NORTH EAST ENGLAND BRANCH
BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION
BUTTERFLY SUMMARY
2009 North East England
Compiled by Dave O’Brien, Roger Norman & Steve le Fleming Butterfly Conservation
CONTENTS
Page number
Contents Page ...... Inside front cover Recorder’s Review ...... 3 Monthly Butterfly Summary ...... 6 Weather Summary ...... 8 Species Accounts: 2009 ...... 10 Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris) ...... 10 Large Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus) ...... 11 Dingy Skipper (Erynnis tages) ...... 12 Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus) ...... 14 Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) ...... 14 Large White (Pieris brassicae) ...... 14 Small White (Pieris rapae) ...... 16 Green-veined White (Pieris napi) ...... 17 Orange Tip (Anthocharis cardamines) ...... 18 Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi) ...... 20 Purple Hairstreak (Neozephyrus quercus) ...... 21 White-letter Hairstreak (Satyrium w-album) ...... 22 Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) ...... 23 Brown Argus (Plebeius (Aricia) agestis) ...... 24 Northern Brown Argus (Plebeius (Aricia) artaxerxes) ...... 26 Long-tailed Blue (Lampides boeticus) ...... 27 Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) ...... 27 Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) ...... 29 Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) ...... 30 Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) ...... 31 Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) ...... 33 Peacock (Inachis io) ...... 34 Comma (Polygonia c-album) ...... 35 Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary (Boloria selene) ...... 37 Dark Green Fritillary (Argynnis aglaja) ...... 38 Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) ...... 40 Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera) ...... 41 Marbled White (Melanargia galathea) ...... 42 Grayling (Hipparchia semele) ...... 43 Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus) ...... 44 Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) ...... 45 Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus) ...... 46 Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) ...... 47 Large Heath (Coenonympha tullia) ...... 48 Contributors ...... 50 Flight Period Table ...... 52 Species Abundance Comparison Table ...... 53 Graphs showing changes in abundance for Small White, Small Copper, Red Admiral & Ringlet ...... 54 Submitting Butterfly Records in 2010 ...... Inside back cover North East England Branch Committee Members ...... Back cover
(Front cover: Painted Lady, Terry Coult)
The latest annual report, newsletter and Branch details are available on the website: www.northeast-butterflies.org.uk 2 RECORDERS’ REVIEW
Introduction: 2009 was a bumper year for records with 18506 records of butterfly sightings from over 160 contributors. The records total submitted just exceeds our previous record year of 2006, which was a year when the sun really shone. Below we show where the recording took place in 2009, with a total of 638 tetrads visited.
NORTHUMBERLAND & DURHAM TETRADS VISITED IN 2009
Recording: 2009 was, of course, the year of the Painted Lady which arrived in large numbers in May, but was not the only immigrant to our region: a Long-tailed Blue was recorded at New Hartley, evidently an unwitting passenger in imported foodstuffs. It was unlikely to have found a mate, whereas the Painted Ladies bred to produce fresh specimens later in the season which apparently headed home in the autumn; it will be interesting to see if any hibernated here to emerge in the spring. However, that other migrant, Clouded Yellow was not seen here in 2009.
The summer weather in our region was again poor, not quite as bad as 2008, but enough to affect some species noticeably: some of the UK Biodiversity Action Plan's priority species, Large Heath, Wall, Grayling and Dingy Skipper apear to have coped quite well in places, while Northern Brown Argus has declined despite being rediscovered in old habitat, and interesting ova records were submitted for White-letter Hairstreak. Of the species not given priority status even the ubiquitous Meadow Brown, normally resilient, took a heavy hit, and Holly Blue was recorded rarely enough to suggest that its population has shrunk catastrophically; we shall have to make a special point of looking for this butterfly whose first brood normally appears in mid-
3 April. We shall also be hoping to see Gatekeeper establish itself more securely in the region after a very thin year.
The graph below shows that our records database grew steadily over the first part of the Butterflies for the New Millennium Project and that recorders have maintained their enthusiasm over the subsequent years, despite the fluctuations in our summer weather that we have experienced recently.
NORTH EAST ENGLAND: RECORDS & RECORDERS, 1995 - 2009 20,000 250 18,000 Records 16,000 Recorders 200 14,000 12,000 150 10,000 8,000 100 6,000 Recorders (line) Recorders
Records (columns) 4,000 50 2,000 0 0
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Year
In 2009 Butterfly Conservation introduced its Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey (WCBS): the idea was to try to discover how widespread butterflies are, not just in the hotspots of people's gardens or the sites patrolled by transect walkers, but in a random scatter of OS grid squares which might or might not contain any butterflies. Volunteers were sent a map of their square(s) and asked to plot two 1 km. walks on it, ideally parallel and not closer than 200 metres apart, to get permission from landowners, to submit the route for approval and to undertake a minimum of two walks in the summer. Special thanks to everyone who struggled through remote bogs or trudged urban streets possibly devoid of butterflies. WCBS was something of an experiment, but is now going to continue in 2010; more volunteers should approach Brian Denham, our transect co-ordinator.
As well as casual records, we collect data from regular transect walkers and, in 2009 a total of 28 transect were covered giving valuable systematic data for headquarters which will be used to assess trends in numbers of our commoner species. Given the population of this corner of England and our relatively small membership, this is a magnificent total and congratulations are due to everyone who took part. Whereas casual records are used to assess distribution and ranges, transect data is used to assess changes in abundance from year to year and decade to decade and is a key conservation tool.
2009 marked the end of the third five-yearly phase of the Butterflies for the New Millennium Project. The end of the first phase was marked by the publication of the Atlas1 and the end of the second phase by an update2. It is anticipated that these will be brought up-to-date by a further publication in due course, to which our regional records will have made a valuable contribution.
In the meantime, I trust you will all keep on recording, particularly of our less common species as without records, we cannot tell how they are faring.
1 Asher, J., Warren, M., Fox, R., Harding, P., Jeffcoate, P., Jeffcoate, S., 2001. The Millennium Atlas of Butterflies in Britain and Ireland. OUP, Oxford. 2 Fox, R., Asher, J., Brereton, T., Roy, D., Warren, M., 2006. The State of Butterflies in Britain and Ireland. Pisces Publications, Newbury, Berks.
4 The map below shows the tetrads from which we have not yet received records since the start of the BNM project in 1995.
NORTHUMBERLAND & DURHAM 1995 – 2009, TETRADS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN VISITED
There are still 300 tetrads (2km x 2km squares) among the 2229 which constitute our region which have never had a butterfly recorded, so some original observations can still be made. The more records we get the happier we are, (but, of course, if estimating a large number it is essential to err on the conservative side rather than exaggerate).
2009 saw the full implementation of our North East England Branch of Butterfly Conservation website, www.northeast-butterflies.org.uk, set up and managed by Jonathan Wallace; interesting sightings can be e-mailed to him for posting on the site, as can good photos. News of events and details of good butterfly sites in the region, and dates of the AGM, etc. are also to be found here.
A massive thank you is due to all those recorders who diligently collate and send in their records, every one of which contributes to the developing picture of the state of our butterflies and ultimately of our environment in general. Any casual record of a sighting showing species, number, date and OS grid reference number is welcome; it is helpful if records are submitted 'electronically' as explained on the inside back cover of this Summary, or else by post on the yellow casual record sheet which came with it. We know the effort this requires, and hope that in producing this 2009 Butterfly Annual Report, we have done justice to you all. The recorders would like to thank everyone who sent records and photographs in, without whom, this report would not be possible. We hope that you find it interesting and a valuable record of the year’s butterfly action.
Whilst the photographs in the report are in black & white for cost reasons, they can be seen in colour in the website version which can be downloaded until approximately Easter 2011.
5 MONTHLY BUTTERFLY SUMMARY 2009
JANUARY: The first butterfly of the year was a Small Tortoiseshell on 9th of the month. This was the only adult butterfly of the month. This was followed by the discovery of a Small Copper larva and then ova of White-letter Hairstreak.
FEBRUARY: Further larvae of White-letter Hairstreak and Small Copper were found during the month and the only adult butterflies were two single records of Small Tortoiseshell near the end of the month.
MARCH: Once again, the month started off with the discovery of White-letter Hairstreak and Small Copper larvae, followed by an adult Small Tortoiseshell during the first week. Peacock was then on the wing followed by the extraordinary record of a Long-tailed Blue. Comma, followed by a Red Admiral and then Small and Large White successively made their appearance in mid-month. Comma were unusually abundant so early in the year with 29 being noted by observers throughout the region on 22nd. At the very end of the month, Green-veined White and an early Orange Tip appeared.
APRIL: Speckled Wood made an earliest ever appearance on 2nd with a total of four seen. A very early Painted Lady on the 12th was followed by Holly Blue on the 18th and Wall Brown the next day. This started what turned out to be a disastrous year for Holly Blue with only a handful of spring records and none seen in the autumn. Green hairstreak appeared on the 11th, a record earliest date, followed by Dingy Skipper and Small Copper on 25th.
MAY: A second Painted Lady was seen on the 11th followed by one on the 13th and then almost daily thereafter in what turned out to be an amazing season for the species. Another six species then appeared during the month: Small Heath emerged on 11th, followed by Common Blue on the 21st and Large Skipper three days later. In the last week Meadow Brown made an appearance and one of only three Brimstone this year appeared on the 31st. The first Brown Argus was also found, all this year’s records being on Teesside. Twenty-one species were on the wing by the end of the month. The last Holly Blue of the year was seen on the 28th!
JUNE: Northern Brown Argus and Small Skipper were the first butterflies of the month to make an appearance, with the former on the 1st and the latter on the 8th. The 3rd marked the end of sightings of Green Hairstreak. Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary and Ringlet were both found on the 10th. In the last week of the month three more species emerged on the wing, Dark Green Fritillary on 24th was followed by Large Heath the next day with Marbled White on the last day of the month.
JULY: Only four species remained unrecorded at the start of the month, White-letter Hairstreak was seen on 1st and Grayling on 5th. Purple Hairstreak appeared on the 14th and the first of only two records of Gatekeeper was on the 23rd. The last record for Orange tip was submitted on the 3rd followed by those for Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary and Large Heath by the middle of the month.
AUGUST: In total, eleven species ended their flight periods in August, the first being Brimstone after a very poor year. There were no second generation records of Holly Blue which also had a terrible year. The last date for Gatekeeper, 11th of the month was a record late date for this very rare species for Durham. However, there was a remarkable sighting of Dingy Skipper on 22nd, an individual of what might be presumed to be a second generation individual, the first such record since 2001. Painted Lady hit their peak abundance also on the 22nd when a remarkable 473 were found throughout the region. 6
SEPTEMBER: Fifteen species were still flying at the start of the month and twelve at the month’s end. The three that ended their flight periods were Small Skipper of the 1st, followed by Meadow Brown on 11th and Small Heath on 24th. Comma hit their usual late autumn peak with 18 being found on 26th and Painted Lady were still abundant through the month.
OCTOBER: A further nine species ended their flight periods during the month, the first being Green-veined White on the 4th and the last two being Painted Lady and Small Tortoiseshell on the 29th and 31st respectively.
NOVEMBER: Only three species were still flying at the start of the month, with Peacock last being recorded on 4th, followed by Comma on 11th and the last Red Admiral being noted on 28th.
DECEMBER: For once there were no records for what turned out to be a very cold month and the start of a particularly cold winter.
Long-tailed Blue, a presumed beneficiary of an assisted passage, photographed at New Hartley, Northumberland on 12th March 2009, by Hew Ellis.
