Welcome to our 10 th Anniversary Edition

Inside: Dr Martin Warren, Conservation’s Chief Executive celebrates the successes and reviews the challenges of the past ten years’ work by Butterfly Conservation volunteers and staff in .

Pearl-bordered Fritillary: Jim Asher Butterfly Conservation in Wales Annual Newsletter 2012 Wales

High Brown Fritillary : P Dunn

Celebrating our first 10 years Welcome to our 10th Anniversary edition It’s been 10 years since Butterfly We have much to celebrate: the Conservation was able to growth in butterfly transects has cement a permanent presence enabled us to produce a Butterfly in Wales, establishing an office Indicator for Wales for the first time. and a Conservation Officer post. We have seen the declines in rare This was made possible by and , such as High Brown and continues to depend on the Pearl-bordered Fritillary, halted. The support we receive from huge expansion in moth recording Countryside Council for Wales. and conservation continues to help Since then membership has rare species like the Silurian, Drab continued to grow and the close Looper and Welsh Clearwing. And work between our staff and we are bringing our on-the-ground volunteers has seen many knowledge and research to bear projects blossom. I would like on policy developments such to thank all our volunteers and as the woodland and agri- supporters for your superb environment schemes in Wales. efforts over the last decade. However, all is not rosy. The recent ‘State of Britain’s Butterflies’ report shows that many species continue to suffer. It is a real challenge for the whole of society to halt these declines by 2020 to meet our international obligations and create a healthier environment for us all.

Dr Martin Warren, Chief Executive

Welsh Clearwing moth: Norman Lowe Marsh The Life Cycle Understanding the ecology of this butterfly is an important starting point. Fritillary The adult flies through May and June with males generally emerging first. The females lay their eggs in batches in Wales close to the mid vein of their Clare Williams foodplant Devils-bit Scabious Succisa Conservation Officer pratensis . The larvae live communally in protective silken webs and go Securing the future of the Marsh through six instars (moults). Four of Fritillary Euphydryas aurinia in Wales these occur before they hibernate low relies on ensuring the survival of our down in a tussock in a tight web in network of Welsh colonies - no easy the late autumn. They emerge in task in the face of development January/February when they spend pressures and habitat loss, time together basking in the winter degradation and fragmentation. sunshine. On many sites they have a Periodic species Action Groups relationship with parasitoid wasps (meetings of individuals/organisations ( Cotesia ) which can infect the involved in Marsh Fritillary Marsh Fritillary larvae and cause high conservation) provide a platform for levels of mortality in some years. The taking stock and moving forwards. The larvae pupate in March/April before last Wales Marsh Fritillary Action was in emerging as adults after about 30 days. 2003 and although a lot has been achieved since, the Marsh Fritillary remains one of our most threatened species. To re-launch our efforts to conserve the Marsh Fritillary in Wales, two Action Groups were held in North and South Wales at the end of 2011. The groups focussed on reviewing the current distribution of the species, the results of a newly established monitoring programme and importantly, future conservation and monitoring needs. Marsh Fritillary: Jim Asher Recording order to answer this question we are working with County Recorders and Recording is the foundation of species other individuals/organisations protection and indicates where we involved in Marsh Fritillary should be focussing our conservation conservation, to double-check for efforts. Our latest assessment of the more recent records for these 151 number of Marsh Fritillary colonies in colonies. Colonies for which no Wales shows a 58% decline since the further information comes to light will 1970’s. Obviously the accuracy of this be targeted for surveys in the summer current picture depends on the to determine presence/absence. This level of recording: Glamorgan, will allow us to update our colony Monmouthshire and Merionethshire status with more certainty and start generally hold up well whereas to define what we have in terms of Caernarvonshire, Carmarthenshire, functioning Marsh Fritillary networks. Ceredigion and Powys are generally under-recorded. In Pembrokeshire Monitoring there has been a decline in recording It is also important to understand how over time, particularly in the last the species is faring in terms of its couple of years. abundance in Wales - are our colonies At present, our Marsh Fritillary dataset getting smaller or larger? Over the tells us that we have 87 colonies with last couple of years we have collated records from 2005 onwards; we class larval web data for ten key Marsh these as our current extant colonies. Fritillary sites in Wales, spanning 17 But what about the 151 colonies that years. The trend currently produced have records up to 2004 but nothing by this data shows a 76% decline in since then - are they extinct or has web abundance. Ten is the minimum no-one been out to record them? In number of sites needed to produce a trend and we must now work to make our monitoring network more Help needed representative of Marsh Fritillary If you would like to get involved sites in Wales so that we have more with these surveys or larval web confidence that our data reflects monitoring, please drop us an what is happening on the ground. email so we can add you to our contact list: [email protected] on marshy sites and with the land owners and the local South community around these sites. The mainly winter work involved scrub Rhondda clearance and fencing of unmanaged sites and control of invasive species, to Marsh restore 18 ha of Marsh Fritillary habitat with a mix of volunteers, project officers, council staff and the Tidy Fritillary Towns Team undertaking the work. The council ran a‘Butterflies on the Project Brink’ pilot project with a local primary and secondary school, collecting Russel Hobson seeds to grow Devil’s-bit Scabious Head of Conservation plants and producing a leaflet for Devil’s-bit Scabious: D Sazer secondary and primary schools about the Marsh Fritillary. This new project has grown out of the work in the Tonyrefail area of Rhondda The vision is to ensure a viable Marsh Cynon Taff. A partnership between Fritillary metapopulation in the next Butterfly Conservation, Countryside ten years, subject to funding, and we Council for Wales, Environment will be monitoring the results both on Agency and the council was formed the habitat, the Marsh Fritillary and back in 2005. In 2011 the next phase other species in the coming years. We of the project began, looking at the are grateful to the Environment whole of the Upper Ely River Agency and Countryside Council for catchment and aims to work both Wales for funding the work last winter.

