Here Were a Number of Bright Sparks from the Year
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NORTH EAST ENGLAND BRANCH BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION BUTTERFLY SUMMARY 2017 North East England C ompiled by Michael Perkins, Ian J Waller, & Roger Norman B utterfly Conservation CONTENTS Page number Contents Page ................................................................... Inside front cover Recorders’ Review ........................................................................................ 3 Weather Summary ........................................................................................ 5 Species Accounts: 2017............................................................................... 7 Dingy Skipper Erynnis tages ...................................................................... 8 Small Skipper Thymelicus sylvestris .......................................................... 9 Essex Skipper Thymelicus lineola............................................................ 10 Large Skipper Ochlodes sylvanus ............................................................ 10 Orange-tip Anthocharis cardamines ......................................................... 12 Large White Pieris brassicae .................................................................... 13 Small White Pieris rapae .......................................................................... 14 Green-veined White Pieris napi ................................................................ 15 Clouded Yellow Colias croceus ................................................................ 16 Brimstone Gonepteryx rhamni .................................................................. 16 Wall Lasiommata megera ......................................................................... 18 Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria ............................................................. 19 Large Heath Coenonympha tullia ............................................................. 19 Small Heath Coenonympha pamphilus .................................................... 20 Ringlet Aphantopus hyperantus ............................................................... 21 Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina ................................................................ 22 Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus .................................................................... 23 Marbled White Melanargia galathea ......................................................... 24 Grayling Hipparchia semele ..................................................................... 24 Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary Boloria selene .......................................... 25 Dark Green Fritillary Argynnis aglaja ........................................................ 26 Silver-washed Fritillary Argynnis paphia ...................................................27 Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta ................................................................. 28 Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui .................................................................. 29 Peacock Aglais io ..................................................................................... 30 Small Tortoiseshell Aglais urticae ............................................................ 30 Camberwell Beauty Nymphalis antiopa .................................................... 31 Comma Polygonia c-album ...................................................................... 32 Small Copper Lycaena phlaeas ............................................................... 32 Purple Hairstreak Favonius quercus .......................................................... 34 Green Hairstreak Callophrys rubi ............................................................. 34 White-letter Hairstreak Satyrium w-album ................................................ 35 Holly Blue Celastrina argiolus .................................................................. 37 Brown Argus Aricia agestis ..................................................................... 37 Northern Brown Argus Aricia artaxerxes .................................................. 39 Common Blue Polyommatus icarus ......................................................... 39 Contributors ................................................................................................ 41 Flight Period Table ...................................................................................... 44 Tetrad Occupancy Comparison Table ....................................................... 45 Submitting Moth Records in 2018 ............................................................. 46 Submitting Butterfly Records in 2018 ............................. Inside back cover North East England Branch Committee Members .................... Back cover (Front cover: Silver-washed Fritillary, Terry Coult) The latest annual reports, newsletters and Branch details are available on the website: www.northeast-butterflies.org.uk 2 RECORDERS’ REVIEW FOR 2017 After a slightly chaotic 2016 when numerous factors contributed to a lengthy delay in the production of the annual report, 2017 brought with it problems of its own, although this year faster headway has been made on the production of the report. Your patience is still greatly appreciated though. The overall number of records for 2017 was slightly up on 2016 with 15439 records provided across 7329 total visits. This total comes from a number of sources and includes transect records, casual records, iRecord Butterflies, Migrant Watch, Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey, Garden Butterfly Survey and BugAlert records. The year was the 10 th warmest since records began in 1850, so perhaps it’s surprising that the numbers were not higher. Reading the report, you will see that the majority of our species were recorded in lower numbers than we would have wished. No doubt the lower than average levels of sunshine and lots of rain probably did not help. As mentioned, generally speaking, for many of our species, despite the higher overall count, it was a poorer year than 2016. Many of our most notable species struggled, Dingy Skipper numbers were considerably down on previous years, as were Northern Brown Argus which had a dramatic drop and Grayling. There were a number of bright sparks from the year. One was Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary, with promising numbers being found in several locations. The strength of the sites in County Durham is testimony to the hard work by many people and individuals, both within Butterfly Conservation and from other organisations over the last couple of decades. The find of the year was the discovery of Silver-washed Fritillary in July at Wynyard by Jeff Fowler. His was the first record for the region since Victorian times. Sightings in 2018 give hope that the butterfly might once again establish itself in the County. This species has been chosen for the front cover, which shows an excellent pen and ink sketch by Terry Coult. Of other species that did well, Red Admiral had a tremendous year with perhaps unprecedented numbers seen throughout the region and a real joy to see. A count of 250 at Cragside is remarkable and probably the highest number recorded in the region. Speckled Wood continues to impress, it was almost unknown in the north-east before 2000 when very small numbers could be found along the River Tees. Now it is present throughout the region and indeed into southern Scotland. At times it can be the commonest butterfly around in late September. The map on the next page shows the tetrads visited in 2017 and shows that there are still areas which receive very few or no visits by recorders. Green Hairstreak is surely to be found in our more wild areas and White-letter and Purple Hairstreak are likely to be present in the northern parts of Northumberland. Diligent searching in southern County Durham will surely discover new sites for both Essex Skipper and Brown Argus. Thanks again to all transect and casual recorders and all those involved in any additional nationwide schemes. The records you send continue to be of vital importance in providing key data to Butterfly Conservation, which in turn feeds into policy at a government level. The conservation of the UK’s butterflies remains an enormous challenge. Butterflies are the best- studied UK insects by some way. The knowledge that recorders have built helps to provide vital insights into the changing state of wider biodiversity and the ecosystem services that depend upon it. As always, all the best for next year and let’s hope for good weather 3 Tetrad map, (2km x 2km), showing all records for 2017 Enlarged example of colour key for the species-account maps for 2017 4 Essex Skipper photographed by Martin Partridge at J M Biodiversity Site in Billingham on 7 th July 2017 Essex Skipper photographed by Julie Hogg at Cowpen Bewley on 20 th July 2017 5 WEATHER SUMMARY: 2017 Durham University Observatory, County Durham Elevation: 100 metres (328ft), Grid Reference NZ 267 415 TEMPERATURE, RAINFALL and SUNSHINE and DIFFERENCES from 1961 - 1990 AVERAGES Month Mean ( OC) OC Difference Rain (mm) % of Average Sun (hr) % of Average Jan 3.8 0.8 42.3 71 70.8 132 Feb 5.7 2.5 81.4 196 59.6 91 Mar 7.7 2.7 42.4 83 125.3 119 Apr 8.5 1.5 29 61 162.5 122 May 12.3 2.4 19.8 38 158 94 Jun 14.8 1.8 103.4 200 118.3 72 Jul 14.9 0 71.2 138 111.7 72 Aug 14.6 -0.1 50 75 110.7 71 Sep 12.6 -0.1 87.4 158 81.8 66 Oct 11.8 2 30.6 58 65.4 70 Nov 6 0.3 76 122 90.3 137 Dec 4.2 0.3 34 59 74.7 163 2017 9.7 1.2 645.6 99 1229.1 92 Our weather record information comes from the Durham University station on Observatory Hill in Durham City. Apart from the Radcliffe Observatory at Oxford,