7
WEATHER SUMMARY 2009
Copley Observatory, 9 km NNE of Barnard Castle, Co Durham
Elevation: 253 metres (830ft) Grid Reference NZ 084 254
2009 Temperature (oC) Rain (mm) Mean Mean Rain Month Mean Max Date Min Date Rain Max obs Date max min days Jan 4.4 -0.6 1.9 9.0 11 -7.6 06 55.1 21 8.4 18 Feb 5.4 0.6 3.0 13.3 17 -5.9 08 49.3 12 31.0 02 Mar 9.4 1.9 5.6 15.9 18 -5.4 05 26.6 10 5.6 07 Apr 12.7 3.4 8.1 19.6 20 -1.1 12 46.3 10 25.4 28 May 14.6 5.4 10.0 23.2 29 1.8 10 43.7 15 15.9 15 Jun 17.2 8.0 12.6 24.3 02 1.1 05 72.4 15 29.4 05 Jul 18.7 10.3 14.5 26.0 02 5.9 11 267.9 23 87.9 01 Aug 19.1 10.9 15.0 23.9 19 7.2 25 39.5 20 11.1 31 Sep 16.2 8.8 12.5 22.3 12 4.2 18 20.1 8 13.0 02 Oct 12.2 5.7 8.9 14.9 06 -0.7 09 62.9 20 10.6 24 Nov 8.5 3.2 5.8 12.9 19 -0.7 07 184.7 28 28.4 17 Dec 3.6 -1.1 1.2 8.9 09 -7.7 22 101.4 25 10.2 16
2009 SUMMARY: TEMPERATURE, RAINFALL AND SUNSHINE
DIFFERENCES FROM 1971 - 2000 AVERAGES
Month Mean (OC) OC Difference Rain (mm) % of Average Sun (hr/day) % of Average Jan 1.9 -0.4 55.1 70 2.2 121 Feb 3.0 0.6 49.3 87 2.5 91 Mar 5.6 1.6 26.6 42 6.2 172 Apr 8.1 2.1 46.3 79 4.9 96 May 10.0 1.0 43.7 73 7.0 117 Jun 12.6 0.7 72.4 106 5.3 81 Jul 14.5 0.1 267.9 447 5.6 99 Aug 15.0 0.7 39.5 54 4.3 82 Sep 12.5 1.0 20.1 28 4.3 97 Oct 8.9 0.9 62.9 84 3.3 99 Nov 5.8 1.0 184.7 250 2.3 110 Dec 1.2 -1.9 101.4 124 2.1 134 2009 8.3 0.7 969.9 118 4.2 104
Acknowledgments: The Branch is again grateful to Ken Cook of the Copley Climatological Station (http://copley.website.orange.co.uk) for providing the statistical weather data as shown above. Ken comments that 2009 was a cooler year than recently, although still above normal, mainly because January and December were cold and snowy. Spring was dry and sunny but June once again was dull, as was August. Rainfall was above average thanks to the wettest month on record in July and a wet November, but early autumn was dry. Sunshine was close to normal with March being exceptionally sunny. Given the strong links climate and weather have on butterflies, this data provides valuable context to the annual report. Butterfly Conservation would like to thank Ken for collating the data above, and for allowing its subsequent use in this report. 8 The three graphs below show the main features of the weather in 2009. Temperature was a little above average for the spring and autumn and was followed by a December which was colder than recent years. The most dramatic feature however was the rainfall, with July being extraordinarily wet, with almost four and a half times the long-term average. This frustrated field-work during what should have been a peak month for surveying some of our specialist butterflies.
Temperature at Copley Weather Station in 2009 16 Monthly 14 temperature Difference from 12 long-term mean 10 8 6 4 Degrees, 'C 2 0 -2 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Month
Monthly Rainfall at Copley Weather Station in 2009 280 Monthly rainfall 240 Long-term average
200
160
120
80 Monthly rainfall, mm 40
0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Month
Monthly Sunshine at Copley Weather Station in 2009
8 Monthly sunshine 7 Long-term average 6 5 4 3 2
Sunshine, hours/day 1 0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Month
9 Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris)
2009: A total of 449 (514) records were received with a total of 4584 (4108) individuals being recorded, indicating a reasonable season for the species. The 2008 figures are shown in brackets for comparison.
SMALL SKIPPER 1995 – 2009 The first Durham sighting 628 recorded tetrads out of 1989 was by Ms. H. Dunn with 5 21 new tetrads in at Winlaton on the 10th June, 2009 (+3.5%) three days later than the 2008 first. The first sighting in Northumberland was from Maurice McNeely with one at the Cocklawburn Dunes transect on the 8th June. This was 15 days earlier than the 2008 Northumberland first. There was one individual record of 124 in one day, by Hew Ellis at Silverlink, North Shields on the 12th of July, but the average individual sighting was about ten. There was a daily peak of 344 (total of all records for one day) on the 11th July followed by three daily peaks of between 300 and 344 on the 12th, 19th and 24th of July. Sightings of any significant numbers ceased in the first week in August. The last Northumberland sightings were singles by Dave Stebbings at Havannah N.R. on the 22nd August, and by Gordon Simpson in Redesdale Forest on 27th. The final sightings in Durham were of two by Dave Liddle at Burn Hill followed by one by Gordon Simpson at Euden Beck in Hamsterley Forest, on the 1st of September. The species was recorded in 130 tetrads, of which 21 were new. For North East transects, Small Skipper numbers were up by 24% on 2008 numbers. Small skippers were on the wing for 86 days and recorded on 62 days (72%)
Small Skipper - 2009 400 350 300 250 200
Number 150 100 50 0 Jun Jul Aug Sep Date
10 Large Skipper (Ochlodes faunus)
2009: A total of three hundred and one records were received. These recorded 1039 individual butterflies. The flight period covered eighty-six days and the Large Skipper was seen on fifty-eight, (67%) of these days. Numbers recorded were well up compared to the poor year in 2008 for this species, but it was still a below-average year. The Large Skipper finds brownfield sites such as disused pits, quarries and railway tracks to its liking. As our region is well endowed with such sites its not surprising many sightings come from them.
LARGE SKIPPER 1995 – 2009 The first appearance in 495 recorded tetrads Durham was recorded by out of 1989 Steve Le Fleming who saw 15 new tetrads in 2009 (+3.1%) one at Bishop Middleham Quarry on 24th May. The first Northumberland record came from Malcolm Hutcheson with two at Old Dryburn near Lowick on 29th May. These dates are pretty much the average for the emergence of the species in the north east. This is never a really numerous butterfly and most counts received were in single figures. The highest total anywhere in the region came from Keith Smith who counted an impressive 30 at Earsdon Junction, Shiremoor in North Tyneside on 13th June. Other notable counts came from Mike Coates who saw 24 at Collingwood Field, Tynemouth on 14th July and Barry & Jean Robinson with 23 at Southwick, Sunderland on 11th July, this latter count being the highest total recorded in Durham for the year. The final record of the season for Durham came from Pippa Smaling who saw 6 at West Park Nature Reserve, Darlington on 27th July. This site produced consistently good counts throughout the flight period. Northumberland’s last record was from the Alnwick Wildlife Group who spotted one at Swarland on 17th August, quite a late date for this species. The species was seen in 105 tetrads, of which 15 were new.
11
Large Skipper - 2009 80 70 60 50 40
Number 30 20 10 0 May Jun Jul Aug Date
Dingy Skipper (Erynnis tages)
2009: Almost inevitably it was Bob Mawson who reported Durham’s first sightings from Raisby Way on 25th April. This represented a relatively early start to the flight period (Bob’s first record the previous year was a fortnight later).
DINGY SKIPPER 1995 – 2009 A further 15 days elapsed before Dave Stebbings got 181 recorded tetrads out of 1989 Northumberland off to a 7 new tetrads in belated start with a report of 2009 (+4.0%) three adults from Havannah Local Nature Reserve on May 10th. By this time, Brian Pollinger had recorded the first of the region’s double figure counts (11 at Stargate Ponds on May 7th). In total, 22 double figure counts were recorded, suggesting that the species had experienced a pretty good year. Most of these counts were made at the well-known hotspots such as Raisby Way (where Bob Mawson made seven counts on different days of ten or more adults), Bishop Middleham Quarry, (top counts of 23 made by Jonathan Wallace and T. & D. Nelson independently), and Stargate Ponds (where Becky Hetherington and Brian Pollinger made several counts of 10 plus, with a best of 21). Pleasingly, some large counts were also made at less well-known sites: Dave Liddle had 25 on his transect at Burn Hill and a further 11 at Morrison Busty Pit Yard; Dave Wainwright counted 17 on the sea wall at Greenabella on Teesside and Jonathan Wallace recorded 14 at Paradise, Newcastle. However, by far and away the highest count was made by Liz Naughton,
12 Marty Anderson & Roger Norman at Chevington Wood on May 25th where they counted 37 Dingy Skippers, confirming this to be a very important site.
The flight period appeared to peak on May 29th with a regional total of 114 adults recorded. Northumberland’s season ended on June 14th, when Jonathan Wallace saw four butterflies at Paradise in Scotswood. Becky Hetherington recorded (and photographed!) Durham’s last on the astonishingly-late date of August 22nd. This is a record for our region and it would be interesting to know whether it was a late-emerging first generation or a second generation individual. Becky’s sighting was made at Stargate Pond and it would probably be appropriate to mention here the sterling work that Gateshead council staff have done towards improving this site for butterflies.
As alluded to previously, Dingy Skipper did well in 2009. An annual total of 861 compared favourably to corresponding figures from 2008 and 2007 (518 and 582 respectively). Dingy Skippers were seen on 45 out of 68 days of the regular flight period, (i.e. ignoring the very late record) which equates to 66% of possible days. Dingy Skipper was recorded in 43 tetrads, of which 7 were new.
Dingy Skipper - 2009
120 100 80 60
Number 40 20 0 Apr May Jun Jul Aug Date
Dingy Skipper, photographed by Rebecca Hetherington at Stargate Ponds on the remarkably late date of 22nd August.
13 Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus)
2009: There were no records of Clouded Yellow in the region in 2009, despite the massive influx of its fellow migrant Painted lady.
Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni)
2009: There were only three records for this rare wanderer from the south. The first was in a new tetrad in Berwick, recorded by Mr Hardie on 31st May.
BRIMSTONE 1995 – 2009
This was followed by a sighting by Pippa Smaling on her West Park 36 recorded tetrads th out of 1989 NR transect in Darlington on 24 1 new tetrad in 2009 June. (+2.9%) Finally, Mike Hunter saw one in Darlington on 4th August.
There have been 40 records in Northumberland and Durham over the 15 years since the start of the BMN project, so three records is a typical tally. Brimstone is an established species as close as the southern escarpment of the North York Moors, but it needs either Common or Alder Buckthorn for breeding and the northern limits of these species lie to the south of our region so any colonisation may have to rely on amenity or garden planting.
Large White (Pieris brassicae)
2009: With 2061 records received and 7875 individuals counted, Large White appears to have had a very good year in 2009 in North East England and it will be interesting in due course to see how this picture compares with the rest of the country. It was recorded in 297 tetrads of which 23 were new and it was seen on 178 days within an overall flight period of 209 days (85%). The first record of the year was by Graham Mitchell at Hardwick Hall, County Durham on 18th March, one day later than the region’s record earliest sighting for this species in 1999. Mike Nattrass and Mike Coates independently claimed Northumberland’s first record of the year two days later on 20th March, both at Northumberland Park, Tynemouth. Numbers of records increased steadily from about the middle of April onwards and the first generation reached a peak on 13th May when a total of 120 individual butterflies were recorded across the two counties.
14
LARGE WHITE 1995 – 2009 The highest individual site 1195 recorded tetrads out of 1989 count during the first 23 new tetrads in generation was 20 2009 (+2.0%) butterflies, which occurred on three occasions: on 13th May by Morag Marsden at Gibside, on 21st May by Heather Dunn at Heather’s Field near Winlaton and on 16th June by Brian Denham at the RSPB’s Saltholme reserve in the north Tees area. The highest Northumberland count during this period was by Hewitt Ellis who counted 16 on the Blyth riverside, Bedlington on 7th May. He also recorded a further 15 on the other side of the river on the same day. After falling away towards the end of June, numbers began to pick up again during July and the second generation gathered force from the middle of this month onwards up to a peak on 3rd August when a total of 400 individual butterflies were recorded. The highest individual count during the second generation was made by Malcolm Hutcheson at Needle’s Eye near Berwick on 3rd August when he counted 96 individuals. The next highest counts were by Keith Smith who counted 68 at Holystone Farm on 9th August, and by Pippa Smaling who counted 53 at West Park Nature Reserve, Darlington on 3rd August . Numbers of sightings dwindled through September and the last record for Durham was a singleton on 29th September at Tanfield Lea Marsh, seen by John Almond. In Northumberland the species clung on for a little longer with sixteen records during October and the very last record for the year was of two individuals at Little Beach, Berwick by Malcolm Hutcheson on 12th October. There were 11 records of immature stages of Large White in 2009. These comprised four larval records from the Ouseburn area of Newcastle, all from Mike Jefferies with the remainder being ova. Of these, one was recorded by Hewitt Ellis in Tynemouth and the rest also by Mike in the Ouseburn area.
