensure that more funds can be spent on conservation projects rather than postage costs!

Butterfly Conservation Scotland Head Office Balallan House, Allan Park, Stirling, FK8 2QG Tel: 01786 447753 . Email: [email protected]

Butterfly Conservation Head Office and Membership enquiries to: Cover photo Manor Yard, East Lulworth, Wareham, Dorset, BH20 5QP Northern Brown Argus Tel: 0870 7744309. Email: [email protected],. © Scott Shanks 2011 Web site: http://www.butterfly-conservation.org

This magazine is published by the Glasgow & of Butterfly Conservation either locally or South West Scotland branch of Butterfly nationally. Conservation. Copyright © 2012. All Rights The editor would welcome written and/or Reserved. All photographic images and text artwork contributions on all aspects of remain the copyright of the original creators as butterflies and moths in south west Scotland or indicated. further afield. Contributions for the next Views expressed by contributors are not newsletter should be sent to the Newsletter necessarily those of the editors or Editor (contact details at back).

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Chair’s Notes

Welcome to the spring 2012 edition of On the Spot, and a particularly warm welcome to the members who have joined Butterfly Conservation and the branch in the last year! I’m pleased to announce that the branch membership has grown by a fantastic 12% during 2011! Your membership and support makes a huge difference to what the branch can do each year. In 2011 the branch ran over 45 events, including butterfly walks, moth nights, practical conservation days, school visits and talks to other groups. We also had stalls at 9 public events including 2 days at the Glasgow Show, 2 days at ‘Big on the Beach’ at Irvine, and the Wildlife Garden Festival at Threave Castle, among others.

In the last year we’ve also ran three well-attended butterfly and day- flying moth identification workshops (May 2011, January 2012 and March 2012) and three butterfly transect training days (April and May 2011 and March 2012) to encourage more butterfly and moth recording. We hope to run more of these workshops during 2012 (see p35).

One of my 2011 highlights was when the branch won the Kindrogan Cup at Butterfly Conservation Scottish Member’s Day in October! Congratulations to the winning team that consisted of Scott Donaldson, Jo Davis, Heather Young, Gerry Mercer and Stella Armstrong.

They were kind enough to let me collect the trophy from Barry Prater, Chair of the East of Collecting the Kindrogan Cup Scotland branch who won last © Ronald MacLean year.

This edition of the On the Spot has a number of articles on marvellous moths in SW Scotland and I hope these will encourage members to attend one of our popular moth nights in 2012. National Moth Night returns this year on the 21-23 June, and we hope to have a number of moth events that weekend, or you could try hunting for these fantastic creatures in your own garden. You don’t need fancy moth lights or other equipment; a bathroom window left open with the light on

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should attract a few passing moths, and searching flowers in your garden at night with a torch can be surprisingly productive!

2011 was pretty mixed weather-wise, with a fantastic April, and then a cold, wet and windy May and June. Despite this, it was a great year for butterfly records, including 600 records that were sent in by new recorders during the Big Butterfly Count alone!

There are lots of great articles inside, so I’ll leave it at that, but I wish you all a great spring and summer, and I hope to see many of you at our events or in the field watching butterflies and moths this year!

Scott Shanks, Chair and Butterfly Recorder ...... Glasgow & SW Scotland Branch Committee News

There have been a number of changes in the branch committee in the last year, including our chairman Neil Gregory standing down in April 2011 after 4 and a half years in the driving seat. The committee would like to express its gratitude to Neil for all his hard work and the fantastic job he’s done promoting Butterfly Conservation’s work in South West Scotland. The branch was considerably strengthened during Neil’s chairmanship with an enlarged membership, the launch of the branch website and the beginning of our Small Blue reintroduction project among many other accomplishments. Neil will continue in his role as the Moth Recorder for Ayrshire (VC75) and Inverclyde/Renfrewshire (VC76). We wish him all the best for the future.

As a temporary measure, I took on the role of ‘acting Chair’ until the next AGM. The AGM was held on the 21st of January 2012, when I was voted in as branch Chair. The branch also has a new Treasurer, Mrs Gillian Rae, and new Secretary, Joe Davis, who took over from Anne and David Welham at the start of May 2011. The Committee wish to thank Anne and David for all their hard work and dedication to the branch over the years.

The current branch Committee consists of Scott Shanks, Chair and Butterfly Recorder; Gillian Rae, Treasurer; Joe Davis, Secretary; Scott Donaldson, Events & Sales Coordinator; Stephanie Holbein, Newsletter Editor, plus committee members Richard Sutcliffe, Marianne Ward and Paul Maplebrook. Contact details for the committee may be found at the back of the newsletter and on the branch website. If you are interested in coming along to a Committee meeting or joining the Committee please get in touch (see contact details on p39)

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Butterfly Identification Workshop (Saturday 7th May 2011)

Glasgow & SW Scotland branch had a fantastic turnout of 44 people at our spring Members day & ID workshop on the 7th of May in Glasgow. Talks were given on butterfly identification by Richard Sutcliffe, followed by a talk on 10 easily-recognised day-flying moth species by Scott Shanks, and a talk by Neil Gregory on how to set up your own butterfly monitoring transect .

Butterfly id workshop by Neil Gregory

Many thanks to the Glasgow Museums Resource Centre (GMRC) & its staff for use of this superb venue, and access to their British butterfly and moth collection. There have been a number of new butterfly transects started since the workshop, which is fantastic! Following on from the success of this day, similar workshops will be held at Eglinton Country Park, Kilwinning on the 18th of March 2012, and again at the GMRC in the 21st of April (see events page for details). We are particularly hoping to encourage members and community groups to set up a butterfly transect in their local park or greenspace. Museum specimens by Neil Gregory

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Third Butterfly Conservation Reserve for Scotland!

In March 2011 a new Scottish Butterfly Conservation Reserve was created at Wester Moss, a lowland raised bog at Fallin, near Stirling. The 30 hectare site is one of the best places in Scotland to see the Large Heath butterfly (subspecies polydama), which is a bog specialist. It’s caterpillars feed on Hare’s-tail cotton grass.

Wester Moss from Fallin bing © Scott Shanks

Wester Moss was already designated as a Site of Scientific Interest (SSSI). Drainage channels installed in the past had dried out areas of the bog allowing birch scrub and pine trees to invade and further dry out the peat. With the help of Butterfly Conservation volunteers, the Stirlingshire Ranger Service and students from Stirling University a great deal of work was carried out in 2011, removing the invading trees and installing dams to block the drainage channels, which has allowed some previously dry areas of the bog to begin to recover. A number of volunteer days at Wester Moss have already occurred in 2012, with more planned for later in the year (see events page and check the branch website for updates). A bioblitz held at Wester Moss in 2011 uncovered a wealth of species living on the reserve including the rare Bog sun-jumper spider (Heliophanus dampfi), which was previously known from just 3 other places in the UK. Wester Moss is situated next to a large colliery bing which is covered with wildflowers in mid-summer, and hosts a good population of Common Blues and Six-spot burnet moths. Large Heath can be seen mid-June to mid-July.

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Glasgow’s Butterfly Leaflet Renewed.

The very popular ‘Butterflies and day-flying moths of Glasgow’ leaflet has been reprinted with a few important changes to bring it up to date.

It is now an identification guide to 20 species of butterfly (instead of 19), with the addition of the Holly Blue, which is moving north and may reach Glasgow soon. Have a look at the photo in the leaflet and let us know if you find one, it may be a first record for Glasgow if you do! The Comma has finally been recorded within the city boundary. The Ringlet, which was described in the original leaflet as a recent arrival in Glasgow, is now a common species and on some sites can be found in large numbers.

It's amazing the difference a few years make to our picture of Lepidoptera in the city, and a reminder why it is important to keep recording and monitoring species as widely as possible! The new leaflet also promotes the Glasgow's Buzzing project, which is a partnership between Glasgow City Council, Buglife and Butterfly Conservation to create and maintain wildflower meadows for the benefit of butterflies, moths and other invertebrates.

