Fife and Clackmannanshire Butterfly Report 2020 Gillian Fyfe and Elspeth Christie County Recorders for Fife and Clackmannanshire

Looking back at 2020

Butterfly numbers overall in 2020 were back to similar levels to those in 2018 with around 19,500 individual records received for the two counties. This followed the bumper year of 2019 which produced over 88,000 records. Painted Ladies dominated 2019, but Ringlet topped the lists in 2020.

With the coronavirus pandemic keeping everyone close to home throughout the spring and early summer we received some interesting records as recorders scoured their gardens and local environment for butterflies. The start of the recording season was delayed for many transect walkers across the country.

Table 1: Annual totals: top five species in Fife and Clackmannanshire

Rank 2018 2019 2020 1 Small White (3,179) Painted Lady (50,396) Ringlet (3,349) 2 Peacock (2,769) Red Admiral (16,972) Peacock (2,469) 3 Green-veined White Peacock (4,027) Small Tortoiseshell (2,574) (2,364) 4 Ringlet (1,940) Ringlet (3,175) Meadow Brown (1,907) 5 Large White (1,728) Small Tortoiseshell (2,651) Red Admiral (1,813)

At the UK level 2020 was the third good year in a row for butterflies. Records from the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS) showed that recording in Scotland was lower than normal compared to England due to different lockdown rules. The UKBMS includes data from thousands of locations across the UK where butterflies are monitored regularly. In Fife & Clacks we have 8 sites where transects are walked by volunteers every week from the start of April to the end of September. In addition, a network of Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey (WCBS) Grid squares are monitored by Butterfly Conservation or Breeding Bird Survey volunteers. Scotland had 1 species that had record abundance in 2020: Small Heath. Other species found in Fife & Clacks that also did well across Scotland include Orange-tip, Ringlet, Northern Brown Argus, Red Admiral, Peacock, Wall and Speckled Wood. In contrast Grayling continued the significant downward trend of the past 31 years. Further information about the UKBMS can be found online with specific reports available at https://www.ukbms.org/reportsAndPublications

One benefit of lockdown was the chance to take part in online training provided by Butterfly Conservation. An online course in mapping using QGIS has allowed us to produce atlas maps for all the butterfly species occurring in Fife & Clacks. Distribution maps covering the period 2010-2020 are available on the East Scotland Branch website at https://butterfly- conservation.org/in-your-area/east-scotland-branch/fife-and-clackmannanshire-butterflies

The highlights of 2020

The Wall has arrived in Fife! Fife’s biggest butterfly story in 2020 was the number of Wall sightings. In 2019 one individual was recorded on 15th August near Seafield, south of Kirkcaldy. This was the first record since 1870! We hoped for more in 2020 and were not disappointed as records trickled in from the East Neuk in late July and August. Dick Byrne and Cat Hobaiter spotted a beautiful specimen in Kenly Den near Boarhills. Further records came in from around Boarhills, near Crail and at Kincraig Point. In total we received records of 25 individuals. All sightings have been along the coast except for one a few miles south of St Andrews, and 12 on the Isle of May. Records are fairly evenly split between the sexes. So, the big question we hope to answer in 2021 is whether or not there is a breeding population established in Fife now!

Wall - Kenly Den 31st July 2020 - photo by Cat Hobaiter. Second record for Fife.

The first Small Skipper in Fife was recorded at Carlingnose Point Nature Reserve at North Queensferry on 24th July 2019. In July 2020 two male Small Skippers were recorded on the UKBMS transect at Lochore Meadows Country Park. This might have been the same individual with the sightings two weeks apart in the same area. Information from the Borders suggests this is a species that can expand its range rapidly. Will this be the case in Fife? Keep your eyes peeled for Small Skippers in 2021 and help us track this wee gem of a butterfly’s progress across Fife!

Small Skipper. Photo: Diane Wilson

The Northern Brown Argus had an exceptional year at Kincraig near Elie. Hamish Johnston the long-term Northern Brown Argus recorder at Kincraig saw a record breaking 284 butterflies over the season – over twice as many as the previous best year. This butterfly has

a restricted distribution in Fife & Clacks as the larval food plant, Common Rock-rose is rare. In July Ali Shuttleworth found Northern Brown Argus at Monk’s Cave, a headland between Dalgety Bay and Aberdour. This is a new colony and is the most westerly location in Fife. In Clackmannanshire, Northern Brown Argus records came in from around Alva Glen where there is a good population on the steep south facing slopes of the Ochil Hills. A particularly spectacular location to look for this butterfly is on the precipitous slopes below Craigleith where unimproved calcareous grassland has an abundance of Common Rock-rose.