Large White - 2009 450 400 350 300 250 200 Number 150 100 50 0 Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Date
15 Small White (Pieris rapae)
2009: Small White generated 1760 records comprising 9372 individuals. By comparison, the corresponding figures for 2008 were 1089 records and 4271 individuals, so our second commonest white had a very good year.
SMALL WHITE 1995 – 2009
The first record was at 1117 recorded Birtley Sewage Works on tetrads out of 1989 th 17 new tetrads in the 17 March by Keith 2009 (+1.5%) Robson. This was followed by another singleton at Chester le Street on the 18th made by A. Edwards. The rest of March registered only ones and twos. Numbers increased during April with 8 recorded on 5th by Andrew Paciorek at the Allotments in Howden. Records improved by 22nd April, with 17 reported by Roslyn Tanner at Brierdene Farm. By far the largest count of the first generation was also by Roslyn who counted 48, also at Brierdene Farm, on 24th May. In July 20 were recorded on the 12th at Newburn Riverside by Keith Smith as the second generation emerged. Numbers then rapidly increased through the rest of July with 46 seen by Pippa Smaling at West Park Nature Reserve. On the 27th July 50 were seen by Pippa again at West Park N.R. and David Stebbings had 44 at Havannah LNR on 30th July. The end of July produced 26 at Holywell Pond for Ian Davidson, 22 at Chiswick Shiel for Malcolm Hutcheson and another 22 at Thrislington NNR for John Hope. The 2nd August had 24 at Double Dyke for Bob Mawson. This was followed by the largest count of the year, of 224 by Malcolm Hutcheson at Needles Eye on 3rd August. August’s records for the rest of the month were very good with 200 at the Allotments in Howden seen by Yolanda Paciorek and another 200 for Mike Richardson at Whittle Dene Reservoir, both on the 24th. Counts fell away through September and the last records of the year were made on 18th October of singles at Earsdon, in North Tyneside by Russell Pannell and at Berwick Little Beach by Malcolm Hutcheson.
Small White was recorded on 181 days out of a flight period of 216, (84%).
16 Small White - 2009 800 700 600 500 400
Number 300 200 100 0 Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Date
Green-veined White (Pieris napi)
2009: A total of 6668 Green-veined Whites, plus two mating pairs, was logged in the region from 1399 records, representing a significant increase in reporting levels over 2008, (3291 and 950 respectively). The butterfly was recorded on 159 of the 189 days (84%) of its flight period (2008 – 77%) and found in 21 new tetrads.
GREEN-VEINED WHITE 1995 – 2009 The first sighting was reported by Keith Smith on 1550 recorded 30th March at Spetchells tetrads out of 1989 21 new tetrads in between Ovingham and 2009 (+1.4%) Wylam. Numbers built up slowly through April with top daily counts of 47 on 19th, 90 on 25th and 55 on 29th. May saw rising daily counts including three of over 100, peaking with 215 on 29th May – a much stronger first generation than in 2008. There followed another, lesser peak in late June, (110 reported on 24th), before a build up through July to the 429 individuals counted on 6th August, representing the high point of the second generation. There were two more counts of over 200 in mid August, before the butterfly faded to single figures in September. The last sightings were on 4th October of single butterflies by Ian Scott at Bishop Middleham and Hewett Ellis at Shiremoor.
While total sightings from multiple observers were respectable, there were surprisingly few large counts of this very widespread species from individuals; there was only one of over 100,– on 5th August from Alnwick Wildlife Group at Bowsden, c.10km. south of Berwick. Among the 1399 records submitted there were only 12 individual counts of over 40. This is probably due to
17 caution in identifying a flying specimen; perhaps there should be a category of ufw, unidentified flying white.
Green-veined White - 2009 450 400 350 300 250 200 Number 150 100 50 0 Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Date
Green-veined White, photo by Roslyn Tanner, 25th August 2009.
Orange Tip (Anthocharis cardamines)
2009: There were 560 records of Orange Tip submitted in 2009 and the species was recorded in 171 tetrads of which 20 were new. This might be taken to indicate a reasonable year for the Orange Tip but it is noteworthy that the number of individuals recorded was only 1,434 which is lower than 2008 (1,522), and not much more than half of the totals recorded in 2007, (2,242) and 2006, (2,013). The flight period lasted 95 days and the species was reported on 69 days (73%).
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ORANGE-TIP 1995 – 2009
Jaci Beaven recorded the
936 recorded tetrads year’s first Orange Tip in her out of 1989 Alnwick garden at the early 20 new tetrads in st 2009 (+2.2%) date of 31 March. Other early season sightings were by Chris McClaren at Low Thornley on 1st April, David Stebbings at Havannah LNR on 2nd April and Keith Smith on 5th April at Close House. The next sightings were of 20 at Shibdon Ponds LNR on 11th by Keith Robson which was the equal highest individual count of the year. Thereafter there was a steady flow of sightings with peak numbers reached on 20th April when there were 29 records of 83 individual butterflies. Similar numbers were recorded on several days through the remainder of April and May but numbers of records dwindled through June. In addition to Keith Robson’s record at Shibdon Pond, already noted, there were two other individual counts of 20 butterflies: at Swarland on 26th April, by Alnwick Wildlife Group and at Bowes Valley Nature Reserve on 10th May, reported to the Gateshead Birders website. The next highest count was of 18 by Keith Smith on 10th June on the Pennine Way in the Wark Forest The last sighting of the year in Durham was at Shibdon Ponds by George Simpson on 1st July and for Northumberland, the last sighting was on 3rd July at Fourlaws Forest, Northumberland by Ian Kerr.
There were no records of larvae in 2009 but there were 28 records of Orange Tip ova, with 21 of these from Hew Ellis. Records of ova were also submitted by Bob Mawson, Mike Jefferies and Jonathan Wallace.
Orange Tip - 2009 90 80 70 60 50 40 Number 30 20 10 0 Mar Apr May Jun Jul Date
19 Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi)
2009: 25 records came in from 6 reporters on 14 of the butterfly's noted possible flight period of 57 days (25%), and the number of individuals sighted – 150 – was also well up on last year's meagre 28. The average number sighted on each occasion was 6 compared to 2.8 last year which suggests a recovery, but the total is still only half the 301 individuals seen in 2007.
GREEN HAIRSTREAK 1995 – 2009 Keith Smith spotted the first specimen at Dipton Wood on 11th April, equalling 1997 83 recorded tetrads out of 1989 and 2003 as the region's 1 new tetrad in 2009 earliest. The next sightings, (+1.2%) multiples by Keith Smith and Dave Wainwright at Dipton Wood and Hedleyhope Fell respectively, were not till 20th April, which proved to mark the peak daily count of 43. A day's total of 28 was reached on 24th April by Keith Smith again at Dipton Wood, and of 23 on 11th May by Keith, Dave Wainwright and Dave Liddle at Dipton Wood, Hedleyhope Fell and Burn Hill respectively. The butterfly was found in seven tetrads in 2009, including a new one to add to the 80 in which it had been reported in 1995-2008. The last individual was seen by Dave Wainwright on 3rd June. As the map shows, this is a widely, if thinly distributed butterfly, which can also be quite unobtrusive. If anyone wanders near a bilberry patch between mid April and early June – please keep an eye open…
Green Hairstreak - 2009 50
40
30
20 Number
10
0 Apr May Jun Date
20
Purple Hairstreak (Neozephyrus quercus)
2009: Another poor year for records of this elusive canopy dweller: 24 individual butterflies were seen by eight recorders who sent in a total of 12 reports of sightings from 8 tetrads, one of them new for the species. The records were spread over 9 days between 14th July and 27th August, representing 20% of the butterfly's observed flight period of 45 days. The butterfly was found at nine sites in the region.
PURPLE HAIRSTREAK 1995 – 2009 Brian Pollinger found the first 67 recorded tetrads of the year at Milkwell Burn out of 1989 th 1 new tetrad in 2009 Wood on 14 July and on the (+1.5%) 18th the Gateshead Birders’ website reported two at Kibblesworth Brickworks, Dave Wainwright seeing one at Low Barns the same day. The season's modest peak was reached on 8th August when Robert Mawson and Roger Norman logged 4 and 1 respectively at Fox Covert and Lambley Viaduct. Brian Pollinger saw 4 at Thornley Woodlands Centre on 25th August and the last sightings of the season were two seen by Bob Mawson and one by Jonathan Wallace on 27th near Trimdon and Thornley Woodlands respectively.
Purple Hairstreak - 2009 6
5
4
3
Number 2
1
0 Jul Aug Date
21
White-letter Hairstreak (Satyrium w-album)
2009: This was an interesting year for this species. There were 26 records of adults submitted but also 12 records of ova and one of pupa. The first records of adults came from Bob Mawson and Mike Hunter on 1st and 2nd July with singles near Raisby Way and in Darlington respectively.
WHITE-LETTER HAIRSTREAK 1995 – 2009 The peak count in Durham 110 recorded tetrads was at Hardwick Dene in out of 1989 Stockton on 11th when both 8 new tetrads in 2009 (+7.8%) Mike and Tim & Dorothy Nelson independently reported 11 adults! This was pipped by Ken Dawson who saw 12 in a new tetrad at Greenshaw Plain near Hexham on the same day. Elsewhere, Rebecca Hetherington found three at Derwenthaugh Park on 19th and Paul Drummond, the warden at Gosforth Park NR, found one there on 2nd August, a new location for the species. The last records for Northumberland were two at Bywell Bridge by Alan Davis on 6th August and for Durham, Bob Mawson reported singles up to 13th.
Of the ova records, five were contributed by Bob Mawson in the Raisby area and seven by Andrew Middleton & Liz Goodyear who made three visits to Northumberland as part of the national White-letter Hairstreak project. Their records produced six new tetrads in the Tyne valley area, including one well up the North Tyne at Redesmouth. We are very grateful for their contribution to assessing the true range of this difficult species.
The butterfly was found in 21 tetrads in 2009, of which 9 were new, showing that there is great potential for finding new sites within the region. The river valleys of Northumberland definitely hold the species and surely there are more sites in the Tyne and Allen valleys and points north to be found.
22 White-letter Hairstreak - 2009 40 35 30 25 20
Number 15 10 5 0 Jul Aug Date
Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas)
2009: A total of 389 records were received. This is a modest improvement over 2008 when 340 records were submitted. A total of 981 individual butterflies were recorded, also a small gain over 2008 when 856 butterflies were reported. It was seen in 104 tetrads, of which 14 were new. Small Copper was on the wing for 171 days and recorded on 115 days (67%).
SMALL COPPER 1995 – 2009
The first record of the year 666 recorded tetrads came from Bob Mawson with out of 1989 th 14 new tetrads in 7 at Raisby Way on the 25 2009 (+2.1%) April, 11 days later than 2008. The first record for Northumberland was on the 12th May when Maurice McNeely recorded 5 at Cocklawburn Dunes. This latter record is much later than in 2008 when the first Northumberland sighting was on 20th April.
There were two distinct generations the first peaked with 50 in one day in mid May. There was one record of 41 by Tim & Dorothy Nelson on the 13th of May and ten records of between 10 and 20 during May. The second generation showed 5 daily peaks of between 30 and 40 during August. There were few records during the gap between generations, which lasted through June and the first half of July.
23 The last recordings were both single butterflies, by Michael Holmes at Druridge Pools on 11th October and Keith Smith at Wylam Picnic Site a day later. For the North East transects, Small Copper numbers were a pleasing 60% up on 2008 numbers.
Small Copper - 2009 60
50
40
30 Number 20
10
0 Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Date
Brown Argus (Plebeius (Aricia) agestis)
2009: As with previous years a handful of sightings from the south of the region were received, five in total, detailing eleven individual butterflies. All the sightings were from the Tees estuary area. Tim & Dorothy Nelson saw five Brown Argus at Dormans Pool on 31st May. They had other sightings at the same location on 8th and 16th June. Dave Wainwright saw one at Greenabella near Seal Sands on 3rd June. The only other record was late in the summer with Tim & Dorothy Nelson seeing one at Cowpen Bewley on 19th August.