The ‘Butterflies and day-flying moths of Glasgow’ leaflet can be obtained from Butterfly Conservation Tel: 01786 447753 or e-mail: [email protected] or from Glasgow City Council Tel: 0141 287 5665 or e-mail: [email protected] or [email protected] ...... Robroyston Park Local Nature Reserve Butterfly Transect

Robroyston Park LNR in Glasgow has a rich mosaic of habitats, mainly species-rich diverse grassland, marshy grassland, open wetlands and woodland. The site is good for a variety of butterflies and moths, including the locally uncommon Six-Spot Burnet moth. To help monitor the species diversity and abundance, a butterfly transect was set up last year, co-ordinated by one of the Council’s Countryside Rangers, Jimmy Huis. Jimmy organised volunteers to help

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walk the butterfly transect, and thanks to their good work, it produced some interesting results. Firstly it confirmed that butterflies won’t fly in windy, rainy or overcast conditions! On more promising transect days a variety of common species were recorded, including Large White, Green-veined White, Orange-tip, Small Tortoiseshell Meadow Brown and Peacock. Common Blue - which despite their name, are not very common in the City, turned up in reasonable numbers on the species-rich grassland in the south of the site. This was very positive as the species has declined in recent years and appears to now be following a national trend of returning increased numbers in 2011. Pair of Common blue © Scott Shanks Ringlets were present in large numbers, for example 87 were counted on one summer transect walk, in the diverse and marshy grasslands. It is now resident in the City and yet five years ago was a newcomer to our area. Robroyston Park is also a good site for Small Heath which can be present in their hundreds in the grassland. The results of the transect have confirmed both the value of the LNR for butterflies. We are already managing large plots of grassland as meadows by cutting regimes and wildflower planting. The transect results in future years will help to tailor the management for the best results, which will not only benefit butterflies and moths but other invertebrates too. Glasgow currently has active butterfly transects running at Hurlet Hill, Commonhead Moss, Garscube Colliery and Nitshill in addition to Robroyston. We are really keen to get more volunteers to help for all these sites and to set up a new transect at Hogganfield Park LNR, which has a good variety of suitable habitats and is sure to produce some fantastic results. But we need your help! If you would like to get involved, please contact Helen Simmons, our Community Engagement Officer on 0141 287 5087 or email: [email protected]. Carol Maclean, Glasgow City Council

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New Butterfly Transect – David Livingstone Centre

Nestled on the bank of the river Clyde and a stone’s throw from Bothwell woods, the David Livingstone Centre in Blantyre is a haven for many different species of wildlife from badgers to butterflies. It was the birthplace of David Livingstone in 1813 and is now a museum dedicated to his life and work. But the David Livingstone Centre is better known to me as the birthplace of my interest in butterflies and moths. After volunteering for only 1 week, the manager at the time sent me to a butterfly ID course run by Butterfly Conservation (7th May 2011). As I sat there wondering how I was ever going to get the hang of this butterfly identification thing, I couldn’t help but be mesmerised by the beauty and diversity of the species of moths and butterflies that this country has to offer. After a few talks and the all important coffee break, I was ready to take on the challenge of walking the new David Livingstone Centre transect. Stuart Whittaker and Stuart Bence had already been walking the transect for a few weeks before I took over and had seen many species of great interest. Our transect incorporated many different habitats from open grassland, to formal garden and wooded areas, so we held high hopes for some important species to turn up, and were excited at the prospect of the Painted Ladies returning for another season. It was soon my turn to take the reins and I did so apprehensively. What if this was harder than it looked? But with the help of the Stuarts and armed with an ID sheet, I breezed through my first walk! In the weeks that followed, the weather was miserable at best and there were very few sightings on my weekly walks, but on favourable days the butterflies turned up in their numbers to grace my path with their presence. We recorded the more common species including Large and Small whites, Small Tortoiseshells, Orange Tips and Small Coppers. To our dismay there were no Painted Ladies this year, however, we were amazed when Comma butterflies turned up to grace the David Livingstone Centre for the first time! Even Butterfly Conservation Committee members turned up to take photographs of the local celebrities! We were excited to say the least. The recurring visits from the Commas prompted us to look into the history of butterfly records from our site and discovered just how significant our new transect was! Full details can be found in the species table below.

David Livingstone Centre Species Table 2011 Species Last Recorded in Area (1km square: NS6958) Small Tortoiseshell May 2000 Orange-Tip April 2009 Ringlet 1876! Peacock April 2009

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Small Copper New Record Meadow Brown New Record Large White New Record Small White May 1995 Comma New Record Red Admiral New Record

As you can see, a lot of new records for this area were made in 2011 and there had been no records of ringlets since 1876! Most of our butterflies were found in the formal garden area of the transect that was planted by the gardeners, and the Commas loved the Buddleia!

Comma at DLC © Stephanie Holbein Red Admiral © Stephanie Holbein

We are hoping that the butterfly species seen in 2011 will return this year in greater numbers and with continued conservation work, hopefully we will see even more new species! Stephanie Holbein ...... Insect Photographic Competition for National Insect Week!

As a celebration of National Insect Week (25th June – 1st July), Forestry Commission Scotland are organising an insect photography competition. The entries will be displayed at the David Marshall Lodge Visitor Centre, Aberfoyle during this week and the winners will be announced on Saturday 30th June.

Instructions for Entry There are three categories:- Digital photographs of insects taken by persons aged 12 and under, aged 13-17 and over 17 years. Only one insect photograph per person is allowed and the photograph must be taken within the British Isles during 2012. The entrant must be the person who took the photograph and owns the copyright.

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Submit photographs by to [email protected] no later than 15th June 2012, with your name, age (if under 18), address, a contact telephone number and a title or brief description. By entering your photograph in the Competition, you grant the Competition organisers a free non-exclusive license to use the image in their corporate promotion, publicity and publications, and in any promotional material connected to this competition. However, the copyright remains with you as the photographer, and your name as the photographer will – wherever possible – be credited if the image is used. The competition will be judged by Craig Macadam from Buglife and the Trossachs based photographer, Phil Crowder. The two prizes for under 18’s will be appropriately aged insect collecting equipment and guides. The adult prize will be ‘The Royal Entomological Society Book of British Insects’ and a one year subscription to an insect related organisation up to the value of £30.00.

Note photographs submitted for the Competition should feature Insects (butterflies, moths, caterpillars, dragonflies, flies, beetles, bugs, ants, bees, wasps etc). Other invertebrates which are NOT insects include: spiders, woodlice, millipedes, centipedes, snails, crabs and lobsters...... Support Butterfly Conservation with a Fleece or T-Shirt Last year saw the production of the branches first set of high quality clothing items. The rationale behind these items was mainly to promote the charity while raising funds for the branch. All of the clothing is Fruit of the Loom branded and carries the Butterfly Conservation Scotland Logo. The items of clothing available include polo shirts, long-sleeved polo shirts, sweatshirts and full-zip fleeces but there is the opportunity to have any item of clothing made up with the logo if you wish something a little different! For further information and prices please contact Scott Donaldson via email at [email protected]...... Mountain Ringlet Surveys 2011

During 2011 Scottish Natural Heritage funded survey work for the Mountain Ringlet to build on the data collected during 2008 and 2009 when 221 1 km squares were surveyed and Mountain Ringlet was found in 144 (65%) of them. Seventy-two of the Mountain Ringlet © Jim Asher

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2008/2009 1 km squares were new for Mountain Ringlet and a total of 2274 individuals recorded.

One hundred and forty-two 1 km squares were surveyed during late June/July 2011 and mountain ringlet was found in 50 (35%) of these squares. Twenty-four of these squares were new for Mountain Ringlet (Figure 1). This increases the number of 1 km squares with Mountain Ringlet in Scotland from 302 in 2009 to 326 (8% increase). Most of these new 1 km squares were adjacent to squares with historical Mountain Ringlet records but a few were from mountains with no previous records. Up to 2009, Mountain Ringlet was known from 53 10 km squares and one new 10 km squares was gained in 2011: NN23.

Figure 1 Distribution of 1 km squares with mountain ringlet in Scotland.

During 2011, 587 Mountain Ringlet were recorded by the author and a further 274 by volunteers giving a grand total of 861 Mountain Ringlet. A Geographical Positioning System (GPS) device was used to record the location and altitude of 599 Mountain Ringlet observations. The mean altitude where the butterfly was seen was 704 m which is similar to the comparative statistics of 684 and 675 m in 2008 and 2009 respectively. The lowest altitude was 409 m and the highest was 978 m with 95% occurring between 516 and 891 m (pooled 2008 and 2009 data: 95% occurred between 460 and 902 m). The altitude range of the data in 2011 was 569 m compared with 568 and 576 m in 2008 and 2009 respectively.

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During the 2008/2009 survey, a scoring system was devised to measure the quality of Mountain Ringlet habitat in a 1 km square using measurements of aspect, and altitude, the extent of mat-grass (Nardus stricta, the larval foodplant) swards, the abundance of five different nectar plants and the presence/absence of sheep grazing. High scores (maximum of 20) indicate herb-rich Nardus grassland which is ideal the habitat of Mountain Ringlet. Scores were obtained for 173 different 1 km squares in 2009 and scores for a further 130 1 km squares were obtained in 2011.