The Speckled Wood has continued its dramatic expansion throughout Fife over the last few years. Since the first record at Shell Bay near Elie on 22 August 2014, this species has dramatically expanded its range across the Kingdom. In 2019, fifty Speckled Wood were recorded largely along the south coast of Fife. Ongoing expansion has resulted in over 160 records in 2020. High numbers (over 10) were recorded at Shell Bay, with other sites including Boarhills, Kirkcaldy, Dalgety Bay and North Queensferry also having multiple records. The first record of a Speckled Wood in Clackmannanshire was in October near Menstrie. This individual most probably arrived from the population in Stirlingshire, and hopefully is the start of an expansion along the Hillfoots.

Species Round up

Fritillaries The Dark Green Fritillary was recorded at over 20 sites in 2020. With 163 records this was down from 240 records submitted in 2019.

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary had a good year in 2020 with 159 records received. This compared favourably with previous years: in 2019, 44 records, and 2018, 65 records. High numbers were recorded on the UKBMS transect at Lochore Meadows with peak sightings of 42 and 39 in early June. Records also came in from Earlshall Muir near Leuchars, Nadarra Wood near Leslie, Tillycoultry Glen and Pitmedden Forest. A new site was discovered by ex- County Recorder Duncan Davidson near Auchtermuchty.

The Vanessids - after the delights of 2019, 2020 was a quieter year particularly for Painted Lady and Red Admiral. In 2019 over 50,000 sightings of Painted Lady butterflies were recorded; 2020 saw numbers plummet to just 101. In 2019 over 15,000 Red Admiral were recorded on the Isle of May making up the bulk of the 17,000 records received across Fife & Clacks in 2019. Numbers dropped in 2020 to 1,813 records.

Over 2,300 records were received for Small Tortoiseshell, slightly down on 2019 numbers, but around four times the number seen in 2018. Fewer records of Peacock (2,469) were submitted in 2020, just over half the number seen in 2019.

Only 55 Comma records received in 2020 compared poorly with 85 in 2019, and 105 in 2018. This species is still relatively new to Fife & Clacks, and has been recorded across both counties with the first caterpillar seen in 2019 providing proof of breeding.

Table 2: Vanessids: total numbers 2018-2020

Species 2018 2019 2020 Comma 105 85 55 Painted Lady 351 50396 101 Peacock 2769 4027 2469 Red Admiral 880 16972 1813 Small Tortoiseshell 620 2651 2364

The Whites Large White, Small White and Green-veined White were recorded in good numbers in 2018 with all three species featuring in the top five ranking for number of records in Fife and Clacks. Since then, numbers have been down, with 2020 figures at about half the number seen in 2018.

Orange-tip were reported from across both counties (560 individuals), with keen eyed recorders also submitting records for eggs and larvae.

Hairstreaks and Blues Green Hairstreak numbers were at about half the level recorded in 2019 with 113 records. A new site for Green Hairstreak was found near Cupar and records were submitted for Tayport

Heath further west than previous historic records. In Fife, this spring beauty was also seen on Lucklawhill near Balmullo, at Tentsmuir Point, Blairadam, West Lomond near Drumdreel Plantation, Harperleas Reservoir and Lochmill Loch. In the Ochils they were recorded at multiple sites by Glyn Edwards. All records were for fewer than 10 butterflies.

The rare Purple Hairstreak which relies on oaks trees, was recorded by Glyn Edwards at Alva Woods and at Tillicoultry, by Colin Edwards at Charlestown, by Colin Whitehead at Devilla and a new site near Auchtermuchty was confirmed by Duncan Davidson. The Purple Hairstreak will be the focus for targeted searches in 2021.

Small Copper numbers were down by more than half compared to 2019 with 612 records. Sadly, this butterfly is in decline nationally, although the larval food plants Common Sorrel and Sheep’s Sorrel, remain fairly common where there is unimproved grassland.

The Common Blue appeared to have had poor years in 2019 and 2020 with just over 300 records in both years. This is about half the number of records received in 2018.

Browns In 2020 Grayling numbers were lower than in 2019. Targeted recording in 2019 produced higher numbers of records (349), probably as a result of increased recorder effort. A total of 79 were seen in north east Fife in 2020.

Monitoring continued in 2020 at a disused quarry at an inland site. Gillian Fyfe, Wendy Irons and a member of the quarry staff visited in August and observed 8 Grayling. Wendy continued to monitor Grayling along with other butterflies and wildlife there throughout the summer. Grayling were first recorded here in 2010 by George Adam.

The main stronghold for Grayling runs from Tentsmuir Point, south along the coastal dunes to Kinshaldy, and beyond to Reres Wood on the northern shore of the Eden Estuary. Numbers continue to decline on the UKBMS Transects on the National Nature Reserve (NNR) raising concern for the long-term viability of this species here. Restrictions imposed by Covid-19 delayed habitat management for Grayling and other dune invertebrates on the NNR. This project is one we hope to make progress with in 2021.