Brown Argus - 2009
6 5 4 3
Number 2 1 0 May Jun Jul Aug Date
There are colonies of this butterfly in the Vale of York and Vale of Pickering in North Yorkshire but the expected northward movement does not seem to be happening. It is still likely that this butterfly is widespread throughout the south of our region in areas of suitable habitat, but is probably at a low density, so that finding it is purely a matter of chance. Those who visit a site regularly, such as Site Rangers or transect walkers probably have the best chance of recording this species. Furthermore, the likelihood is that it may be mis- identified as female Common Blue or the closely related Northern Brown Argus unless it is examined closely, so it is possibly still under-recorded. Recorders are urged to report sightings to the County Recorder or Assistant Recorders as soon as they are made, and to try and photograph the butterfly so that a positive I.D. can be made.
24
Three photographs by Tim & Dorothy Nelson.
Upper photo: Brown Argus at Cowpen Bewley Country Park on 19th August 2009.
All photographs in the report, including those of these two difficult species are in colour on the version that can be downloaded from the website, www.northeast- butterflies.org.uk
Centre photo: Brown Argus at Dorman’s Pool on 31st May 2009
Lower photo: Northern Brown Argus at Bishop Middleham Quarry on 15th June 2009
25 Northern Brown Argus (Aricia artaxerxes)
2009: The number of records of this species was substantially lower than the figure from the previous year (though not nearly as low as that for 2007). In total, 275 adult Northern Brown Argus were seen in the region compared with 384 in 2008. NORTHERN BROWN ARGUS 1995 – 2009 The most exciting news in Co Durham regarding this 27 recorded tetrads out of 1989 species was the sighting of 1 new tetrad in 2009 six adults at Hastings Hill (+3.8%) near Sunderland, made by Jean & Barry Robinson on July 10th. This site used to support a colony but the butterfly has not been seen here since 1982. Quite how the species has managed to return remains a mystery, although human assistance cannot be ruled out given the site’s isolation from its nearest neighbour. Regardless, it is to be hoped that the butterfly goes on to thrive here.
The remainder of the area’s 2009 sightings were made at Bishop Middleham Quarry and Thrislington Plantation. Both sites are easily- accessed nature reserves and both are monitored by weekly transect which explains why a disproportionate number of records are made at these locations. Worryingly, no sightings were recorded at Raisby Hill Grassland, another site which is also monitored by transect and where the Argus is seen in most years, albeit in low numbers.
John Hope got the season off to a start with three adults seen at Thrislington on June 1st. Tim and Dorothy Nelson recorded fourteen the following day at Bishop Middleham Quarry. Numbers peaked on June 23rd when 54 adults were seen. This total comprised 23 seen by John Hope at Thrislington and 31 seen by Dorothy and Tim Nelson at Bishop Middleham Quarry; the latter count was the region’s highest in 2009. Thrislington’s highest count (26) was made over a fortnight later on July 11th by John Hope.
The last sightings of the season were made by John Hope (Thrislington, August 6th) and by Steve le Fleming who recorded a much later singleton on August 27th at Bishop Middleham Quarry.
26 Should anyone wish to assist with monitoring this species, please contact Dave Wainwright on 01388 488428. Rest assured, this will prove uncomplicated and most enjoyable. Away from the Durham colonies, after extensive searching, Pete Summers reported a ground-breaking discovery, finding ova, larvae and adults at a site in Northumberland in 2005/6/7. By request, these are not shown on the map above. These are the only modern records for the county.
Northern Brown Argus - 2009 60
50
40
30
Number 20
10
0 Jun Jul Aug Date
Long-tailed Blue (Lampides boeticus)
2009: There was an extraordinary occurrence of this Mediterranean and North African species at New Hartley where Stephen Ellis discovered one resting on his kitchen wall on 12th March 2009. It was released into the garden where it was found the next day resting on an outside window frame. The butterfly was thought to have arrived in the North-east via imported foodstuffs, rather than as a real migrant. A full write up of this occurrence has been given in a paper to the Amateur Entomologists’ Society1 and was reproduced in the November 2009 Branch Newsletter, (No 20). The individual was photographed by Hew Ellis and is shown on page 7.
1 Ellis, S. J., & Ellis, H.A., Long-tailed Blue in Northumberland (Lepidoptera; Lampides boeticus). The Bulletin of the Amateur Entomologists’ Society, Vol 68, No. 484, June 2009, pp 98-99.
Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus)
2009: A total of 4537 Common Blues was recorded from 579 reports. This compares rather unfavourably with last year: 5041 and 660, respectively, but this is still better than 2007's totals of 2575 and 510. The butterfly was seen on 106 of the 136 days of its flight period (78%). It was found in 10 new tetrads in the region, all well inland now that the coast is already almost completely colonised by the butterfly.
The first single specimens were reported on 21st May on the Gateshead Birders’ website at Birtley and by Robert Mawson at Raisby Way and an early peak was reached when Dave Wainwright reported 180 at Greenabella on 3rd June. There were moderate counts on 12th and 13th June totalling 166 from 23 observers before 315 were counted on 23rd June by 18 observers round
27 the region, but including 100 reported by S. Straughan at Hadston Links south of Amble.
COMMON BLUE 1995 – 2009 100 were also reported by
Dave Stebbings at Havannah th nd 688 recorded tetrads LNR on 29 June and on 2 out of 1989 10 new tetrads in July S. Straughan recorded 2009 (+1.5%) another 100 at Havannah, the same day Dave Stebbings recorded 95 one 'notch' away E. and N. on the 6-digit grid. The total for the day including these two came to 358 from 27 observers round the region. On 3rd July Mike Coates reported 200 at Havannah, when Anne Corrigan saw 56 at Souter Point and the total for the region was 339. Thereafter there were generally moderate counts through the rest of July and the first half of August with 106 reported on 10th July, 100 on 11th, and an isolated 113 on 12th August. There were 12 counts of 100 or more in the year (13 last year).
Sightings trailed off through the second half of August and September. Hewett Ellis found ova at Weetslade Country Park on 9th September. Rebecca Hetherington provided the last record of 2 adults at Stargate Pond and Bewes Hills south of Ryton on 3rd October.
Common Blue - 2009
400 350 300 250 200
Number 150 100 50 0 May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Date
28 Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus)
2009: 2009 has been a disastrous year for Holly Blue. Not only has the weather been pretty grim, but also the fall in numbers can sometimes be attributed to the cycle of the predator parasitic wasp Listrodomus nicthemerus. However, studies have also shown that numbers will increase over a period of years only to crash after a poor summer, as was the case in 2008.
HOLLY BLUEth 1995 – 2009 was on the wing until 14 June and then
No new tetrads were added 123 recorded tetrads to the map for this season. out of 1989 The butterfly was seen in No new tetrads on 2009 only seven from a total of one hundred and twenty- three tetrads recorded since 1995. Thus the recent northern expansion of the Holly Blue came to a stop in 2009. Let us hope it can resume in 2010.
Only seven individuals were recorded, all from the first brood in May. Not one sighting had been noted for the second brood within the whole of the Branch area.
The butterfly was only seen on six days during a flight period of forty-one days, only 15% of the available flight time. Simon Lamplough saw the first butterfly at The Oval, Hartlepool, on 18th April. Tim & Dorothy Nelson reported two singles on 22nd April, at Portrack Marsh, and their garden, both in Stockton, and the last one was seen in Alnwick on 28th May. The most southerly sighting was in Darlington, and the most northerly in Alnwick, the latter being the only Northumberland record for the year.
Holly Blue - 2009 3
2
Number 1
0 Apr May Date
29 Red Admiral (Vanessa Atalanta)
2009: There were no early sightings of Red Admiral for this year. Mike Coates saw the first butterfly for 2009 on 17th March in North Shields. This is a full month and a half after the first record for 2008, (28th January). It was not until 2nd April that another individual was reported by Roger Norman in his Newcastle garden.
RED ADMIRAL 1995 – 2009 Ten single sightings continued, sporadically, until 1114 recorded tetrads out of 1989 early June, when two were 39 new tetrads in seen at Gibside. This 2009 (+3.6%) pattern continued throughout June and into July, with one, two and three individuals being recorded at a time. On 2nd July, Dave Liddle saw nine butterflies at Burn Hill, and it was not until 11th July that sightings in double figures occurred. Dave Wainwright had twelve at Hedleyhope Fell and Mike Richardson had ten at Haughton Strother. This low single figure pattern continued throughout July and into August. The only highlights were ten seen on Longframlington Common by Mike Coates on 13th August, and ten in Upper Teesdale, spotted by Ian Findlay on 22nd.
This trend of low numbers continued with only single figure sightings throughout the whole Branch area until ten cropped up at Howick Hall on 10th September seen by Julie Roper. The very next day, the Alnwick Wildlife Group counted 30 individuals at Smeafield Farm, near Belford. September proved to be the better month so far. Ian Findlay found 28 in Upper Teesdale on 13th September, and Mike Nattrass had 30 on Holy Island on 20th September.
The jackpot was reached on 4th October, when Dave Wainwright counted 102 Red Admirals at Hawthorn Dene. This was to prove the best day for recording, with 242 individuals seen. October was, by far, the best month for records, and even into early November, sightings were still being reported. On 28th November John Almond spotted the last butterfly of the season in the Formal Gardens at Cragside.
Butterflies were seen flying on 148 days out of a total of 257. 1157 records were submitted, a rise of 257 on last year, and fourteen higher than 2007, of these, 684 were sightings of single individuals. Thirty records were for ten or more butterflies.
30 2648 butterflies were recorded on 250 tetrads, thirty-nine of which were new. Over the entire BMN period the species has been recorded in 1114 tetrads within the Branch area.
Red Admiral - 2009 250
200
150
Number 100
50
0 Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Date
Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)
2009: A total of 1807 records were received, which detailed 7597 individual butterflies. Painted Lady was on the wing for a total of 201 days and was seen on 144 (72%) of these days. 2009 was an amazing year for this butterfly whose abundance in this country is entirely dependent on migration from the continent. It was certainly the best year since 2003 and the best ever in terms of numbers reported to the county recorders. It was also the most widespread butterfly in the north-east for the year. PAINTED LADY 1995 – 2009
The season got off to an 877 recorded tetrads out of 1989 early start with Roslyn 94 new tetrads in Tanner seeing 2009 (+12.0%) Northumberland’s and the region’s first one at Briardene Farm, Whitley Bay on 12th April. Is it possible such early sightings are individuals that have over wintered? In Durham Robert Mawson saw the first with one on Raisby Way on 6th May. The big influx in the south of England reported in the national newspapers started around 21st May. In this region, reports started flooding in from the 25th May as the migrants reached us. At first only single figure counts were recorded until Keith Smith saw 30 near Berwick on 1st June. This pattern continued through June and July, lots of sighting but of small numbers, nothing like the thousands reported from southern England. 40 from Alnwick Wildlife Group at Kyloe Hills north of Alnwick on 12th June, 45 spotted by Hewett Ellis in the sand dunes at South Blyth on 29th June and 100
31 seen by Brian Denham at RSPB Saltholme on 16th June were notable exceptions. This latter record was the highest recorded from the south of the region for the whole year. From the beginning of August individual counts increased dramatically as the offspring from the original migrants started to emerge. No less than 104 counts in double figures were received in August alone of which 14 counts were of fifty or more individuals and numbers for the year peaked in August and the first week of September. The highest counts for the region came from Kevin Redgrave who saw 111 at Newton Point in north Northumberland on 24th August. This just pipped Mike Nattrass’s 110 seen at Hauxley Links near Amble on 22nd August. Other notable counts also came from Mike who saw 86 at Tynemouth on 5th August, Ian Davidson with 66 seen at Annstead Dunes near Seahouses on 18th August, and M & N Tuck counted 62 at Hauxley on 21st August. Hewett Ellis reported a superb total of 196 at various locations along Druridge Bay on 27th August. It should be noted that nearly all the large totals reported came from coastal locations and particularly sand dunes in Northumberland, from Druridge Bay to Berwick. The exception to this was provided by Mike Coates who reported seeing 69 in Harwood Forest in central Northumberland on 25th August. Good numbers were reported up to the first week in October when records suddenly dwindled. The last record for Durham was one seen by Pam Chrisp at Whickham on 11th October. The final record for Northumberland and for the region was from Roger Norman who spotted one at Prestwick Carr near Ponteland on 29th October, although Bob Mawson reported a pupa in his back yard in Trimdon as late as 16th November.