A major issue with Mountain Ringlet is that temperatures in the mountains are frequently below 13 oC which is the low-temperature threshold for butterfly flight. Weather conditions were unfavourable for butterfly flight on 10 of the 17 survey days in 2011 resulting in none, one or just a few Mountain Ringlet being found on these days. However, habitat data was recorded even in poor weather, providing useful data on the probability of these squares being occupied by Mountain Ringlet.

Mountain Ringlet habitat data collected during 2011 has helped increase the known distribution of herb-rich Nardus grassland on all mountains surveyed in both 2009 and 2011. The table below summarises the survey data obtained on ten mountains in 2011.

1 km squares surveyed for Mountain Ringlet in 2011 with with previous with MR new for High* Mountains No. MR record in 2011 MR Scores Beinn Fhionnlaidh, Glen Creran 5 5 3 0 0 Stob Ghabhar, Rannoch Moor 7 5 5 3 4 Beinn Donachain, Glen Orchy 6 1 2 1 0 Beinn a Chreachain/Beinn Achaladair 15 3 3 2 8 Beinn an Dothaid/Beinn Dorain 7 1 0 0 4 Beinn Chleibh, Tyndrum 7 3 0 0 4 Sgiath Chuil, Glen Dochart 11 1 8 7 7 Sron a Choire Chnapanich/An Grianan 8 5 5 2 6 Meall na Aighean, Glen Lyon 8 2 2 2 5 Sgurr Choinnich Beag/Mor, Mamores 8 7 3 0 1

*Habitat Score 15 or more out of a maximum of 20

The habitat scores for a total of 303 1 km squares in Scotland indicate that vast areas of herb-rich Nardus grassland are present in the mountainous areas of Scotland. It is likely that further areas of suitable habitat still remains to be discovered in the mountains of west and central Scotland. Mountain ringlet is undoubtedly still very under- recorded in Scotland.

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One exciting result in 2011 was the discovery of herb-rich Nardus grassland on Beinn Bhan, Glen Loy which is just to the north of the Great Glen. There are currently no Mountain Ringlet records north of the Great Glen and unfortunately the weather was poor when Beinn Bhan was visited and no mountain ringlet was found. However, the presence of suitable habitat on this mountain would suggest that other mountains to the north of the Great Glen may also have suitable habitat and that Mountain Ringlet may be present here. More survey work in this area is a priority for volunteer effort in 2012.

Many thanks are due to Zoe Clelland who used part of her RSPB sabbatical in 2011 to participate in mountain ringlet surveys. And the efforts of other volunteers are also gratefully acknowledged.

Andrew Masterman ...... Results from 16 Wider Countryside Butterfly sites in 2011

Funding was provided by Scottish Natural Heritage for ‘Wider Countryside Butterfly Surveys’ in 85 1 km squares in Scotland during July/August 2011. I surveyed a total of 16 1 km squares across the branch area and the following is a summary of the results.

The map below shows that the 16 1 km squares were widely scattered across the branch area with squares near Helensburgh and Stirling in the north and four squares near the Solway coast in the south. And there was one square on the Isle of Bute just south of Rothesay. The sites are colour-coded to reflect species richness and the total number of butterflies recorded over the two visits appears after the square name: species richness and butterfly totals in some cases include butterflies recorded in the square but not along the transect route. The most important features to note are: Three of the six most species-rich squares occurred near the Solway coast as you might expect, and this mainly owed to the Wall being present in three of the four Solway coast squares. The most species rich square was Port Logan with a modest total of eight. This was the only square to contain Common Blue and Painted Lady – despite having a total count of only 18 butterflies. Three squares with seven species each occurred further north at Stirling, Kilmarnock and Carstairs.

Four squares shared the lowest species richness of just 4, three of these being in the NW of the branch area and the fourth being New Cumnock.

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The square with the highest total of butterflies (102) was at Gatehouse of Fleet where lots of Scotch Argus were found: this species was only found in one other square, New Cumnock, and both these 1 km squares were new for Scotch Argus although there are records for nearby sites. The square with the lowest total of butterflies (8) was Cumbernauld, but this square nevertheless had six species.

Distribution of the 16 WCBS squares, species richness and the total number of butterflies recorded (number after square name).

A total of 15 butterfly species was recorded over the two visits to the 16 squares. The table below shows the percentage occupancy of the 16 squares for each species. The main points to note are: Green-veined White and Meadow Brown occurred in all 16 squares with Ringlet and Small Tortoiseshell also having a high level of occupancy. Small Heath, a species that is declining at the UK level, and is designated a UK BAP (research only) species, was found in 50% of squares, which is a good result. The migrant, Red Admiral, was quite abundant being present in 44% of squares. Seven species (46% of the 15 species total) were only found in one or two squares but it was nevertheless very pleasing to come across them during the limited time spent in each square.

Overall, these results are positive as they show that the common species are abundant in these randomly selected 1 km squares in

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Scotland which are likely to be typical of Scottish farmland. Transects were along field margins, farm tracks and stream edges where tall vegetation and flowers were present. Transects across the middle of fields would have yielded very few butterflies but clearly there are butterfly friendly habitats on farmland in Scotland. However, the low species richness of many squares would suggest that agri-environment schemes which increase the diversity of habitats on a farm would likely have a significant effect by increasing species richness of butterflies. The higher species richness of Kilmarnock, Stirling and Carstairs in the northern area of the map owed to greater habitat diversity on these farms and flower-rich field margins: in two of these cases, these were barley field margins sown with flowers.

Percentage occupancy of the 16 WCBS squares with each species. Species % of squares occupied (Number) Green-veined White 100 (16) Meadow Brown 100 (16) Ringlet 88 (14) Small Tortoiseshell 75 (12) Small Heath 50 (8) Red Admiral 44 (7) Peacock 31 (5) Wall 19 (3) Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary 13 (2) Small White 13 (2) Scotch Argus 13 (2) Painted Lady 6 (1) Small Copper 6 (1) Common Blue 6 (1) Dark Green Fritillary 6 (1) Andrew Masterman ...... Small Blue Reintroduction Project update

The 15th of May 2011 saw 19 volunteers assemble at SWT Gailes Marsh reserve near Irvine to plant kidney vetch, (the foodplant of the Small Blue) for our Small Blue reintroduction project. Despite the cold and windy weather, the volunteers made short work of the 900 kidney vetch plants that needed to be planted! Many thanks to Gill Smart, the Scottish Wildlife Trust Ayrshire reserves manager; Owen Figgis who grew the plants for the project , and drove up with them on the day, and to Frank Clarkson, course manager of Dundonald Links golf course for allowing us to plant kidney vetch in the roughs and banks of his course.

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Later in the summer the reserve was a sea of colour, with an amazing display of kidney vetch in the habitat strips that were created in 2010. Patches of KV were in bloom all over the southern part of the reserve. Some of these had been planted by volunteers in 2010 and 2011, but other patches suggest seed has been spread by the horse’s hooves. The KV flowers are absolutely loved by bees, and consequently Gailes Marsh must be one of the best places in Ayrshire to practice your bumblebee (and butterfly) identification skills!

Kidney vetch in flower © Scott Shanks Small Blue volunteers © David Welham

In early June 2011, Gill Smart of the SWT and I attended a ‘Small Blue Action Day’ in Warwickshire to discuss projects and management advice for the Small Blue. There were some fantastic talks on management and field craft tips, and a visit to see some of the habitat work carried out by the Warwickshire branch of Butterfly Conservation with funding from local businesses. Following the workshop, a number of branches, including the Glasgow & SW Scotland branch helped update and fund the new Small Blue habitat management factsheet with the new information. The updated Small Blue factsheet is available at: http://www.butterfly-conservation.org/uploads/Small%20Blue%202012.pdf

Due to the success of the habitat management work at Gailes Marsh, we hope to go ahead with the reintroduction this summer. However this will still depend on the condition of the site in the spring of 2012, and the state of the donor population.

2011 was a particularly poor year for the Small Blue population at the donor site in Cumbria (aggravated by the poor weather in May and June). The coastal brownfield site at Workington has been threatened by development for the last few years and it was hoped that we could save some of the colony before it was destroyed. A couple of years ago, up to 1000 Small blues could be counted on a single visit, which is enormous compared to most Small blue colonies. Unfortunately since then numbers have fallen, in part due to the developers filling in ditches where kidney vetch was growing. The developers, Eatonfield, went into

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liquidation last year, which was a temporary reprieve for the colony. However, the site has already been purchased by another developer, Persimmon, who appear less inclined to allow access at the moment.