Meadow Brown had a good year with over 1,900 records received. Ringlet had a very good year with 3,349 records. High numbers were seen at Gartmorn Dam, Norman’s Law, Cameron Reservoir and Tentsmuir NNR. Small Heath did slightly better in 2020 with just over 1,000 records. Across Scotland the Small Heath had its best year on record.

2021 Opportunities

Grayling If you are interested in volunteering to help with either practical conservation work and/or Grayling monitoring at Tentsmuir, Kinshaldy or Earlshall Muir please do get in touch.

Purple Hairstreak Chris Stamp will be running a Purple Hairstreak training evening the week of 19th July at a site in west Fife. The training will prepare volunteers to carry out their own surveys for this elusive species. Chris has drawn up a list of potential locations focusing on mature oak trees which volunteers will be asked to survey on sunny afternoons in August.

The Northern Brown Argus (NBA) This stunning wee butterfly is found at just a few select locations in Fife and Clacks where Common Rock-rose grows. Hamish Johnston monitors the transect each year at Kincraig and is leading the project to survey for NBA at all locations in Fife where Common Rock-rose occurs.

The Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey (WCBS) aims to monitor randomly generated 1km grid squares across the UK. The survey requires a minimum of 2 visits to the square between May and August to count butterflies along two 1 km survey lines running roughly north-south through the square. If you would like to adopt a square, please contact Richard Buckland the WCBS co-ordinator for Butterfly Conservation at [email protected]. Available squares are NO4603 (Balchrystie), NO5115 (St Andrews), NO3006 (Kettlebridge), NO2306 (Falkland Hills), NO2920 (Ayton Hill), NO2602 (Glenrothes).

If you are interested in any of these opportunities, please get in touch by email at [email protected] for more details.

How to send in records: 1. Via email at [email protected]. Please include the date, number seen, location and grid reference or postcode. It really helps us if you include the name of the nearest village or town. 2. If you have lots of records, please consider using our dedicated spreadsheet. Available from us via email or download from the website of the East of Scotland Branch of Butterfly Conservation. (https://butterfly-conservation.org/in-your-area/east-scotland-branch/recording- butterflies-and-moths) 3. Via iRecord – either through the iRecord website or the iRecord Butterflies App. Please enter the name of the nearest village or town in the “location” box - ‘in my garden’ or ‘the woods’ is not sufficient! 4. By submitting to another recording scheme for example Fife Nature (https://beautiful.fife.scot /fife-nature-records-centre) or The Wildlife Information Centre (TWIC) – https://www.wildlifeinformation.co.uk.)

Please ensure you do not duplicate records by sending them to more than one recording scheme. We share our records with iRecord, FifeNature and TWIC and vice versa. How to contact us: by email at [email protected] Information: For butterfly and moth information, including events, visit the East Scotland Branch website https://butterfly-conservation.org/in-your-area/east-scotland-branch

Thanks to all Recorders: Many thanks to all of you who took time to send records in during 2020. All your hard work is much appreciated and is essential for building the long- term dataset which will inform butterfly conservation work in the future. If you were new to recording in 2020, we hope you will continue this year. Particular thanks to our ‘Super Recorders’ – George Adam, Michael Ashburn, Alastair Ballantine, Gordon Baxter, Stephen Buckland, Elspeth Christie, David Christopher, Duncan Davidson, Glyn Edwards, Gillian Fyfe, Lesley Gordon, Kathryn Green, George Guthrie, Wendy Irons, Isle of May staff & volunteers led by Bex Outram, Hamish Johnston, Julia Miflin, Simon Pinder, Kelly Robinson, Louise Russell, Ali Shuttleworth, Richard Smith, and Diane Wilson. The work of the wonderful teams of Transect Walkers who monitor the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme transects across Fife & Clacks is also much appreciated - Alva Glen: Glyn Edwards; Auchtermuchty Common: Nick Ince, Clare Reaney; Cullaloe: Lesley Gordon, Julia Miflin. Kincraig: Hamish Johnston; Lochore Meadows: George Guthrie, Diane Wilson, Derek Robertson and another recorder; Longcarse: Neil Bielby; Morton Lochs: Gerry Callaghan; Tentsmuir Point North: Ailsa Malcolm, Elspeth Christie, Tom Cunningham, Ruth Blackburn, Marijke Leith; Tentsmuir Point South: Daphne Macfarlane Smith, Gillian Fyfe. Many thanks to Paul Blackburn and Helen McLaren who monitor Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey squares.

And thanks to all Butterfly Conservation staff for your continued support throughout 2020