Painted Lady - 2009
500
400
300
Number 200
100
0 Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Date
Painted Lady, photo by Jaci Beaven at Alnwick on 19th July 2009
32 Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)
2009: There were1420 records and 3509 individuals reported, a substantial improvement on 2008 when only 869 records referred to 1886 individuals. The season started with one very early record from Winlaton on 9th January. Only ones and twos were seen until 21st March when 32 were seen by Tim & Dorothy Nelson at Greenvale LNR in Stockton. The rest of March continued with low numbers with 4 being the largest count. The 1st April brought 5 recorded at Heathers Field by Heather Dunn. It was not until the 12th April that double figures were reached with 12 at Heathers Field again by Heather. The chart shows that the spring generation peaked at around 50 on several days during March and April. Low numbers seen by individual observers continued right through the spring until the start of the summer generation.
, SMALL TORTOISESHELL 1995 – 2009
Brian Denham recorded 20 at RSPB Saltholme on June 1414 recorded th tetrads out of 1989 30 and 36 were seen by 22 new tetrads in Mike Richardson at 2009 (+1.6%) Haughton Strother on 11th July with 18 at Heathers Field by Heather Dunn the same day. On the 25th July 14 were seen at Wood House by Keith Smith, 10 at West Herrington by Barry and 10 at Corbridge by David Nicol. August brought 16 at Needles Eye by Malcolm Hutcheson on the 3rd, and double figure counts by many other observers, e.g. 14 at Tommy the Millar’s Field by John Rae, 13 at Houghton Strother by Mike Richardson, 12 at Warkworth by Mike Nattrass and Dave Wainwright recorded 18 at Hedleyhope Fell.
The largest count by far was 180 by Mike Coates at Longframlington on 13th August, when a total of 214 were recorded through the region. Into September, John Hope and Hewett Ellis both had 25 at Thrislington on the 7th and at Seaton Sluice on the 10th respectively. The summer peaks lasted from mid-July to Mid-September and with the highest peak over 200, this was an improvement on 2008 where the summer peak was 112. There were eight records on the 31st October to finish the season. Seven of these were singles, but Michael Holmes recorded three at Slaley. Small Tortoiseshell were recorded on 176 days out of a flight period of 296 days, (59%) and in 22 new tetrads.
33 Bob Mawson and Hew Ellis contributed nine records of larvae and one of a pupa.
Small Tortoiseshell - 2009 250
200
150
100 Number
50
0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Date
Peacock (Inachis io)
2009: 2009 proved to be a rather good year for the Peacock. The insect was seen on twenty-five new tetrads, a total of three hundred and two for the year. The Peacock has now been reported on 1242 of the 1989 visited tetrads in the North East England Branch area. 5711 individual butterflies were seen and 1647 records were returned, an increase on 2008.
PEACOCK 1995 – 2009 The first sighting was from Mike Coates at Black Lough 1242 recorded on 1st March. Mike also has tetrads out of 1989 25 new tetrads in the 2009 record for highest 2009 (+2.1%) number of butterflies seen on a single day, he counted eighty-two at Harwood Forest on 25th August. The last record was from John Almond, who spotted a single butterfly in Alnwick on 4th November. The Peacock was seen flying on 168 days out of a total of 240, (70%).
The records for March and early April show sightings in low single figures, until John Rae counted twelve in Tommy-the-Miller’s Field, Berwick, on 11th April. Low single figure sightings continued right through until July, when Malcolm Hutcheson saw eighteen, again, just outside Berwick, on 31st July. August was by far the best month, with quite a few records of high twenties and thirties being reported throughout the Branch area. There were also some spectacular counts during the first two weeks in September. Ian Findlay, who records in Upper Teesdale, had forty-two butterflies on 8th September, and another fifty on 13th September. Yolanda Paciorek counted fifty-one on 11th September at the Bishop Auckland B & Q! Michael Coates found sixty on Longframlingtom Common on 13th August.
34 There were 755 records for single sightings throughout the season. Thirty- two records were for twenty or more individuals, and eighty records for sightings of between ten and nineteen butterflies. Although the flight period was shorter than in 2008, the butterfly numbers were much more concentrated in 2009, and seen right across the North East area.
Peacock - 2009 450 400 350 300 250 200 Number 150 100 50 0 Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Date
Comma (Polygonia c-album)
2009: The number of Comma butterflies recorded in 2009 has fallen again. From a total of 454 records received (a fall in itself of 90), 754 individuals were reported, in a flying time of 131 days out of a possible 290 days. This compares with 927 insects seen in a period of 123 flying days in 2008. COMMA 1995 – 2009
There were, however, 628 recorded tetrads records from fifteen new out of 1989 15 new tetrads in tetrads, bringing the number 2009 (+2.4%) of tetrads where Commas were seen in 2009 to two hundred and thirty-six. The total number of tetrads now reaches 628. The new tetrads were distributed evenly with seven new sites in both County Durham and Northumberland, with just one new site in Cleveland. The greatest concentration of sightings was in the Tyne and Wear region.
The season started relatively early for the Comma, the first sighting being from Keith Robson at the Birtley Sewage Works on 13th March. Quite remarkably, the pattern of occurrences was quite different from 2008, with the first generation having the three highest peaks of the year between 18th March and 19th April. There were single sightings pretty well every day until the beginning of May, and they ranged from Howick Hall in Northumberland to Darlington in the south. Only twenty-three individuals were seen between early May and the beginning of July, but records came steadily after that until the end of October. 23rd July
35 was the best day when a total of 19 butterflies were recorded at eleven sites, ranging from Howden-le-Wear, (Andrew Paciorek) to Beadnell, (Alnwick Wildlife Group). Over the ten month flight period, 307 records were for single sightings, and only twenty-four records were for five or more individuals, the maximum counts being eight at Derwent Walk on 11th July from Steve Le Fleming, at the Rising Sun Country Park on 23rd July from Hewitt Ellis and at Havannah LNR on 12th August from David Stebbings.
The last sighting was from Mike Hunter in Middleton St George on 11th November. The northernmost records came from Berwick-on-Tweed and the most southerly from Middleton St George. Hewitt Ellis recorded the most butterflies at 100 individuals from fifty-seven records.
Comma - 2009 35 30 25 20 15 Number 10 5 0 Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Date
Comma, photographed by Malcolm Hutcheson
36 Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary (Boloria selene)
2009: 2009 was a better year than the two previous, with better weather giving higher counts of the butterfly and hopefully this bodes well for the flight season in 2010. The season started with a record of a singleton on the Pennine Way at Croziers Hill in Northumberland recorded by Keith Smith on the 10th June and in Durham, Dave Liddle and Terry Coult recorded 12 at Burnhill on the 12th of the month. The peak Northumberland count was 42 at Sweethope Lough recorded by Roger Norman on the 24th June; in Durham the highest count was by Dave Liddle at Burnhill, recording 48 on the 2nd July. SMALL PEARL-BORDERED FRITILLARY 1995 – 2009
Counts were generally higher in 2009 than in the 64 recorded tetrads previous two years. out of 1989 3 new tetrads in 2009 (+4.9%) The flight period lasted for 36 days with the butterfly recorded on 13 of those days.
Distribution remains similar to 2008 with one significant change a record of a single small pearl bordered fritillary at a site near Ryton in Gateshead, recorded bv Brian Pollinger on the 24th June. This site is well outside the known range for the species and it remains to be seen whether this was an aberration or an, as yet, unrecorded colony.
The season ended with 2 at Fourlaws Forest in Northumberland recorded on the 3rd July by Ian Kerr and 5 on the 15th July at Burnhill again recorded by Dave Liddle.
Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary - 2009 180 160 140 120 100 80 Number 60 40 20 0 Jun Jul Date
37
Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary, photo by Bob Mawson on 25th June 2009
Dark Green Fritillary (Argynnis aglaja)
2009: In terms of the number of records received this was once again a disappointing year overall for Dark Green Fritillary with only 57 records, but the 670 butterflies counted was a 36% improvement on 2008. The species was recorded in 21 tetrads of which 6 were new. The flight period lasted from 22nd June until 26th August and the species was recorded on 28 of the possible 66 days within this period (42%).
DARK GREEN FRITILLARY 1995 – 2009 The first record of the year, nd 95 recorded tetrads on 22 June, was at Chare out of 1989 Ends on Holy Island by Ian 6 new tetrads in 2009 (+6.7%) Kerr and there were a further three records in June: 5 individuals seen by Kevin Redgrave at Newton Links on 24th June, a count of 31 by P R Davey on 27th June on Holy Island and a singleton in Upper Teesdale, seen by Ian Findlay on 29th June. Numbers peaked on 13th July when 122 butterflies were counted. Remarkably, the highest individual count of the season was for once not on Holy Island but in the Waskerley area where Dave Liddle and Sarah Meredith
38 counted 102 on 13th July. This exceptional record was undoubtedly the highlight of the year for this species and was a bright spot in an otherwise modest year for the Dark Green Fritillary. Holy Island remained the centre of gravity of the Northumberland coastal population and counts of 65, (2nd July by Phil Davey), 70, (3rd July by Alnwick Wildlife Group) and 82, (10th July by Phil Davey) were the best of the counts there. Elsewhere double figure counts were made by Kevin Redgrave who counted 11 at Newton Links on 8th July and by Ian Davidson who counted 12 at Long Nanny Dunes on 20th July. Other noteworthy records include a new 10 km square record north of Rothbury in the NU00 square by M & N Tuck on 13th August and a new tetrad record in the Slaley area by Michael Holmes who saw a maximum of 8 individuals on three occasions between 15th July and 2nd August suggesting this is a new breeding site. Ian Findlay once again made several records near High Force in Upper Teesdale, of which the highest count was three individuals on 22nd August. Small numbers were seen throughout August and the final record of the year on 26th August was, like the first, made by Ian Kerr on Holy Island.
Dark Green Fritillary - 2009
140 120 100 80 60 Number 40 20 0 Jun Jul Aug Date
Dark Green Fritillary, photo by Bob Mawson, 11th July 2009
39 Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)
2009: A total of 801 records were received and these recorded 2832 individual butterflies, this was up from 1864 butterflies in 2008. The flight period lasted 193 days and the Speckled Wood was seen flying on 156 (81%) of these days.
SPECKLED WOOD 1995 – 2009 Record numbers of Speckled 239 recorded tetrads Wood were seen yet again in out of 1989 2009. This butterfly is going 59 new tetrads in 2009 (+32.8%) from strength to strength in the north east, a welcome trend when many species are declining. Speckled Wood can be seen throughout the summer as it has several broods through the year. In 2009 there were several peaks evident through the summer, with a notable peak in mid to late September. There was an early start to the season with Northumberland and Durham’s first records both occurring on the same day. Keith Smith saw Northumberland’s first of the year with three at the Spetchells near Prudhoe on 2nd April. Durham’s first records came from Stephen Le Fleming who saw one at Bishop Middleham Quarry on the same day. This latter site produced several double figure counts in April and May. Another good early season count came from Robert Mawson who saw 10 on Raisby Way on 25th April. The start of July saw higher counts appearing. Barry & Jean Robinson saw 36 at Backhouse Park in Sunderland on 2nd July. Tim & Dorothy Nelson counted 21 at Preston Park Stockton on 22nd July. Good counts continued in August and September with Tim & Dorothy seeing 27 at Wynyard WP walkway on 17th August. Mike Coates spotted 28 at Northumberland Park, North Shields on 20th September. The two highest counts for the region both occurred late in the season. The highest for Northumberland and the region was a very creditable 56 seen by Mike Nattrass at Preston Cemetery in North Shields on 17th September. The highest for Durham was 48 seen by Dave Wainwright at Hawthorn Dene near Easington on 4th October. Dave Liddle produced Durham’s last records. He saw one at Scripton Gill near Brandon and another at Pow Hill near Derwent Reservoir, both on 9th October. For Northumberland there was a joint last sighting with Keith Smith seeing four at Silverlink, North Shields and Ian Davidson seeing two at Gosforth Park north of Newcastle, both on 11th October.