We’ll have to wait and see what happens here. I’d like to thank Dave Wainwright of Butterfly Conservation and the Cumbrian branch for their support of this project. Look out for updates on the branch website.

Scott Shanks, Butterfly Recorder ………………………………………………………………………………… Butterfly Records Summary for 2011

During 2011 an amazing 12,171 butterfly records (representing 48,229 individual butterflies) were sent in from all over the Glasgow & SW Scotland branch area (see map). This is significantly up (16% increase) on previous years and highlights the growing popularity of butterfly and moth recording. 600 of those records were sent in as part of the Big Butterfly Count, which is really fantastic!

A further 4,000 older records were also received (mostly from 2009 & 2010, but some uncovered by Richard Weddle of the Glasgow Natural History Society date as far back as 1804!)

2011 started with a bitterly cold, dry winter; followed by a fantastic sunny April and then unseasonably cold, wet and windy weather in May and June. The rest of the year wasn’t fantastic, but mild weather did continue late into the year, which led to a surprising number of butterfly sightings in November (mostly Red Admirals).

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Red Admiral (The first species on the wing in 2011) © Scott Shanks

The warm and sunny April had a distinct effect on the emergence of many of our spring butterflies, with quite a few species recorded 1 to 3 weeks earlier than usual. For example Green-veined Whites were recorded 2 ½ weeks earlier than in 2010, and Pearl-bordered Fritillaries were almost 3 weeks earlier than 2010! The subsequent cold, wet and windy May and June appeared to reverse the trend with summer species such as Northern Brown Argus, Meadow Brown and Ringlets emerging closer to their normal emergence times.

Holly Blues were one of the species that benefited from the good weather in April. There were 10 times as many sightings in April 2011 than during the whole of 2010! Most of the sightings were from around Ayr, where this species was first recorded in 2008. There was also a scattering of records from across Dumfries & Galloway and a sighting in Airdrie too. The second brood in July/ August appeared less abundant, but a single Holly blue was recorded in Ardrossan on the 24th of July, so hopefully it won’t be too long before they colonise Holly Blue © Owen Figgis Glasgow! Keep a look out for females around holly bushes this April/May! Orange–tips had a fantastic year, with records from many new sites including 12 new 10km squares. The prize for most adventurous butterfly of 2011 goes to a male OT which visited a garden in Balephuil on the Isle of Tiree! This is 40 km from the nearest sighting on Mull and would require a flight over at least 20km of open water! There is plenty of cuckooflower on the island, so hopefully he managed to find a mate!

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Pearl-bordered fritillaries (PBF) had a bumper year at our Mabie Forest reserve south of Dumfries. 500+ individuals were recorded on one visit, with reports of these rare butterflies jostling for space on every available dandelion flower! Record numbers were also counted on the reserve’s butterfly transect by Jessie Wormell in April, however the poor weather in May prevented many visits during the butterfly’s peak flight season. Jessie has kindly provided the Annual Index (roughly equates to numbers seen over the flight period) for PBF over the last few years for comparison: 2008 = 56, 2009 = 243, 2010 = 494, 2012 =761! The recent increases appear directly related to conservation work by volunteers helping to clear scrub along the forestry tracks, which has benefited violets, the PBF caterpillar food plant.

Dingy Skippers also had a great spring, with record-breaking numbers seen at a couple of locations along the Solway coast, and the discovery of a healthy new colony at a brownfield site near Rankinston in Ayrshire. This is the most northerly sighting in Ayrshire for over 100 years! It’ll be interesting to see if other colonies can be found nearby in 2012.

Stormy weather hit Scotland at the end May 2011 and devastated much of the vegetation on the west coast. It also appeared to wipe out many of the adult butterflies that were on the wing at that time. I personally didn’t see any white butterflies around Glasgow for about 3 weeks after the storm! The table below shows a summary of butterfly sightings during the year. You can see that Large, Small and Green-veined Whites all had a poor year.

Summary of SW Scotland Butterfly Records during 2011 (updated 29/02/2012). Number seen Earliest /latest 10km Species 2011 (2010) (2009) Sighting 2011 squares 2010 (new)* Chequered Skipper 95 (294) (592) 4th May / 14th June 3 (0) Small Skipper 15 (0) (0) 24th July / 27th July 1 (0) Essex Skipper 69 (0) (2) 23rd July / 9th Aug 1 (0) Large Skipper 96 (100) (15) 29th May / 9th Aug 14 (2) Dingy Skipper 216 (39) (142) 1st May / 1st July 9 (1) Clouded Yellow 4 (2) (2) 6th June / 7th Oct 3 (0) Brimstone 0 (0) (1) / 0 (0) Large White 480 (2,074) (808) 18th April / 9th Oct 75 (2) Small White 932 (3,986) (1,123) 10th April / 7th Oct 94 (2) Green-veined White 5,903 (8,136) (7,377) 11th April / 28th Sept 194 (0) Orange-tip 2,983 (2,390) (1,993) 10th April / 13th July 131 (12) Green Hairstreak 572 (805) (570) 18th April/ 23rd June 32 (7) Purple Hairstreak 258 (626) (47) 16th July / 27th Aug 13 (2) Small Copper 515 (737) (569) 24th April / 9th Oct 99 (2)

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Common Blue 2,415 (2,020) (1,258) 1st May / 8th Sept 106 (3) Holly Blue 41 (4) (3) 12th April / 31st July 6 (4) Northern Brown Argus 72 (141) (90) 31st May / 30th July 4 (1) Red Admiral 938 (959) (1,096) 10th Jan / 12th Nov 125 (2) Painted Lady 44 (128) (5,885) 4th April / 28th Aug 24 (1) Small Tortoiseshell 2,584 (2,287) (2,276) 28th Feb / 26th Nov 148 (0) Peacock 3,126 (3,165) (2,353) 18th March/ 19th Oct 143 (2) Camberwell Beauty 1 (0) (0) 23rd June 1 (1) Comma 78 (89) (18) 30th March / 6th Nov 23 (7) Pearl-bordered Fritillary 1,818 (705) (705) 27th April / 3rd June 8 (1) Small Pearl-bordered 1,719 (1,852) (1,385) 26th April / 15th Aug 69 (6) Fritillary Dark Green Fritillary 752 (1,022) (264) 10th June / 21st Sept 52 (8) Marsh Fritillary 195 (278) (486) 22nd May / 26th July 16 (1) Speckled Wood 564 (631) (722) 25th April / 29th Sept 38 (6) Wall 381 (559) (408) 28th April / 28th Sept 32 (3) Grayling 318 (268) (258) 1st July / 4th Sept 35 (2) Mountain Ringlet 697 (145) (361) 1th July / 26th July 11 (1) Scotch Argus 4,225 (3,695) (2,328) 19th July / 28th Sept 61 (2) Ringlet 8,827 (5,929) (3,685) 10th June / 24th Aug 122 (11) Meadow Brown 3,678 (4,569) (3,134) 12th June / 28th Sept 149 (1) Large Heath 237 (250) (279) 14th June / 3rd Aug 16 (0) Small Heath 3,080 (4,614) (2,508) 19th April / 28th Sept 130 (1) 12,171 records (of 48,229 individual butterflies) received during 2011. Records for 2010 and 2009 include those received during 2011. * Number of 10km squares with records in 2011 (number of new 10 km squares for this species)

Visitors to the Isle of Colonsay in June reported that the A’ Chollie Mhor oak wood on the island, which supports a colony of Purple Hairstreak, had been almost completely defoliated. It would be good to confirm if this colony has survived, so anyone planning a visit to the island in July/August 2012, please have a look for this species in the late afternoon or early evening.

Worryingly, one of our key species, the Chequered Skipper which flies during May and June also had a really poor year, with numbers of records plummeting. Hopefully this was due to fewer visits by recorders because of the poor weather, and the butterfly will have managed to cling on! We’ll have to wait and see how they fare in 2012! Butterfly Conservation has launched a special appeal to help with conservation of this species. Please help if you can at http://www.justgiving.com/chequeredskipper. Butterflies that emerged later in the summer appeared to do better, with Ringlets and Scotch Argus very abundant at some sites. Mountain Ringlets benefited from targeted surveys in 2011 (see page 11), which significantly increased the number of records for this species.

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Targeted searches were made for the Small Skipper and the Essex Skipper after no records were received for these species in 2010. Both species were found at Birkshaw Forest near Lockerbie in late July and early August.

