Butterfly and Moth Report 2016
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Surrey & SW London Branch Butterfly and Moth Report 2016 Contents Introduction Page 3 Weather in 2016 Page 4 South East Regional Action Plan Page 6 Butterfly Report Page 9 Moth Report Page 18 Garden Moth Scheme Page 21 2016 Notable Moth Records Page 22 Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey Page 30 Transect Report Page 31 Oaken Wood Reserve Page 34 Stephen Jeffcoate This report is dedicated to Stephen Jeffcoate, who sadly passed away on 31 March 2017. Stephen was Chairman of the Branch from 1995 to 1997 and National Chairman from 1999 to 2003. He co-authored the Millennium Atlas of Butterflies of Britain and Ireland, the most widely referenced butterfly book. He will be remembered as an expert on the Wood White, and with his wife Gail was instrumental in setting up the management of the Oaken Wood Reserve to benefit this butterfly, which remains under threat in Surrey today. A full tribute appears on the Branch website. Glossary Occupancy: a statistical measure of the distribution of a species, using the probability of detecting the species within any given monad (1km square) for the vice-county. Records from all sources are used in the calculations. Abundance: a statistical measure that enables the population size to be compared year by year. UKBMS Transect data from the vice-county are used in the calculations, where a site has been monitored for at least four years. Total number of butterflies: the number of individual butterflies recorded, from all sources. Total number of records: the number of records received, each of which may be of one butterfly or many. Surrey & SW London Branch, Butterfly and Moth Report 2016 2 Introduction Simon Saville, Branch Chairman Butterflies and moths are important use, including neonicotinoids. parts of the ecosystem. They are sensitive to change and their fortunes Our top priority butterflies - Wood help us to assess the health of our White, Grayling, Silver-studded Blue environment. Two-thirds of our and Adonis Blue - all showed Lepidoptera species are in decline and continuing declines. urgent action is necessary if we are to Many of our widespread species also turn this around. showed declines, but there was a bit of Information about the distribution, good news. The Essex Skipper is now abundance and flight periods of found throughout most of the vice- species - and how these are changing - county and the Marbled White had the is of vital importance. It helps us to best year for number of records so far. understand where priorities need to be Egg surveys for the Brown Hairstreak set, and it shows whether conservation are showing that this butterfly is more work has been successful. widely spread than previously thought. With this increased knowledge, The moth records in the report are Butterfly Conservation has been able drawn from moth trapping events and to update the South East Regional sessions in the field and in gardens Action Plan, which you can read more because the county records data are about in this report. not available this early in the year. There are some interesting and A large number of people put in an noteworthy sightings among these. enormous amount of effort to record butterflies and moths during 2016. We are sending a copy of this year’s report to all members so that they can Those involved in practical habitat see how Lepidoptera are faring in our management - whether with BC area. To offset costs, we encourage working parties (e.g. at Oaken Wood), recipients to make a donation to or through our partners in nature Butterfly Conservation, with Gift Aid if conservation (e.g. National Trust, possible. A donation of £5 could unlock Surrey Wildlife Trust, London Wildlife £50 via the Match Pot Appeal. To Trust) – have played an equally vital donate online, please use the role. dedicated “Match Pot” link at the bottom of the right-hand sidebar on We thank them all: without them this www.butterfly-conservation.org/surrey. report would simply not be possible. This report is also available on the Highlights from the data collected are Branch website. We will decide summarised in this report. whether to send a hard copy next year The weather in 2016 was not kind to based on a review of donations and butterflies and moths. The mild winter, feedback we receive. late spring and very wet June will all If you have any views, please send have had impacts. These effects will them to [email protected], or have been in addition to continued to me at 70 Vassall Road, London habitat degradation, loss of green SW9 6HY. spaces, and impacts from pesticide Surrey & SW London Branch, Butterfly and Moth Report 2016 3 Weather in 2016 Harry E. Clarke The diagrams opposite show the While temperatures were above normal weather data at Heathrow Airport as in September, there was less sunshine. provided by the Met Office. Heathrow Airport data is