40 Speckled Wood - 2009 140 120 100 80 60 Number 40 20 0 Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Date
Wall Brown, photo by Roslyn Tanner 25th August 2009
Wall (Lasiommata megera)
2009: A total of 829 records were received, up slightly compared to 2008. These recorded 4317 individual butterflies, nearly 2000 more than the previous year. The flight period lasted 166 days and the Wall was seen flying on 103 (62%) of these days, about average for recent years.
WALL 1995 – 2009 This was the best year since 2006 for this species. Good 608 recorded tetrads out of 1989 numbers were recorded for 32 new tetrads in the spring brood with two 2009 (+5.6%) distinct peaks, the first in early May and the second in late May/early June. Peak numbers seen in the second brood exceeded the good year of 2006 with a daily total of over 350 in mid-August.
The first sighting in the region came from Brian Denham who saw two at the RSPB’s Saltholme reserve on 19th April. Northumberland’s first records came on 7th May when Keith Smith, Brian Pollinger and Keith Robson
41 all reported sightings in the Blaydon, Newburn and Wylam area. A huge total for the first brood of 56 was seen by Tim & Dorothy Nelson at Dorman’s Pool on Teesside on 13th May. This was the highest count for the south of the region for the whole year. In Northumberland 35 were spotted by Roger Norman, Martyn Anderson and Liz Naughton in Chevington Woods near Ashington on the 25th May. Roger Norman also recorded 40 at Saltholme on Teesside on 31st May. By the last week of June the spring brood was over. There then followed the usual gap in July as the second generation developed. The last week of July marked the emergence of the second generation with numbers peaking in mid to late August. Alnwick Wildlife Group recorded 100 at Smeafield Farm in north Northumberland on 4th August. Tim & Dorothy Nelson spotted 34 at Bowesfield Marsh, Stockton on 9th August; this site together with Dorman’s Pool produced consistently high counts. Brian Pollinger saw 34 at Stargate Ponds on 13th August and Dave Stebbings saw 100 at Havannah LNR north of Newcastle on 22nd August. An interesting record was received from Mike Richardson who saw 32 at Haughton Strother on the North Tyne near Chollerford on 22nd August, well away from the usual more coastal sites for this species. Northumberland’s highest count was a staggering 200 from Alnwick Wildlife Group at Middleton, north of Belford on 12th August. Numbers declined slowly through September. For the south of the region the 26th September marked the end of the season, with Stephen Le Fleming at Bishop Middleham Quarry, Tim & Dorothy Nelson at Bowesfield Marsh, Stockton and Dave Wainwright at Hedleyhope Fell all recording one on that day. The final record for Northumberland was from Ian Davidson who saw one at Benton in Newcastle on 1st October.
Wall Brown - 2009 400 350 300 250 200 Month 150 100 50 0 Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Date
Marbled White (Melanargia galathea)
2009: Marbled White was evidently confined to its 2000 release site of Wingate Quarry where it was recorded in modest numbers by 13 observers on 9 days between 30th June and 13th August, (20% of its flight period). Robert Mawson and Richard Hockin both saw the butterfly on 30th June, and the highest 'individual' sighting was of 27 by Tim & Dorothy Nelson on 5th July, the others all being in single figures: Robert Mawson saw 9 on 13th July, and Jennie Garrod the last two on 13th August. A total of 83 sightings and no new tetrads compares poorly with 164 in 2008 from 11 records and two daily counts of over 50.
42
Marbled White - 2009 30
25
20
15 Number 10
5
0 Jun Jul Aug Date
Grayling (Hipparchia semele)
2009: The annual total of 155 records suggested that the Grayling fared slightly better in 2009 than in the previous two years, although this total is still extremely poor compared to those of 2005 and 2006. However, this species is prone to wide fluctuations, both in terms of numbers and its local distribution, and it is to be hoped that last year’s slight increase is the foretaste of better times to come.
GRAYLING 1995 – 2009
57 recorded tetrads out of The first confirmed sighting, 1989 1 new tetrad in comprising two adults seen on 2009 (+1.8%) July 5th, was made at the Bowes Valley Nature Reserve by an unknown recorder who reported his or her sighting on the Gateshead Birders’ website. Phil Davey reported Northumberland’s first record (3 adults) from Lindisfarne N.N.R. on July 10th. As has recently been the case, high counts were few and far between – in fact there were only two double figure counts made. The first of these was made by Bob Mawson who recorded 12 from Dorman’s Pool on Teesside on 11th July. A very impressive count was submitted from the south of the region by Dorothy & Tim Nelson; their record of 65 also at Dorman’s Pool on July 16th was the region’s best by some distance. Hewett Ellis recorded 18 scattered throughout the dunes and abandoned railways at Cambois on July 25th; this was Northumberland’s highest count for 2009.
After mid-July, sightings became more irregular. Durham’s season ended on August 8th, when Tim & Dorothy Nelson reported two Graylings from Dorman’s Pool. As is usually the case, sightings continued to be reported
43 from Northumberland. Keith Smith and S. Straughan reported seven and six respectively from Holy Island on the 12th, while Phil Davey recorded four butterflies, again from Holy Island, on the 22nd. This record was the last from the north east in 2009.
Graylings were recorded on seventeen days of the forty-nine day flight period (35%).
Grayling - 2009 70 60 50 40 30 Number 20 10 0 Jul Aug Date
Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus)
2009: Previous annual reports for this species have had a certain restrained excitement about them, with high hopes for expansion in future years. Tentative suggestions of a small breeding population in Hamsterley Forest in the 2007 report, a new tetrad and a flush of impressive records from West Park Nature Reserve in Darlington during 2008 have led to quiet hopes for a notable expansion of the species distribution.
GATEKEEPER 1995 – 2009
There is no reason why 13 recorded tetrads out of 1989 Gatekeeper should not No new tetrads in 2009 spread further into the county over the coming years; but any continued expansion for Gatekeeper was not to be in 2009. Only a single site returned any records for the species.
Pippa Smaling recorded a singleton at West Park Nature Reserve on the 23rd July and two further individuals were recorded by Pippa from the same site on the 11th August 2009. There may or may not be an identifiable reason for the dearth of 2009 records, the weather is a likely culprit.
44 Gatekeeper has yet to demonstrate a secure foothold in the county but I would like to continue the optimism of previous reports. County Durham easily meets the habitat requirements of the species and it is likely that climate is the restricting factor; given a few sunny summers we are likely to see the beginnings of the much anticipated expansion. Fingers crossed for 2010.
Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina)
2009: Meadow Brown records were significantly down: 16,678 individual butterflies were logged in 1089 records submitted (26,135 from 1288 records in 2008 which were exceptionally high, but also down on the 18,067 from the 1201 records submitted in 2007). Last July's weather may have affected the butterfly's success in breeding. Records came in for 87 of the 110 days (79%) of the flight period. 20 new tetrads mainly in the middle of the region were reported in its distribution.
MEADOW BROWN 1995 – 2009
The butterfly was first seen 1302 recorded th tetrads out of 1989 on May 25 by Dave Chrisp 20 new tetrads in near Whickham, and 2009 (+1.6%) sightings were in single figures until 21st June, except for the 79 reported by Heather Dunn at Winlaton on 17th June. Numbers of records peaked first between 22nd and 25th June with daily counts of 168, 266, 332 and 115 for the four days. After a brief dip they quickly reached their summit of 1188 recorded by 36 observers on 2nd July. Relatively few records came in for the period 6th - 9th July, but the butterfly was flourishing generally, judging by some high counts from individuals: there were 20 over 100, the 'prize' going to Alan J. Johnstone with 275 seen on 5th July at Big Waters near Brunswick Village. Mating was observed on 8 occasions between 21st June and 25th July. In August, however there were only three individual counts of over 40, two on the 2nd and one on the 8th. The last sighting was on 11th September from Morag Marsden at Gibside.
45 Meadow Brown - 2009 1200
1000
800
600 Number 400
200
0 May Jun Jul Aug Sep Date
Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus)
2009: A total of 568 records were received and a total of 8178 individual Ringlets were recorded. This was a 23% increase on the 2008 total of 1866 individuals. The butterfly was on the wing for 77 days and recorded on 65 days (77%).
RINGLET 1995 – 2009
The first record of the year 808 recorded tetrads out of 1989 came from Jess Cheesman 35 new tetrads in with 5 at The Whinnies near 2009 (+4.5%) Darlington on the 10th of June. The first record for Northumberland did not occur until eleven days later on 21st of June when Fiona Aungier recorded 12 at Tommy the Millers Field in Berwick.
From the first recording there were regular low numbers of sightings until the 1st week in July when numbers started to increase significantly with a peak of 1003, (the total of all records for one day), on the 11th of July. There was one individual record of 248 by Dave Liddle at Burn Hill on the 15th of July and 7 individual records of between 100 and 200. From the end of July to the last recording on the 25th August, daily totals never exceeded 100, with individual sightings being mostly in single figures.
46 Last recorded sighting for the year was a single Ringlet on the 25th August by Mike Coates at Harwood Forest near Rothbury
For North East transects, Ringlet numbers were down by 9% on 2008 numbers
Ringlet - 2009 1200
1000
800
600 Number 400
200
0 Jun Jul Aug Date
Ringlet, photographed by Roslyn Tanner on 15th July 2009
Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus)
2009: A total of 488 records were received with a total of 4350 individuals being recorded. This was an increase of 1% over 2008. The first sighting was again by Bob Mawson with one at the Lime Kilns at Raisby Quarry on the 11th May, 10 days earlier than his 2008 record. The first two Northumberland records were both from Keith Smith with six at Percy Pit in Newcastle on the 17th May, 7 days earlier than 2008, followed by three there on 21st.
47
SMALL HEATH 1995 – 2009
Numbers then steadily 800 recorded tetrads out of 1989 increased through May and 8 new tetrads in early June. 2009 (+1.0%) There was one individual record of 70 in one day, by Dave Wainwright at Greenabella on Teesside on 3rd June and the next highest count was 53 by M & N Tuck at the Long Nanny, Newton on 12th June. The average individual count for the year was below 10. There were two daily peak totals of around 200 (total of all records for one day) at the beginning of July.
Sightings of any significant numbers ceased at the end of August with the final sighting of 7 by Jenny Garrod in Wingate Quarry on 24th September.
Small Heath were on the wing for 137 days and recorded on 98 days (72%). For North East transects, Small Heath Numbers were down by 9% on 2008 numbers.
Small Heath - 2009 250
200
150
Number 100
50
0 May Jun Jul Aug Sep Date
Large Heath (Coenonympha tullia)
2009: With 26 records received, this year saw a fourfold increase in the number of records of Large Heath compared to the previous year. The species was recorded on 15 tetrads of which two were new and 176 individual butterflies were counted compared to just 13 in 2008. Whilst encouraging, this cannot be taken to reflect an improvement in the status of this UK BAP priority species in Northumberland; rather it is likely to be a reflection of increased observer effort and, in particular, the sterling efforts of Keith Smith and the National Trust’s John Taylor who between them were responsible for all but two of the records. Large Heath was on the wing for 44 days and was recorded on 14 of these (32%)
48
LARGE HEATH 1995 – 2009
The first of the year’s records 127 recorded tetrads th out of 1989 were all on 24 June when Keith 2 new tetrads in Smith recorded 7 at Burndivot 2009 (+1.6%) Moss and 5 at High Tipalt, John Taylor recorded a total of 9 at two locations near Crag Lough and Roger Norman recorded 7 near Sweethope Lough. The highest site count of the season was recorded by Keith Smith at Burndivot Common on the 30th June with 25 butterflies. He also recorded a further 6 individuals on the same day, at another location nearby. There were three other double figure counts: at Whinnetley Moss on the 4th July where Keith counted 15 butterflies, near Crag Lough on 9th July where John Taylor counted 13 and at Fozy Moss near the Roman Wall on 11th July where Keith counted 12 butterflies. The final record of the season was near Crag Lough on 6th August when John Taylor recorded two butterflies. Northumberland is an important stronghold for the Large Heath in England but the species is potentially vulnerable to climate change. In order to be able to track its fortunes the recorders are keen to receive more records of this species and would be very pleased to hear from anyone who might be interested in visiting the moors in July.