There are many under-recorded areas in the branch (see map above) including the islands of Coll, Jura and Islay, the Cowal peninsula, the North of Kintyre, lots of areas in Argyll and South Lanarkshire. Please get in touch if you’re interested recording in these areas and I can supply more information. Many thanks to everyone that sent in their records this year! Keep up the great work! Butterfly Conservation is blessed with the largest collection of invertebrate records in the world, and that’s all down to our wonderful members and volunteers who take part in our surveys and send in records of the butterflies they see. Recording really is the heart of conservation. Without knowing what is out there, we can’t take the next steps in protecting important sites, or identifying trends in distribution and abundance. There’s lots of ways to get involved: Keeping a note of butterflies you see in your garden, or when out hill walking, take part in the Big Butterfly Count, or help with a butterfly monitoring transect in your local park. Let us know about the butterflies you’ve seen and you will be contributing directly to the conservation of these beautiful creatures.

Scott Shanks, Butterfly Recorder ...... Butterfly Records Coordinators for 2012 All Butterfly Records Mull/ Mid Ebudes Scott Shanks Alan Skeates Flat 1/2, 113 Haugh Road Dunellen, Yorkhill, Glasgow. G3 8XT Craignure 07793052501 Isle of Mull, Argyll, PA65 6AY [email protected] [email protected] ...... Butterflies of South West Scotland Atlas

Copies of this beautiful full-colour hardbacked book are still available at the bargain price of £5 plus £2 P&P. Money raised is used to support projects and conservation work in the branch area. Cheques should be made payable to ‘Butterfly Conservation’ and sent to the branch Treasurer: Mrs G Rae, 11 Miller Street, Hamilton, ML37EW. 2012 species map updates are available to download: http://www.southwestscotland-butterflies.org.uk/butterfly_records/swscotland_butterfly_atlas2012.pdf. 22 On the Spot – April 2012

Why not Moths? – They are Just as Wonderful as Butterflies

A singularly lovely summer afternoon alongside a cascading burn running down to join the River Nith near its origin in Ayrshire. Around us on all sides is a maturing forestry plantation, which as part of a Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey has revealed little in the way of butterflies.

It’s a commercial monoculture that does little for biodiversity. But here in this glade, unmolested by the commercial ambitions that surround us is a natural break about 200yds wide filled with a rich collection of native grasses, plants, shrubs and mosses. At last some butterflies Ringlets and Green Veined Whites and here a month earlier the area was populated with Orange Tips. In six week’s time the valley will be awash with Scotch Argus. Yet these are much to be expected. More interesting are the day flying moths to be Six-Spot Burnets © Jo Davis found here, all equally exquisite as their butterfly brethren.

We have found an Emperor moth languishing on the heather. A Vapourer moth, Common, Twin-spot and Silver Ground Carpet moths, Barred Straw, Northern Spinach, Latticed Heath, Small Angle Shades, Chimney Sweepers, Fox Moth, Straw Dot and the ubiquitous immigrant the Silver Y have all turned out to greet us during our surveys, some in larger numbers than any of the butterflies. Best of all was a stunning little moth, the Haworth’s Minor, found flying along the woodland edge on a particularly dreich afternoon. Don’t these names alone make you want to find out more and look into their lives. True some moths have the epithet ‘Drab’, but even these are qualified such as the Clouded Drab a lovely little noctuid that welcomes in the spring throughout the UK. It has very variable markings, with regional variations and graces the moth trap in my garden every April. It will in yours if you consider investing in one.

So mothing is both a day and a night time activity. If you are adventurous, moths can be searched for by torch light on nectaring plants at night - try your buddleia or honeysuckle. Or by use of the sugaring technique, whereby a mixture of black treacle, brown sugar and rum is painted on tree trunks, fence posts or telegraph poles – old experts say at exactly ‘4ft 9ins’ from the ground!

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The most productive method is of course a light trap, which harmlessly collects a sample of your resident moths while you sleep. You can then identify and count them at your leisure next morning. Be warned you cannot do this in a few rushed minutes, by midsummer there will be hundreds of specimens and maybe up to 50 species represented and potentially many more. Some will be frisky and try to escape, others will be especially captivating – just wait until you catch your first Garden Tiger moth or large Elephant Hawkmoth – while others will be so indistinguishable that it will take you ages to work out Elephant Hawkmoth © Jo Davis just which species it is!

Your photographic skills will improve, your fridge will find a new use, you may even discover that a desperate pregnant specimen has left you the responsibility of being midwife to its brood of freshly laid eggs. Of course all these creatures are unharmed and can be let loose into the shrubbery to fly again another night. A morning examining a trap is captivating for children, who can learn how harmless they are and especially enjoy releasing these delicate creatures after their night in jail.

There are excellent reference books to help with identification and more are being published in the immediate future, not to mention the availability of expert support on the web-based Scottish Moths forum. Records should be registered with the local Vice County recorder so that nationwide data can be assimilated to show trends and changes in distribution. Several moth species are extending their range into Scotland and it is very satisfying when you realise some of your sightings are unique.

Even better why not become part of the UK wide Garden Moth Scheme a project requiring no expertise, just enthusiasm and a moth trap. Setting up a moth trap weekly throughout the months of March and October is providing valuable data year by year and North Britain needs more recruits. Don’t worry holidays and away days are accepted.

Insects are valuable indicators of the health of our environment, and moths are more so than most. Many studies use moth light trapping to reveal the effect of agribusiness on our countryside. In Central Scotland

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such work has revealed the value of changing farming practice in relation to hedgerows, field verges and river banks that increase the diversity of species.

The work of conservation organisations such as Butterfly Conservation or Buglife relies on accurate information to support their discussions with an increasingly unsympathetic government. So becoming a ‘moth-er’ is not only intellectually rewarding, but reveals the changing habits of a common group of insects as well as supporting the arguments that are essential to maintain the well being of our environment and perhaps even the planet.

Jo Davis ...... 2011 Dumfries & Galloway Moth Update

2011 started with the first ever Checklist of Moths for Dumfries & Galloway, which was published for local moth-ers in January and was also available on our new web site www.dgmoths.org.uk as a downloadable pdf file.

New micro-moth VC records totalled sixty: 23 in VC72, 13 in VC73 and 24 in VC74. It was a good year for migrants with 50 records of Rusty Dot Pearl thirty records of Diamond-backed Moth and 26 records of Rush Veneer, but the cream on the cake was of two pyralids and a plume moth. The migrant pyralids were Spoladea recurvalis which was trapped at MV on 1st October at Milton (VC73) and on the 4th the same person trapped Diasemiopsis ramburialis at the same site, both moths being the second ever for Scotland. Two specimens were caught of the migrant plume Crombrugghia laeta at different sites on Luce Bay (VC74) but both on 8th July.

Regarding macros, a first for Scotland was found in Mabie Forest on 27th July, Clay Triple-lines). A regular visitor from Hamilton caught the second ever Scottish example of Tawny Pinion at Sandgreen on the Solway coast (VC73), the first record being in 2009 at Glencaple (VC72). Another second for Scotland was a Dingy Footman (abberation. Stramineola) caught on Lochar Moss (VC72) on 9th September.

Cloaked Carpet (3rd record) and Shore Wainscot (3rd record) were caught at Mersehead RSPB and verified by Roy Leverton from photographs. Southern Wainscot (six records, three previously) was found at three sites, while Fen Wainscot was trapped on the Old Torr side of Auchencairn Bay concurring with former sitings from the other

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side of the bay. Barred Carpet was trapped at Duirsdeer in the north of VC72 for our sixth record, with Brindled Ochre producing the 7th to 9th records.

Pugs featured heavily this year with Marsh Pug being trapped twice at different sites. Previous records were from 1996 and 2005 when Scottish Entomologists’ visited the area and four specimens in the NMS from 1970s and 80s. Plain Pug was recorded for the first time since 1870 when one was caught on Luce Bay (VC74) on 8th July, while two specimens of Shaded Pug were caught at Kirkton a few days earlier for our 7th and 8th records. Two specimens of Oak-tree Pug were photographed, one near Palnackie, the other at Carsluith, both VC73, being the 3rd and 4th records. Previously found in 2002 and 2008. And, finally Sloe Pug was trapped at Durisdeer on 10th July and verified by Roy Leverton.

Work continued throughout the year on the web site to add the micro- moth species accounts and this has now been achieved to a reasonable level. Currently 1,051 species have been seen in Dumfries & Galloway, 470 macros and 581 micros.