Site restoration in the Nant Muchudd river valley: Ben Williams

Before.... After.... How are our Grizzled Skippers doing?

Clare Williams Conservation Officer Grizzled : Jim Asher

The malvae down to one or two sites where it is has never been a widespread species associated with coastal and limestone in Wales. There is a scattering of mainly and brownfield sites. coastal records in the south and a Our records between 2005 and 2011 similar scattering of coastal and inland indicate that we have around 18 records in the north. It is now a very colonies but we know little about their rare species, with most counties being size and the conservation measures needed to ensure that the colonies are maintained and where possible expanded. Most of these sites were visited in 2011 to undertake a general assessment of factors such as foodplant availability, habitat condition and current or future threats to the colonies.

Grizzled Skipper habitat, Merthyr Mawr: C Williams Grizzled Skipper survey sites 2012

Wild Strawberry a larval food plant for Grizzled Skipper: C Williams

In May 2012 we revisited all the sites This information will feed into a to assess the extent and abundance species dossier providing details of of the species and the key areas used. all our current Welsh sites and an assessment of any threats and the The surveys indicate that we only have conservation measures required. five substantial colonies in Wales, at Pembrey Forest, Merthyr Mawr and Caerwent in South Wales, and Grizzled Skipper: Jim Asher Llanymynech Rocks and Wrexham Industrial Estate in North Wales. Other colonies appear to be small in size, although poor weather in 2012 means we need further surveys to be sure about this.

We need help with this project so if you feel you can give up some time to visit sites near you in 2013 please get in touch with us Silurian Moth: New Site Discovered

Martin Anthoney Monmouthshire Moth Silurian Moth Eriopygodes imbecilla, and Butterfly Group trapped on Hatterall Ridge

Discovered as a British species by Neil Hatterall Ridge. As another individual Horton in 1972, until now the Silurian had been caught a few miles away moth has been known in Britain only in July 1999, it was suspected that from Coity Mountain in Blaenau the Silurian might be breeding Gwent. Breeding was confirmed in somewhere on the high ground of 2005 when larvae were found in the the Ridge. wild for the first time. Silurian larva On the evening of Monday 4th July I was fortunate to be invited to join Dave Grundy (West Midlands) and Robin Hemming (Herefordshire) on a mothing trip to Hatterall Ridge, which forms the boundary between Wales and to the east of the Llanthony Valley. We were very lucky, and extremely grateful, that Clive Williams (Brecon Beacons National Park Warden) volunteered to act as driver and guide. Two weeks earlier (21st June) Dave Grundy had caught a Silurian at Black Darren, on the eastern side below

All photographs were taken by the author On 4th July, Clive drove us and our Map of Gwent: Two Gwent Silurian Sites equipment along Offa’s Dyke path to a point on Hatterall Ridge (590m), above Black Darren, where the vegetation resembled the grassy mounds with bilberry growing through, characteristic of the Silurian’s known locality at Coity Mountain. The difficult journey had to be done in daylight and our return had to await daybreak next morning. Ten MV traps were set up, covering both sides of Offa’s Dyke. Though it was a fairly warm, partially cloudy night, an annoying wind limited the traps). Hence in one evening both a moths caught to eleven macro species second Welsh (Gwent) site and a first and three micros. However, excitingly, English (Herefordshire) site for the a total of eleven Silurian moths, all Silurian were established. males, came to light. The first one arrived just after 1am and by about For further details see the articles in 3.30am four had come to traps on the Monmouthshire Moth and Butterfly Gwent side (three traps) and seven to Group (MMBG) newsletters 17 (July traps on the Herefordshire side (seven 2004) and 24 (April 2005).