Large Heath - 2009
40 35 30 25 20
Number 15 10 5 0 Jun Jul Aug Date
Acknowledgements We would like to thank our species writers for assisting in the preparation of the annual report: Jaci Beaven, (Holly Blue, Red Admiral, Peacock & Comma), Terry Coult, (Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary), Brian Denham, (Small Skipper, Small Copper, Ringlet & Small Heath), Cliff Evans, (Small White & Small Tortoiseshell), Steve le Fleming, (Green-veined White, Green Hairstreak, Purple Hairstreak Common Blue, Marbled White & Meadow Brown), Roger Norman, (Brimstone & White-letter Hairstreak), Stuart Priestly, (Gatekeeper), Dave Stebbings, (Large Skipper, Brown Argus, Painted Lady, Speckled Wood & Wall Brown), Dave Wainwright, (Dingy Skipper, Northern Brown Argus & Grayling).and Jonathan Wallace, (Large White, Orange Tip, Dark Green Fritillary & Large Heath) We are looking for more volunteers, to write up one or perhaps two species for 2008. We would also like to receive more photographs for inclusion in the report, (as JPEG files please). Please contact the Recorders.
49 CONTRIBUTORS
J. M. Almond, Martyn Anderson, Daphne Aplin, Fiona Aungier, Frank Barber, Antonia Barr, Jaci Beaven, Silvia Bennington, Dave Blair, Ian Bond, Arthur Bowes, Keith Bowey, Vicky Catley, Sue Charlton, Jess Cheesman, Dave Chrisp, Pam Chrisp, Ken Churchman, Mike N Coates, Melvyn Conlong, Anne Corrigan, Terry Coult, C. P. Cuthbert, F. Daly, Phil Davey, Ian Davidson, Alan Davis, Ken Dawson, Brian Denham, V. Denham, Coralie Dickinson, Mark Dinning, Paul Drummond, Nicholas Dryden, Mrs J Dugan, Heather Dunn, Arthur Edwards, Milly Effiong, Hewitt Ellis, Sam Ellis, Ian H Findlay, Elizabeth Martin Fisher, Ian Fisher, Karen Fisher, Steve le Fleming, P.W. Forster, Jennie Garrod, Dave Garner, Liz Goodyear, Shaun Hackett, Mr & Mrs Hardie, Jacqui Harle, Brian Harle, Rebecca Hetherington, Matt Hawking, E. Hawkins, Richard Hockin, Simon Hodgson, Steve Holliday, Michael Holmes, John Hope, David Howdon, Denise Hunter, Mike Hunter, Ann & Malcolm Hutcheson, Steven Hutchinson, Tom Hutchinson, Tom Iviston, Alan Janes, Mike Jeffries, Alan J. Johnston, Ian Kerr, A. Kingston, Simon Lamplough, John Lawson, Dave Liddle, Roger Manning, Morag Marsden, Jim Martin, Jack Mawson, Joan Mawson, Paul Mawson, Robert Mawson, Dee McKeown, Andy McClay, Helen McDonald, Lindsay McDougall, Chris McLaren, Maurice McNeely, Eileen Meek, Sarah Meredith, Andrew Middleton, Graham Mitchell, Francis Mudd, Jim Nangle, Mike Nattrass, Liz Naughton, Dorothy Nelson, Tim Nelson, David Nicol, Ms. M. Nolan, Kaye Norman, Roger Norman, John O’Reilly, Andrew Paciorek, Yolanda Paciorek, Russell Pannell, Simon Parnaby, Brian Pollinger, Miss Ella Pollinger, Gordon Pollinger, Ms Valerie Potts, Stuart Priestly, John Rae, Kevin Redgrave, David Reid Jnr, Mark Richardson, Mike Richardson, Mr B.A. Robinson, Mrs J.A. Robinson, Keith Robson, V. Rodd, Julie Roper, Les Rowell, Stephen Rutherford, Ian Scott, George Simpson, Gordon Simpson, Pippa Smaling, Keith Smith, Graham Smith, June Smith, Neville Stead, David Stebbings, Les Stobbs, Sid Storey, S. Straughan, Pete Summers, Paul Tankard, Roslyn Tanner, Mrs J. Taylor, John Taylor, Tom Thirlaway, M. & N. Tuck, D. Turnbull, Enid Turnbull, Dave Wainwright, Eileen Waddell, Jeff Waddell, Jonathan Wallace, Ms Sally Walkinshaw, Elizabeth Waterston, Stephen Watson, Richard Weddle, Gary Whitton, John Wilson, Ann Young, Gordon Young, Heather Young, Phil Younger, R.E. Youngman, C. Zardi, Alnwick Wildlife Group, Berwick Wildlife Group, Gateshead Birders website, Hauxely Ringing Station, Natural England, Northumberland Wildlife Trust, The National Trust, with apologies for any accidental omissions.
Both ‘casual’ records and transect counts are important for the data analysis in the annual report. Butterfly Conservation would like to thank the following transect walkers: Recorder Transect Mark Richardson, Steve Le Fleming……. Bishop Middleham Quarry Stephen Hutchinson… ...... Brass Castle-Waldridge North Dave Liddle ...... Burn Hill Arthur Bowes ...... Castle Eden Dene NNR – West end Berwick Wildlife Group* ...... Cocklawburn Dunes Daphne Aplin ...... Cowpen Bewley Woodland Park Vicky Catley, Chris McLaren, Stephen Rutherford Derwent Walk Country ...... Park Silvia Bennington ...... Dunstanburgh Heugh Helen McDonald, Morag Marsden .. Gibside (National Trust) Dave Stebbings ...... Havannah LNR Dave Wainwright ...... Hedleyhope Fell & Inkerman Phil Davey (Natural England) ...... Lindisfarne NNR Stephen Hutchinson, John Wilson, Melvyn Conlong Morrison Busty Pit Yard Coralie Dickinson, Les Stobbs, Tom Iviston Newton Hall Junction Kevin Redgrave (National Trust) .... Newton-Links C. P. Cuthbert, Kevin Redgrave ..... Newton Point Mark Richardson, Mark Dinning ..... Raisby Hill Grassland Brian Pollinger, Rebecca Hetherington Stargate Ponds & Bewes Hill John Lawson ...... Stillington Forest Park Karen Fisher, Dave Liddle ...... Tanfield Lea, near Stanley Simon Hodgson ...... Tees Railway Walk
50 Brian Denham, Jess Cheesman ..... The Whinnies LNR, (near Darlington) John Hope ...... Thrislington Plantation Berwick Wildlife Group** ...... Tommy-the-Miller’s Field, Berwick Ian H. Findlay ...... Upper Teesdale NNR Pippa Smaling ...... West Park, Darlington Gary Whitton, Jennie Garrod ...... Wingate Quarry
* Elizabeth Martin Fisher, Fiona Aungier, Maurice McNeely, Enid Turnbull, & Molly Hardie. **, Fiona Aungier & John Rae.
Brian Pollinger from Gateshead Council’s Countryside Management Team is thanked for co-ordinating records for the Gateshead region through Thornley Woodland’s Centre. Bob Mawson is credited for submitting records from a small, but enthusiastic band of recorders in the Trimdon area. Roger Manning is thanked for sending in butterfly records on behalf of the Alnwick Wildlife Group and Kevin Redgrave for sending in transect counts from the National Trust for the Northumberland coast. Thank you to the following for the photographs and illustrations used in this report. Front Cover Painted Lady Terry Coult Page 7 Long-tailed Blue Hew Ellis Page 13 Dingy Skipper Rebecca Hetherington Page 18 Green-veined White Roslyn Tanner Page 25 Brown Argus Tim & Dorothy Nelson Page 25 Brown Argus Tim & Dorothy Nelson Page 25 Northern Brown Argus Tim & Dorothy Nelson Page 32 Painted Lady Jaci Beaven Page 36 Comma Malcolm Hutchinson Page 38 Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary Bob Mawson Page 39 Dark Green fritillary Bob Mawson Page 41 Wall Brown Roslyn Tanner
With the increasing number of butterfly records now being submitted, and with it the increasing chances of finding locally rare species, a reminder that photographs or descriptions in support of the following five species should be sent with each record: Brown Argus, Large Tortoiseshell, Camberwell Beauty, Gatekeeper and Brimstone. In the absence of any photographs, a detailed description in support of the sighting should be submitted. In addition to these species, any record of Essex Skipper will need to be fully documented. A brief description should also accompany any out of place records, such as a species seen outside its normal flight period, e.g. a Small Skipper seen in the first week of June or earlier, or a species seen well outside its currently known range, for example Northern Brown Argus in Northumberland. Feedback When processing and analysing over eighteen thousand records, plus comparisons to previous years, it is almost inevitable some mistakes will slip through. If anyone does notice any errors please inform your Butterfly Recorders. The Branch would welcome any feedback or suggestions to improve future editions of the Annual Report. Please send us photographs, line drawings and articles for both the newsletters and annual reports. They are always welcome.
51
FLIGHT PERIOD TABLE This table relates to both Durham and Northumberland, and records the first and last flying record of each species for the three-year period 2007 to 2009. Insects found in undisturbed hibernation or in the larval stage have been excluded. For ease of reference, any record early/late sightings during the BNM project period 1995 – 2009 are included in the last two columns. Only two earliest and two latest record dates were beaten or equalled. One or two dates may differ from previous tables due to additional records or reappraisal.