Keith Naylor, Moth Recorder for Dumfries & Galloway (VC72,73 ,74) ...... 2011 Stirlingshire, West Perthshire & Dunbartonshire Moth Update

Micro Moths: In central Scotland we regularly see Bird Cherry trees defoliated by the larvae of Bird Cherry Ermine. We do not however usually see Spindle Ermine because Spindle, its main foodplant, is a plant of the chalky soils of southern England. However, Japanese Spindle is less calcium-dependent, is often grown as a garden hedge and can be an alternative foodplant for Spindle Ermine. During the summer of 2011, such a hedge at the Wickes Home Improvement Store in Stirling was totally defoliated by the larvae of Spindle Ermine - a new species for Stirlingshire. Pugs: It was a good year for pugs. There have been no records of the day-flying Marsh Pug in central Scotland since1983 until Martin Culshaw caught one near Killearn on 3rd June and another on 14th August. Neil Gregory caught a third on Carman Muir on 1st September. Its preferred foodplant, Field Mouse-ear is rare, indeed probably absent from vice counties 86, 87 and 99 and it is probably feeding on Common Mouse-ear. A Bordered Pug caught by Stan Campbell on the banks of the River Leven is a first ever for record vc99 and the first for the region since 1995 and the Thyme Pug has been re-found. Iain Christie first

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discovered this uncommon, largely coastal species in 1981 on Conic Hill near Balmaha at the south eastern corner of Loch Lomond. After multiple failed attempts to find the species on Conic Hill, the author re- discovered it on a ridge to the NW called Druim nam Buraich. On 27th July, two hours of tapping thyme plants over a lunch box produced two small caterpillars.

Thyme Pug caterpillar © John Knowler Other Geometrid Moths: Helen Dawson caught yet another Dark Spinach in her garden in Fallin, Stirlingshire on 26th July and Martin Culshaw recorded one in Killearn on 31st. Arthur and Jane Jones recorded a Grass Emerald in Jubilee Pine Woods in the Trossachs and Lesser Treble-bar has finally made it to the Stirlingshire list. A number of previous claims have not been presented with the evidence necessary to add a new species to a vice county list but this all changed on 29th and 30th July when Bob Dawson found a colony associated with extensive St John’s Wort on Fallin Bing near Stirling. Hawkmoths: Norman Brodie had a very large visitor to his house in Dullatur. It was identified as Convolvulus Hawk Moth when his daughter Barbara circulated a photograph. A Narrow-bordered Bee Hawkmoth seen by Scott Shanks in a flower-rich meadow near Rosneath Point on the shores of the Firth of Clyde was the first record for the region since 1985. Noctuid Moths: Helen Dawson caught the increasingly rare Garden Dart at Fallin, Stirlingshire on 13th August; a freshly emerged male Brindled Ochre was caught in a trap at Mugdock Country Park on 29th September and Martin Culshaw had a Butterbur come to house lights in Killearn on 10th September. His house is not far from patches of the foodplant on the banks of the Endrick Water where the author has run traps specifically aimed at the species but with no success. Time to look again. A single specimen of the Silky Wainscot in the collection of Iain Christie, labelled 5th July 1985, Garlea, Dunbartonshire, was until this year the only record for the region. However, Bob Dawson recorded no less than four at Polmaise Lagoons, Stirlingshire on the 2nd August. Furthermore, Silky Wainscot was one of many interesting species on a list that surfaced in the autumn of moths caught at Torry Burn LNR during 1999 and 2000. Torry Burn is in a finger of vc87 that sneaks along the Forth estuary from Kincardine Bridge.

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Impressive numbers of new species continue to move north into central Scotland. The rapid spread of Pale Pinion has already been documented. In the autumn of 2010 Stan Campbell added it to the Dunbartonshire (vc99) list and this year the author added it to the Stirlingshire (vc86) list when he caught one in a trap at Mugdock Country Park on 10th April and another in Lennoxtown on 18th April. Another species continuing to move north is Blair’s Shoulder-knot. It first arrived in the UK (on the Isle of Wight) in 1951. It found that its preferred larval foodplants, Lawson’s and Leyland Cypress, are common garden trees in the UK and it spread rapidly. By 1996 it had reached Cumbria and by 2001 had crossed the border into Kirkcudbrightshire. Since then, it has spread to Ayrshire, the Borders, Lothians and into Fife as far north as Anstruther so it was not unexpected when one found its way into a trap in Milgavie on 4th November 2011.

The most unexpected new arrival, however, was Buff Footman. The map in vol. 9 of Moths and Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland shows that in 1978 the Buff Footman had a patchy distribution mainly south of a line from the Severn to the Wash. However, by the time that the Provisional Atlas of the UK’s Larger Moths was published in 2010 there had been considerable northward Buff Footman © John Knowler expansion into northern England and southern Scotland. In 2011 the species made it into central Scotland. The first was caught by the author at Lennoxtown on the 11th July, another was in the catch for the 2nd August of the Rothamsted trap at Rowardennan on Loch Lomondside and a third was caught by David Bryant at Bridge of Allan on 11th August.

Keeping up-to-date: Moth highlights for vice counties 86, 87 and 99 can be followed in the Central Scotland Moths Blog (http://centralscotlandmoths.blogspot.com/ ).

JohnKnowler, Moth Recorder for Stirlingshire, West Perthshire and Dumbartonshire (VC 86, 87 and 99).

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2011 Mid Ebudes (Mull, Coll & Tiree) Moth Update

2011 was a mixed year for Mid Ebudes with a very good early spring for lepidoptera species, but the rest of the year was less good, perhaps negatively affected by the unseasonal and very stormy weather during May. Nevertheless, four new macro moth species were added to the vc list during 2011, these being Bordered Grey, Small Clouded Brindle, Angle-barred Pug (Ash Pug) and Scallop Shell.

Bordered Gray © Nick Cooke Scalloped Shell © Allan Skeates

Bordered Grey (which has national status "Na") was caught by Nick Cooke on the Ross of Mull at an event organised by the Wildlife Ranger from the Mull & Iona Community Trust. Nick had two specimens in a 125w MV Skinner trap and one in a 15w actinic battery trap. As well as being a first for Mid Ebudes, this record at the time was only the second Scottish record for this species this century. Small Clouded Brindle was caught by Anne Thomson trapping in her garden in Tobermory on Mull with a 25W blacklight trap. Ten days later a second record came when Mike and Helen Boothman caught one while on holiday on Coll. Mike risked life and limb by cycling round Coll and Tiree with a Skinner trap strapped to his bike. Although not a new species to the VC list, another notable record was achieved by Barry Prater who caught a Gothic in a 15w actinic trap while on holiday on Mull. This was the first vc record of that species since 1969.

In addition to the macro species, first VC sightings were recorded for three micro moth species, these being Acleris abietana, Semioscopis avellanella and Apotomis betuletana. Finally some more "new" small colonies of Slender Scotch Burnet were found on Mull in 2011 and Highland Branch are hoping to organise a field trip during June this year to have a look at this unique moth.

Alan Skeates, Moth Recorder for Mid-Ebudes (VC 103)

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2011 Moth Report for Argyll Main (Vice County 98)

2011 was a good year for moths in VC98 with 990 Macro-moth records and 127 Micro-moth records. These included 8 new Macro-moth species (number of records): Black Mountain Moth (17); Flounced Rustic (1); Frosted Orange (2); Large Wainscot (1); Lempke’s Gold Spot (1); Pale Pinion (1); Plain Wave (1); and White-line Dart (2). And four new Micro-moth species: Ditula angustiorana, Eriocrania unimaculella, Pammene regiana and Mother of Pearl.

Other notable records were 11 Powdered Quaker, 3 Little Emerald, 3 Red-necked Footman, 4 Elephant-hawk Moth, 1 Light Arches, 2 Lunar Underwing and 3 Oak Beauty. There were also two interesting larval records. First, a larval record of the Argyll speciality, Transparent Burnet, in Glen Feochan, which demonstrates that this species can be searched for in April/May when the larvae are fully grown and not just in June/July when the adults are on the wing. Second, a larval record of the Common Footman near Oban which despite its name is not a common species with only three previous records in VC98: two in 2010 and one in 2001. There were also records of the following pugs which were notable: Larch Pug; Narrow-winged Pug; Juniper Pug; and Wormwood Pug.

Many thanks are due to all recorders who contributed records in 2011 but especially to Steve Petty, Carl Farmer and the Seil Natural History Group, and Dan Watson.

Three moth events are currently planned in Argyll in 2012 on the 26th May, 16th June and 14th July (see events pages for details).