Unloading on Offa’s Dyke path. Left to right Robin Hemming, Dave Grundy and Clive Williams Drab Looper on Wood Spurge: Drab Joel Walley Looper Minoa murinata Woodland First Aid for one of Wales’ rarest moths

Russel Hobson Head of Conservation

Bangor University MSc student, Joel him to take advantage of the best Walley, selected a Drab Looper project weather conditions when looking with Butterfly Conservation Wales as for this day-flying moth and while the focus of his thesis work in 2011. he measured key features of the The aim was to help identify the type woodlands to assess why moth of conditions we need to create at numbers were better at Haugh Wood Welsh sites for this rare UK BAP Priority than Hendre Wood. moth to prosper. After a considerable amount of The study compared conditions in fieldwork, covering 42km of Hendre Wood, near Monmouth, woodland tracks and rides, taking with the nearest good site, Haugh 1500 vegetation samples and Wood, south east of Hereford. The seeing 88 moths, Joel identified the management at Haugh Wood has conditions where the Drab Looper been ideal for Drab Looper and other was most likely to be found:- spring- flying butterflies and moths, The moth appears to like sunny, open while at Hendre Wood emergency woodland rides with a substantial management work over the last two scrub edge extending over 10 metres years has been needed to stop the from the ride edge to the mature decline of Drab Looper at this Welsh trees beyond. The larval foodplant, site. Wood Spurge Euphorbia Joel did his fieldwork while living in a amygdaloides also needs to be converted ambulance. This enabled present. A scrubby edge indicates a broad belt of rotationally-managed vegetation between the ride edge and the mature trees. The reason for fewer Drab Loopers at Hendre wood was that there is more than three times the length of shaded, closed canopy rides than at Haugh Wood. Evidence from other Welsh sites in Good habitat for Drab Looper: Joel Walley 2011 indicated that Drab Looper can persist at very low numbers at sites impenetrable for a person to enter. where suitable habitat is limited. Butterfly Conservation Wales and However, Joel recommends creating Forestry Commission Wales began more open, sunny areas along this programme of work with east-west rides in Hendre Wood e.g. funding from the Welsh Government’s by clearing deep scallops on both Biodiversity Fund administered by sides of woodland rides, and leaving Environment Wales. it to re-grow until it has become too

Graphical Summary of results The graph shows the percentage of each type of vegetation on woodland ride edges (blue bars) plotted against the percentage of Drab Looper sightings (red bars). The most common type of ride edge vegetation (44%) was scrub growing in front of conifers. This produced the highest numbers of Drab Looper moths (53%) simply because it was the commonest vegetation. However, the most effective vegetation was wide edges containing only scrub; though making up only 3% of the ride edges, it produced 17% of the moths found. This is clearly Drab Looper’s preferred habitat. The worst performer was scrub growing in front of deciduous trees; though a common ride edge habitat (28%) it produced very few moths (3%). Untrimmed hedge - good habitat for the Brown Hairstreak and other butterflies Student Project shows value of Hairstreak Hedges

George Tordoff Tir Gofal Monitoring Officer

A Butterfly Conservation student can be used as a flagship for the project, working in conjunction with conservation of more widespread a Welsh Government-funded butterflies. monitoring programme, has revealed During the summer of 2011, Liz that the Brown Hairstreak butterfly Hancocks of Oxford University completed an MSc project looking at butterflies along hedges in Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, the Welsh strongholds of the Brown Hairstreak. Liz walked butterfly transects along 75 hedges in May, June and July, counting all the butterflies seen within five metres of the hedge. The hedges were located on 11 farms entered into Tir Gofal, the former Welsh higher level