FLIGHT PERIOD TABLE Record 2007 2008 2009 Record earliest latest Small Skipper 20-Jun 6-Sep 7-Jun 21-Sep 8-Jun 1-Sep 7-Jun-06/08 10-Oct-01 Large Skipper 19-May 17-Aug 31-May 15-Aug 24-May 17-Aug 19-May-07 27-Aug-02 Dingy Skipper 30-Apr 2-Jul 9-May 27-Jun 25-Apr 22-Aug 18-Apr-03 22-Aug-09 Clouded Yellow 2-Jul 18-Sep 13-Jun 1-Jul 23-May-06 15-Oct-00 Brimstone 5-Apr 30-Aug 10-May 1-Jul 31-May 4-Aug 5-Apr-07 5-Sep-97 Large White 4-Apr 31-Oct 1-Apr 13-Oct 18-Mar 12-Oct 17-Mar-99 31-Oct-07 Small White 25-Mar 21-Oct 3-Apr 8-Oct 17-Mar 18-Oct 3-Mar-99 30-Oct-05 Green-veined White 5-Apr 11-Oct 27-Apr 9-Oct 30-Mar 4-Oct 9-Mar-97 18-Oct-97 Orange Tip 5-Apr 21-Aug 31-Mar 24-Jun 31-Mar 3-Jul 30-Mar-03 10-Sep-06 Green Hairstreak 18-Apr 1-Jun 6-May 27-May 11-Apr 3-Jun 11-Apr-97/03/09 27-Jul-98/08 Purple Hairstreak 7-Jul 3-Sep 21-Jul 23-Aug 14-Jul 27-Aug 6-Jul-03 12-Sep-05 White-letter Hairstreak 22-Jun 13-Aug 19-Jul 28-Aug 1-Jul 13-Aug 16-Jun-05 28-Aug-96/08 Small Copper 26-Apr 28-Oct 20-Apr 12-Oct 25-Apr 12-Oct 13-Apr-03 28-Oct-07 Brown Argus 17-Jun 11-Sep 29-May 27-Sep 31-May 19-Aug 29-May-08 27-Sep-08 Northern Brown Argus 1-Jun 29-Aug 5-Jun 15-Aug 1-Jun 27-Aug 29-May-02/03 29-Aug-07 Common Blue 28-Apr 11-Oct 7-May 26-Oct 21-May 3-Oct 28-Apr-07 26-Oct-08 Holly Blue 7-Apr 11-Sep 13-Apr 20-Sep 18-Apr 28-May 1-Apr-99 21-Oct-06 Red Admiral 27-Jan 28-Dec 28-Jan 15-Nov 17-Mar 28-Nov 23-Jan-06 28-Dec-07 Painted Lady 4-Apr 4-Nov 8-May 19-Sep 12-Apr 29-Oct 4-Apr-07 7-Nov-03 Small Tortoiseshell 28-Jan 8-Nov 11-Feb 25-Nov 9-Jan 31-Oct 1-Jan-05 27-Dec-05 Camberwell Beauty 6-Jul-06 10-Sep-06 Peacock 19-Jan 30-Nov 22-Jan 6-Dec 10-Mar 4-Nov 8-Jan-96 23-Dec-05 Comma 3-Feb 16-Nov 13-Mar 18-Nov 13-Mar 11-Nov 3-Feb-07 18-Nov-08 Small Pearl-bordered Frit. 4-Jun 21-Aug 11-Jun 21-Jul 10-Jun 15-Jul 1-Jun-03 21-Aug-07 High Brown Fritillary 30-Jul-06 30-Jul-06 Dark Green Fritillary 28-Jun 7-Sep 2-Jul 29-Aug 22-Jun 26-Aug 7-Jun-06 7-Sep-07 Speckled Wood 5-Apr 11-Nov 16-Apr 20-Oct 2-Apr 11-Oct 2-Apr-09 11-Nov-07 Wall Brown 4-Apr 21-Oct 8-May 11-Oct 19-Apr 1-Oct 4-Apr-07 21-Oct-07 Marbled White 2-Jul 31-Jul 1-Jul 26-Aug 30-Jun 13-Aug 25-Jun-03 26-Aug-08 Grayling 9-Jul 6-Sep 13-Jul 2-Sep 5-Jul 22-Aug 30-Jun-06 11-Sep-05 Gatekeeper 5-Aug 5-Aug 21-Jul 11-Aug 23-Jul 11-Aug 14-Jul-06 11-Aug-08/09 Meadow Brown 20-May 2-Oct 4-Jun 1-Oct 25-May 11-Sep 4-Apr-99 14-Oct-95 Ringlet 8-Jun 24-Aug 14-Jun 30-Aug 10-Jun 25-Aug 15-May-00 2-Oct-01 Small Heath 14-May 11-Oct 21-May 16-Oct 11-May 24-Sep 7-May-03 16-Oct-08 Large Heath 7-Jul 7-Jul 1-Jul 23-Jul 24-Jun 11-Jul 4-Jun-96 14-Aug-96
52 SPECIES ABUNDANCE COMPARISON TABLE TETRAD ANALYSIS: BUTTERFLIES OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM PROJECT (PHASES 1, 2 & 3)
2007 2008 2009 All three Phase 1 Phase 2 Tetrads Tetrads Tetrads phases to date (1995 – 1999) (2000 – 2004) (% of all (% of all (% of all (1995 – 2009) (% of all (% of all 639 524 635 Species (% of all 1,579 recorded 1,460 recorded recorded recorded recorded 1989 recorded tetrads) tetrads) tetrads tetrads) tetrads tetrads) 238 (37%) 207(40%) 276 (43%) Green-veined White 1,086 (69%) 946 (65%) 1550 (78%) 266 (42%) 238 (45%) 296 (47%) Small Tortoiseshell 932 (59%) 835 (57%) 1414(71%) 287 (45%) 242 (46%) 240 (38%) Meadow Brown 871 (55%) 726 (50%) 1302 (65%) 305 (48%) 282 (54%) 302 (48%) Peacock 671 (42%) 781 (53%) 1242 (62%) 203 (32%) 224 (43%) 297 (47%) Large White 760 (48%) 731 (50%) 1195 (60%) 198 (31%) 191 (36%) 266 (42%) Small White 709 (45%) 649 (44%) 1117 (56%) 255 (40%) 196 (37%) 250 (39%) Red Admiral 536 (34%) 669 (46%) 1114 (56%) 197 (31%) 171 (33%) 171 (27%) Orange-tip 459 (29%) 510 (35%) 936 (47%) 108 (17%) 116 (22%) 113 (18%) Small Heath 525 (33%) 331 (23%) 800 (40%) 165 (26%) 43 (8%) 324 (51%) Painted Lady 308 (20%) 557 (38%) 877 (44%) 180 (28%) 167 (32%) 171 ((27%) Ringlet 329 (20%) 383 (26%) 808 (41%) 120 (19%) 118 (23%) 132 (21%) Common Blue 422 (27%) 395 (27%) 688 (35%) 135 (21%) 104 (20%) 104 (16%) Small Copper 356 (22%) 346 (24%) 666 (33%) 175 (27%) 131 (25%) 136 (21%) Comma 268 (17%) 381 (26%) 628 (32%) 130 (20%) 136 (26%) 130 (20%) Small Skipper 302 (19%) 348 (24%) 628 (32%) 164 (26%) 156 (30%) 192 (30%) Wall Brown 225 (14%) 390 (27%) 608 (31%) 121 (19%) 75 (14%) 105 (17%) Large Skipper 274 (17%) 238 (16%) 495 (25%) 76 (12%) 99 (19%) 138 (22%) Speckled Wood 4 (0.3%) 17 (1%) 239 (12%) 39 (6%) 32 (6%) 43 (7%) Dingy Skipper 87 (6%) 94 (6%) 181 (9%) 1 (0.2%) 4 (0.8%) 13 (2%) Large Heath 116 (7%) 85 (6%) 127 (6%) 57 (9%) 40 (8%) 7 (1%) Holly Blue 21 (1%) 47 (3%) 123 (6%) 23 (4%) 8 (0.2%) 20 (3%) White-letter Hairstreak 47 (3%) 41 (3%) 110 (6%) 19 (3%) 18 (3%) 21 (3%) Dark Green Fritillary 33 (2%) 41 (3%) 95 (5%) 4 (0.6%) - 1 (0.2%) Clouded Yellow 11 (0.7%) 50 (3%) 85 (4%) 7 (1%) 6 (1%) 7 (1%) Green Hairstreak 46 (3%) 45 (3%) 83 (4%) 9 (1%) 8 (2%) 9 (1%) Purple Hairstreak 4 (0.3%) 51 (3%) 67 (3%) 14 (2%) 12 (2%) 10 (2%) Sm. Pearl-bord. Frit. 32 (2%) 29 (2%) 64 (3%) 13 (2%) 12 (2%) 9 (1%) Grayling 24 (2%) 29 (2%) 57 (3%) 4 (0.6%) 2 (0.4%) 3 (0.5%) Brimstone 6 (0.4%) 13 (0.9%) 36 (2%) 3 (0.5%) 6 (1%) 4 (0.6%) Northern Brown Argus 21 (1%) 20 (1%) 27 (1%) 1 (0.2%) 4 (0.8%) 1 (0.2%) Gatekeeper 7 (0.4%) 2 (0.1%) 13 (0.7%) - - - Camberwell Beauty 10 (0.6%) 1 (0.1%) 11 (0.6%) 1 (0.2%) 6 (1%) 1 (0.2%) Marbled White - 3 (0.2%) 10 (0.5%) 3 (0.5%) 2 (0.4%) 3 (0.5%) Brown Argus - - 9 (0.5%) - - - High Brown Fritillary - - 1 (0.05%) Tetrads 1,579 1,460 1,989 33 32 33 Species Phase 3 data is for the complete five-year period 2005 – 2009.
53 These graphs illustrate the distribution of four of our commoner species over the life of the Butterflies for the New Millennium Project. Whilst Small White is stable or possibly expanding slowly, Small Copper is stable at best. Red Admiral is erratic, as might be expected for a migratory species whilst Ringlet has steadily expanded its range over the last fifteen years.
Small White 1995-2009
50.0
40.0
30.0
20.0
% of recorded tetrads 10.0
0.0 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Year
Small Copper 1995-2009
30.0
25.0
20.0
15.0
10.0
% of recorded tetrads 5.0
0.0 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Year
Red Admiral 1995-2009 60.0
50.0
40.0
30.0
20.0 % of recorded tetrads 10.0
0.0 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Year
Ringlet 1995-2009 35.0
30.0
25.0
20.0
15.0
10.0 % of recorded tetrads 5.0
0.0 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Year
54 SUBMITTING BUTTERFLY RECORDS IN 2010
Records are the bedrock of conservation and the North East Branch welcomes records of all species, for all dates and places, and of course for all forms.
As in previous years, there are two ways of sending your records in. For those without a home computer, the existing yellow paper casual record sheets will continue unchanged. However, if you have a PC, the Branch would strongly urge you to send in your records using a spreadsheet such as Microsoft Excel or Lotus 123. Each record should occupy one line and the format of the spreadsheet should look something like the following example: A B C D E F G 1 Name/s of NZ274423 Palace Green, 22-Aug-2009 Large White 7 recorder/s Durham City 2 Name/s of NZ196858 Morpeth 24-Sep-2009 Peacock 2 Very worn recorder/s (riverside) 3 Name/s of NZ2514 Baydale Beck 1-Jul-2009 Comma 1 Hutchinsoni recorder/s Darlington form Column A - Recorder/s names. Column B - Grid reference, which should be two letters, (NT, NU, NY or NZ), followed by four or six numbers. The first two (or three) numbers are the Easting, read from the top or bottom of OS maps, the last two, (or three) numbers represent the Northing, read from either side of the map. Column C - Site name. For obscure place names please include a nearby town or village. Column D.- Date-please try to follow the format shown, (this is really important) Column E - The name of the species seen. Column F- Please give the actual number seen if possible, we no longer use letters for abundance, (A, B, C etc). For larva (L), ova (O), pupa (P) or mating (M) records, please use the appropriate code letter, optionally adding numbers seen. Column G - For any comments you may wish to add. Optionally, you can add a habitat code to an extra column,(column H), if you wish.
A blank spreadsheet, with the date formatted, is available, if needed, from the recorders. Electronic records are most easily sent as an email attachment. However, you can also send them in by post on floppy disc, memory stick or CD. The deadline for records to be included, and credited, in the 2010 Annual Report is 30 November 2010. Depending on where you live, please send all records to: DURHAM NORTHUMBERLAND Steve Le Fleming Roger Norman 7 Albert Street, 1 Prestwick Gardens, Kenton, Durham, DH1 4RL Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE3 3DN 0191 386 7309 0191 285 8314 [email protected] [email protected] please check the website to confirm Roger Norman’s current email address To avoid records being lost on the internet, we will try to acknowledge all emails within 14 days. If you do not hear from us please telephone us. BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION: NORTH EAST ENGLAND BRANCH COMMITTEE MEMBERS FOR 2010
Branch Organiser, Secretary and Treasurer Chairman Steve Kirtley, 7 Mowden Walk, Cliff Evans, 10 Pentland Grove Darlington, DL3 9DJ Darlington, DL3 8BA Tel: 01325 460 198 Tel 01325 466 471 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]
Butterfly Recorder (Northumberland) Moth Recorder Roger Norman, 1 Prestwick Gardens, Kenton, Terry Coult, 4 Officials Row, Malton, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE3 3DN Lanchester, Co. Durham, DH7 0TH Tel: 0191 285 8314 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Please check the website to confirm the current email address Membership Secretary & Newsletter Editor Jaci Beaven, 21 West Acres, Alnwick, Butterfly Recorder (Durham) Northumberland NE66 2QA Steve le Fleming, 7 Albert Street, Tel: 01665 510 713 Durham, DH1 4RL, Email: [email protected] Tel: 0191 386 7309 Email: [email protected] Conservation Officer (Durham) Vacant, queries c/o Regional Office. Transect Co-ordinator Tel: 01388 488 428 Brian Denham, 1 Swaledale Avenue, Email [email protected] Darlington, DL3 9AJ Tel: 01325 263 449 Conservation Officer (Northumberland) Email: [email protected] David Stebbings, 20 Purley Gardens, Kenton Newcastle upon Tyne, NE3 3DJ. Website Manager Tel: 0191 285 9097 Jonathan Wallace, 50 Cherryburn Gardens, Email: [email protected] Fenham, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 9UQ Tel 0191 274 4303 Committee Member Email: [email protected] Ken Dawson, 7 Hagg Bank Cottages, Wylam, Northumberland NE41 8JT Branch website: Tel: 01661 852 928, www.northeast-butterflies.org.uk Email: [email protected]
Butterfly Conservation: Regional Office (Northern England) Dr. D. Wainwright, Butterfly Conservation, Low Barns, Witton-le-Wear, Bishop Auckland, Co. Durham, DL14 0AG Tel: 01388 488 428, Email: [email protected]
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 in Scotland (SCO39268)
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