Andrew Masterman, Moth Recorder for Mid-Argyll (VC98) ...... 2011 Isle of Bute (VC101) moth update

There were 2 highlights from the Isle of Bute this year. The Small Marbled is a small moth resident in the south of Europe, Africa and Asia. It occasionally turns up in the UK as a migrant species. Until 2011, there had only been two previous records in Scotland (both in Dumfries and Galloway), then two were recorded in 2011 within a few weeks of each other. One of these was attracted to a 40W actinic in our garden in Ascog, Isle of Bute on the 7th of July 2011. This appears to be the fourth record for Scotland, the third being in West Lothian where it was recorded by Carina Convery a couple of weeks earlier.

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Another species in the garden trap on 27th July 2011,was the pyralid moth, Ebulea crocealis. This was first seen on Bute at the same site on 12th July 2010 (photo attached). This species therefore seems to be established on Bute, which appears to be the northern most site in the UK. However, none of its known food plants (Common Fleabane or Ploughman’s Spike) have been recorded on Bute. Ebulea crocealis is known from Arran (same VC), where one of the food plants grows, but that's very different to its habitat on Bute.

Glyn Collis, Moth Recorder for Bute (VC101) ...... The Garden Moth Scheme 2011.

The Garden Moth Scheme (GMS) runs from early March to early November, with people recording the numbers of around 260 species of the more common moths in their gardens once a week throughout this period. Further information on the findings of the GMS for the whole of the UK and Ireland, both current and historical, is available in the form of annual reports and quarterly newsletters, which can be found in the Downloads section of the web-site: http://www.gardenmoths.org.uk

At the time of writing (early January 2012), 21 sets of results have been returned from Scottish gardens for the GMS 2011. Of these, 8 are from the Glasgow & South-west (G&SW) BC branch region, 8 from the East, and 5 from Highland (including 2 from Shetland and 1 from the Outer Hebrides).

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Members counted 26,696 individual moths of 228 species at an average of 1,271 per garden over 679 trapping events (ideally everyone traps once a week for 36 weeks – inevitably some weeks are missed, but these are kept to a minimum), and not including any ‘extra’ species encountered that are not on the monitored list of common moths. The figures ranged from a total of 66 on a Glasgow balcony to 5,509 in a large rural garden on South Uist.

Average / garden Scotland G&SW East Highland Dark Arches 144.0 79.6 89.9 333.4 True Lover's Knot 94.0 0.9 0.3 392.8 Hebrew Character 89.4 27.0 173.3 55 Large Yellow Underwing 82.6 91.0 69.0 90.8 Common Quaker 68.5 25.0 153.6 1.8 Common Rustic aggregate 42.8 28.5 48.0 57.2 Square-spot Rustic 33.9 1.3 8.6 126.4 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing 31.0 21.1 58.5 3 Chestnut 30.0 6.5 72.0 0.2 Small Wainscot 28.2 0.6 3.3 112.2 Clouded Drab 24.8 9.8 53.8 2.4 Dotted Clay 24.4 23.1 37.4 5.6 Lesser Yellow Underwing 21.2 14.1 34.3 11.6 Antler Moth 19.1 6.0 14.8 47.2 Rosy Rustic 16.5 3.5 23.3 26.4 Red Chestnut 16.2 0.4 4.5 60.4 Bird-cherry Ermine 15.7 5.3 35.9 0 Beautiful Golden Y 13.4 6.9 8.5 31.8 Agriphila tristella 13.0 8.5 18.0 12.4 Burnished Brass aggregate 12.0 3.5 14.9 21 Dark Arches was the commonest moth overall, occurring in every garden from Shetland to the Borders, and in triple figures in 9 / 21 of them. The Scottish top 20 are shown below, along with their regional averages – figures highlighted in bold designate the regional number one species. Occasionally, a locally abundant species can occur in such large numbers in a single garden that it ends up in a high position in the charts – True Lover’s Knot is an example of this, with almost all of them recorded from South Uist.

Regionally, on average Highland recorders trapped the highest number of moths, with the fewest being encountered in Glasgow & South-west, as shown below. Average / garden Scotland 1271.2 G&SW 637.3 East 1507.6 Highland 1907.4

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This can be slightly misleading though, as other factors such as trap type do have an effect. The members in G&SW have a greater diversity of trap type than those in the rest of the country, with a much greater use of actinic tubes, as shown in the figure below: Trap type by Region

4 3 2 1 0 GSW East Highland

Robinson 125W MV Skinner 125W MV Skinner 40W Actinic Skinner 15W Actinic Heath 40W Actinic Heath 15W Actinic Heath 6W Actinic Bucket 25W Actinic

The top 20 for the G&SW branch region is shown below, along with their overall rank in Scotland as a whole. It is interesting to note that some species are far more common in the region than they are in other parts of Scotland, notably Willow Beauty and the Marbled Minor aggregate species.

Average / Rank in garden Scotland Large Yellow Underwing 91.0 4 Dark Arches 79.6 1 Common Rustic aggregate 28.5 6 Hebrew Character 27.0 3 Common Quaker 25.0 5 Dotted Clay 23.1 12 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing 21.1 8 Heart & Dart 14.1 25 Lesser Yellow Underwing 14.1 13 Marbled Minor aggregate 12.1 41 Clouded Drab 9.8 11 Six-striped Rustic 9.5 33 Double Square-spot 8.8 30 Agriphila tristella 8.5 19 Beautiful Golden Y 6.9 18 Chestnut 6.5 9 Silver Y 6.4 26 Common Marbled Carpet 6.3 29 Yellow-line Quaker 6.1 21 Willow Beauty 6.0 82 Antler Moth 6.0 14

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When all results for 2011 have been returned, a slightly more detailed report will be available in the Scotland section of the GMS web-site, and eventually a full Annual Report for the whole of the UK will be published and be available for download by interested parties. The GMS is still relatively new to Scotland, although it has been operating since 2003 in the West Midlands, and it will be a few years before any trends can be established in terms of ‘winners and losers’ amongst our common garden moths. There is still plenty of opportunity for new members to take part, and I would welcome enquiries from anyone, experienced moth-er or complete beginner, who would like more information on the scheme. The new recording season starts at the beginning of March, and there are lots of gaps in coverage across the country that we would like to fill, but even two different gardens in the same town can have very different moth communities, so please get in touch if you can trap regularly (at least 27 / 36 weeks) between March and November.

Heather Young, GMS Co-ordinator, Scotland. [email protected] ...... Field Trips and Events in 2012

Please check the branch website for further events and updates. All butterfly walks are dependent upon good weather. Check with organiser before setting off. Non-members welcome too. If you would like to attend an event, but have difficulties with transport let us know, as there may be someone locally who can off you a lift.

If you have an idea for an event near you – whether a butterfly walk in your favourite wildlife patch or perhaps an evening of moth trapping in your back garden, please get in touch (an autumn ‘Mulled Wine and Moths’ evening anyone?). If your town or village has a summer fete or gala day, and you would be interested in running a stall to tell people about Butterfly Conservation’s work, please get in touch for a chat.

We are keen to get more volunteers to help at our big public events. You don’t need to be an expert, just enthusiastic about butterflies (and moths too!). Even if you can only manage a few hours to ensure that everyone gets a break that would be fantastic! This is a great opportunity to gain experience in outreach- an essential skill for conservation workers and is useful on a CV too!

If you are able to help at one of the public event please contact the organiser or e-mail: [email protected].

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Key for event type:

Butterfly Conservation event

Non-BC event, but Butterfly Conservation presence

Other Lepidoptera-related event

Saturday 21 April Butterfly Identification workshop.

10am – 1.30pm. Glasgow Museums Resource Centre. Nitshill, Glasgow. Brush up on your Butterfly and Day-flying Moth Identification skills with a training workshop suitable for beginners (and the more experienced too!). Tea and Coffee will be available, but please take along a packed lunch. To book and for more details contact: [email protected] (07793052501) Saturday 19 May to 27 May Save Our Butterflies Week!