used because the data The very mild winter will have had a is readily available from the Met Office negative impact on butterflies and website, and it is the closest weather moths. Larvae will have been more station to Surrey. susceptible to fungal infections, especially with the damper weather in The plots show for each month: January. Adults hibernating are likely to be more active during the warmer • Mean daily maximum temperature phase, and hence using up their body • Mean daily minimum temperature reserves. • Total rainfall (rain) Lepidoptera in diapause need a trigger • Total sunshine duration (sun) to know when to come out of diapause, The average figures for each month which is usually temperature related. If (solid lines) are calculated for the years the winters are too mild this can result 1981 to 2010, which is a standard used in the diapause being broken at the by the Met Office. The values for 2016 wrong time. This can result in eggs are shown as dashed lines. hatching too early or too late. November and December 2015 were The cold April resulted in a late spring, exceptionally warm, with both with the flight period not starting until maximum and minimum temperatures May. several degrees above normal. The The wet June had two impacts. The mild weather continued into January lack of sunshine and the rain meant and February. It was only in March and that butterflies could not fly. And the April that temperatures dropped below rain along with warm weather meant the long-term average. that plants grew more quickly, so by June was very wet with little sunshine. the end of the season the sward was The weather returned to normal in July, 50% taller than normal. This had a but with little rain for the rest of the negative impact on those species that season. rely on an early successional habitat. Grayling (male) White-letter Hairstreak on elm Surrey & SW London Branch, Butterfly and Moth Report 2016 4 Maximum and minimum temperature data Rainfall and sunshine data Surrey & SW London Branch, Butterfly and Moth Report 2016 5 Regional Action Plan (RAP) Steve Wheatley, Senior Regional Officer The South East Regional Action Plan butterfly in need of help and we are 2016-2025 is now being delivered launching the Surrey Small Blue across the region, from the south coast Stepping Stones Project to help create to the top of Buckinghamshire and new areas for this butterfly. Oxfordshire, and from the New Forest to the tip of Kent. Surrey is at the heart Other priority butterflies for VC17 are: of the region and will be crucial to the Dingy Skipper, Grizzled Skipper, Silver delivery of species’ conservation at a -spotted Skipper, Dark Green Fritillary, landscape scale. White Admiral, White-letter Hairstreak and Chalk Hill Blue. Four butterflies have been identified as being Highest Priority for conservation We have begun to share our priorities action in VC17 based on data from the and actions with conservation partners, Butterflies for the New Millennium land managers, local authorities and database, 1994 to 2013. others. Targeted and detailed information has • Wood White – distribution down 28% been shared with Surrey Wildlife Trust in the region (for North Downs sites and Barossa • Grayling – stable regionally but near Camberley), National Trust (Box declining in Surrey Hill), Forestry Commission, and sites • Silver-studded Blue – mixed within the London Boroughs, e.g. fortunes across the South East Barnes Common, and Elmbridge. • Adonis Blue – distribution down 8% in Surrey but up 55% elsewhere In addition, we have shared butterfly and moth priorities with 12 Surrey Eleven Surrey moth species have been Parishes along the North Downs. identified as being Highest priority: Abinger Parish and West Horsley have • Drab Looper responded by contributing funding to our Surrey Small Blue Project. • Straw Belle • Shoulder-striped Clover In all, over the last 12 months we have • Heart Moth produced over 30 Action Plan • Silvery Arches summaries for different areas of Surrey • Common Fan-foot and South West London. • Surrey Midget Moth This unprecedented coverage is Phyllonorycter scabiosella generating interest, enthusiasm and • Agonopterix capreolella action that is complementing the work • Depressaria olerella the Branch is already doing. • Betony Case-bearer Next Steps Coleophora wockeella • White-spotted Sable Anania funebris If you have a particular species that you would like to champion, the Branch These are the highest priority species. and the Regional Action Plan can Many other butterflies and moths are support your efforts. It doesn’t have to also identified as requiring action. be one of the top priority species. For example, the Small Blue is a Get in contact with me or the Branch Surrey & SW London Branch, Butterfly and Moth Report 2016 6 and we’ll come up with an action plan, leaved Heath, managed on a long whether it is getting down and dirty with rotation by cutting/scraping.