Details to be confirmed

Sunday 20 May Green Hairstreak Butterfly walk at Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park

A walk with a ranger through the blaeberry to search for these extraordinary little butterflies. Bring a camera! Meet at the Muirshiel Visitor Centre, Calder Glen Road near Lochwinnoch Renfrewshire. 1pm-3pm. Booking is essential. Please call 01505 842 803 for more information. Saturday 26 May to Sunday 27 May Chequered Skipper Weekend

Visit well known Chequered Skipper site at Glasdrum NNR, near Oban on the Saturday - Pearl-bordered may also be on the wing. On the Sunday you may wish to head off to historical Chequered Skipper sites in North Argyll or Lochaber. If the Saturday is rained off, the CS event will be re-scheduled for the Sunday. Meet at Glasdrum NNR car park NN001454 at 10.30AM. Moth trapping from 8.00AM. Walking boots, warm waterproof clothing, packed lunch and water required. Ticks are present in the area so please take appropriate precautions. For further details please contact Scott Donaldson 07768 156542 or [email protected] Saturday 2 June Habitat management work for Green Hairstreak and Small Pearl Bordered Fritillaries at Loch Ardinning SWT reserve, Milngavie Joint Butterfly Conservation/ SWT work party with reserve convener David Shenton. For further details contact Scott Shanks (07793052501) or David Shenton (0141 776 5506) Saturday 16 June Marsh Fritillary Event

Meet at Taynish Mill (NR738849), Taynish NNR from 9.00am for moth

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trapping. Marsh Fritillary event to Tayvallich Peninsular follows at 11.00 am. Only small numbers of Marsh Fritillary are likely to be seen as few were on wing last year but this is an opportunity to visit some amazing Marsh Fritillary habitat on the Tayvallich Peninsular. If the Saturday is rained off, event will occur on Sunday 17 June. To register, please contact John Halliday 01546 603611 or [email protected] Sunday 17 June Family Day at Loch Ardinning Wildlife Reserve

Day event - Family Day at Loch Ardinning Wildlife Reserve. 11.00 am. to approx, 4.15 pm. Butterfly Conservation will have a stand. Wildlife Quizes, Pond dipping and minibeast hunts. Dam on east side of A81 between Milngavie and Strathblane. O.S. Map 64, grid ref. NS 563 778. For more details tel: 0141 776 5506 Thursday 21 June to 23 June National Moth Night

Details to be confirmed

Sunday 24 June Butterfly Day at Clyde Muirshiel Country Park

A celebration of some of the most colourful members of Scottish wildlife with the opportunity to walk a transect and improve your identification skills. Meet at Castle Semple Visitor Centre. 1pm -4pm.tel 01505 842 882 Ex20 for more information and booking. Saturday 7 July Habitat management work for Green Hairstreak and Small Pearl Bordered Fritillaries at Loch Ardinning SWT reserve, Milngavie Joint Butterfly Conservation/ SWT work party with reserve convener David Shenton. For further details contact Scott Shanks (07793052501) or David

Shenton (0141 776 5506) Saturday 14 July to Sunday 5 August The Big Butterfly Count

Spend 15 minutes recording butterflies and day-flying moths in your garden, park or local nature reserve. http://www.bigbutterflycount.org/ Saturday 14 July Moth Trapping Event at Glen Nant NNR: 0900-1100am

Meet at Glen Nant NNR car park NN019272. Registration not required. For further enquiries, email [email protected] Tuesday 17 July Fluttering Forage in Clyde Muirshiel Country Park

A hunt for all insects that flutter and fly like dragonflies, damselflies & butterflies.Meet at the Muirshiel Visitor Centre, Calder Glen Road near Lochwinnoch Renfrewshire. 1pm – 2pm. For more information call 01505 842 803, booking is essential. Saturday 28 & Sunday 29 July

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The Glasgow Show at Glasgow Green.

An exhilarating weekend of amazing entertainment and exciting activities. With live music, dance performances, street theatre, countryside activities, children’s funfair rides and a main arena filled with international acts it’s the place to be this summer. Butterfly Conservation will have a display. Why not drop past and say hello, find out about current surveys and our local conservation projects, and tell us about your butterfly and moth sightings. Saturday 4 August Pollok Park Family Day, Glasgow

10am- 5pm. This fantastic free family event in Pollok Park, Glasgow has been running for over 30 years. Featuring a host of entertainment acts, displays and activities to satisfy even the most demanding family members. Butterfly Conservation will once again be running a stall. Drop past to find out about current surveys, our local conservation projects and to tell us about your butterfly and moth sightings. Friday 10 August Marvellous Moths at the Clyde Muirshiel Country Park

Barnbrock Farm, Park HQ, Near Kilbarchan. 9pm - 10.30pm. Please call 01505 614 791 for more information and bookings. Friday 7 September Marvellous Moths at the Clyde Muirshiel Country Park

A mercury lamp is used to attract the moths and a range of patterned, colourful and friendly insects may be expected. Moths are very photogenic, so bring a camera and perhaps take part in the CMRP photo competition! At Barnbrock Farm, Park HQ, Near Kilbarchan. 8pm - 9.30pm. Please call 01505 614 791 for more information and bookings. Saturday 10 October Wester Moss Action Day, Fallin, Stirlingshire

Joint Butterfly Conservation/Stirlingshire ranger event to remove invasive scrub & conifers from the Wester Moss SSSI raised bog. We will meet at 10.30am at the outdoor mining museum car park (Grid Ref: NS 836907 /Postcode approx FK7 7GY), and the work will involve pulling up and/or cutting pine saplings that are invading the bog. Please come along for as much of the day as you can. Bring wellies, waterproofs and old clothes, a hot drink and packed lunch. Please bring small bowsaws and/or loppers if you have them. Contact Paul Kirkland [email protected]

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County moth recorders in South West Scotland Please send any records of moths from the branch area to the local moth recorder shown below. If you are not sure of the species ID, try to get a photograph and send it with the location and date to:

VC 72, 73 & 74 Dumfries-shire, VC75 & 76 Ayrshire, Kirkcudbrightshire & Wigtownshire Inverclyde & Renfrewshire Keith Naylor, Neil Gregory c/o Dumfries and Galloway 32 Oldhall Drive Environmental Resources Centre, Kilmacolm, PA13 4RF 7 Church Crescent, 01505 874275 Dumfries, DG1 1DF [email protected] [email protected] VC77 Lanarkshire & Glasgow VC86 & 87 Stirlingshire, Richard Weddle West Perthshire (with Glasgow Museum Resource Centre, Clackmannanshire) 200 Woodhead Road, John Knowler South Nitshill Industrial Estate, 3 Balfleurs Street, Milngavie Glasgow, G53 7NN Glasgow, G62 8HW: [email protected] [email protected] VC98 Argyll Main VC 99 Dunbartonshire Andrew Masterman John Knowler Flat 1/3, 214 Calder Street (details as above) Glasgow, G42 7PE 0141 4231336 [email protected] VC100 Isle of Bute & Inchmarnock VC100 Arran, Holy Isle & Glyn Colis Pladda Seasgar, Kate Sampson, Senior Ranger Ascog National Trust for Scotland Isle of Bute,PA20 9ET Brodick Country Park, [email protected] Isle of Arran, KA27 8HY 01770 302462 [email protected] VC100 Little Cumbrae & Great VC101 Kintyre Cumbrae Helen Bibby Neil Gregory Gowanlea, Kilduskland Road (details as above) Ardrishaig, Argyll, PA30 8EH [email protected] VC102 South Ebudes VC103 Mid Ebudes John Armitage Alan Skeates Airigh Sgallaidh, Portnahaven Dunellen, Craignure Isle of Islay,Argyll, PA47 7SZ Isle of Mull, Argyll, PA65 6AY [email protected] [email protected]

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Glasgow and SW Scotland Branch Committee 2012

Chairman Treasurer Scott Shanks Gillian Rae Flat 1/2 113 Haugh Road 11 Miller Street Yorkhill, Glasgow Hamilton G3 8XT ML37EW 07793052501 01698 458398 [email protected] [email protected] Butterfly Recorder Secretary Scott Shanks Jo Davis Flat 1/2 113 Haugh Road 8 Bonnington Avenue Yorkhill, Glasgow Lanark G3 8XT ML11 9AL 07793052501 01555 663485 [email protected] [email protected] Events Coordinator Newsletter Editor Scott Donaldson Stephanie Holbein 103 Earlbank Avenue 03 Spruce Drive Glasgow Lenzie, Glasgow G14 9DY G66 4DW 0141 959 5221 0141 578 6302 [email protected] [email protected] Committee Member Committee Member Paul Mapplebeck Richard Sutcliffe 29 Main Road, 68, Rowan Drive Elderslie, Johnstone Bearsden, Glasgow PA5 9BA 0141 942 1563 01505 348024 [email protected] Web Master Committee member Andrew Masterman Marianne Ward Flat 1/3, 214 Calder Street [email protected] Glasgow G42 7PE 0141 432 1336 [email protected]

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Glasgow and South West Scotland Website: www.southwestscotland-butterflies.org.uk

www.facebook.com/saving.scottish.butterflies

http://twitter.com/BC_SWScotland

Female Wall, basking

Butterfly Conservation. Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered in England (2206468). Registered Office: Manor Yard, East Lulworth, Wareham, Dorset, BH20 5QP. Charity registered in England & Wales (254937) and Scotland (SCO39268)

40 On the Spot – April 2012