Brown Hairstreak: Jim Asher agri-environment scheme. Eggs of the Brown Hairstreak had been found on these farms during surveys carried out over the previous two winters, though eggs were not found on all of the hedges. Liz found a significantly higher abundance and diversity of butterflies on hedges with high numbers of Brown Hairstreak eggs compared to hedges with few or no eggs. This is probably due to a combination of factors, such as Eggs are often laid in the fork of favourable hedge management, Blackthorn twigs - Jim Asher in-field land use and hedge buffer strips around fields, is also microclimate. likely to benefit more widespread The findings suggest that field-margin butterflies such as conservation of the Brown Hairstreak, Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Orange-tip by reducing the frequency of hedge and Green-veined White. trimming and leaving unmanaged

Hedges with more Brown Hairstreak eggs have higher species richness and abundance of other butterflies

Brown Hairstreak egg surveys were carried out as part of the Welsh Government’s Tir Gofal Monitoring Project. Thanks to all the landowners for allowing access for the surveys and for the MSc student measures including agri-environment Wider and woodland grant schemes are having a measureable impact in helping to Countryside conserve and restore butterflies across the countryside as a whole. This is Butterfly especially important given the launch of Glastir, the new Welsh Agri-environment Survey in scheme, in 2012. Last year in excess of 700 squares were Wales surveyed by Butterfly Conservation and BTO volunteers across the UK. In Wales a Zoë Randle total 32 squares were surveyed in 2011, Surveys Officer 23 in South Wales (7 BC, 16 BTO) and 9 in North Wales (4 BC, 5 BTO). From 2012, The Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey national estimates of butterfly (WCBS) is the main scheme for abundance will (for the first time) be monitoring population changes of analysed by combining both WCBS and the UK's common and widespread butterfly transect data from the UK butterflies. The survey is a partnership Butterfly Monitoring Scheme. For this, project run jointly by Butterfly we really need your help to substantially Conservation, the British Trust for boost coverage in Wales. There are Ornithology (BTO) and the Centre for plenty of squares still to be allocated in Ecology and Hydrology (CEH). We are Wales and we are quite sure a suitable pleased to announce that funding has one can be found for you. All that is been secured to run the WCBS for at required is two core visits per year to an least another two years. This is a major allocated 1km square (one in July and boost to the project which has been run one in August) with optional visits at on minimal resources since launching in other times of the year to pick up other 2009. The scheme is vital to help us species (e.g. Orange-tip and Green assess whether nationwide conservation Hairstreak). For further information please contact Zoë Randle on 01929 406006 or [email protected]

Help needed Many thanks to everyone who took part in the WCBS, your valuable data are currently being analysed. We need more recorders to take part and in some areas we seek Branch ‘Champions’ to co-ordinate the scheme locally. Butterflies are usually split in to Early indications of wider countryside species and habitat specialists. While two thirds of all our Positive trends in butterflies are declining, it has been the habitat specialists that have been the main focus of conservation effort Wales’ over the last ten years. Provisional results from the UK Specialist Butterfly Monitoring Scheme suggest that we have been having some success in Wales because of that Butterflies conservation effort. This data may Russel Hobson present too rosy a picture, as it is Head of Conservation skewed by the huge amount of effort that has gone in to conserving a few However, it does show that focussed species like the High Brown and conservation effort in Wales is starting Pearl-bordered Fritillaries. It does not to benefit our rarest butterflies. This take account of the declines being work needs to continue if we are to suffered by the Marsh Fritillary (from ensure these populations are caterpillar records reported in the sustained in Wales. previous article) that has not yet been Note: The chart includes the following species where sufficient data was available: Dark Green Fritillary, included in this calculation. , Grayling, Green Hairstreak, High Brown Fritillary, Marsh Fritillary, Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Small Blue & Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary. Join Us You can support Butterfly Conservation in the vital work we do by becoming a member today. As a member you will receive a welcome pack, our exclusive magazine Butterfly three times a year, an identification chart and membership of your local Branch. Our Branches run over 700 public butterfly and moth events throughout the year and you could be part of them. Please contact the Head Office to join, call us on 01929 406015 or you can become a member online at www.butterfly-conservation.org

Wales Branches’ Websites Butterfly Conservation Head Office, Manor Yard, East Lulworth, Wareham, www.northwalesbutterflies.org.uk Dorset BH20 5QP www.southwales-butterflies.org.uk 01929 400209 [email protected] Butterfly Conservation Wales, www.butterfly-conservation.org 10 Calvert Terrace, Butterfly Conservation is a charity registered in Swansea, SA1 6AR England & Wales (254937) and in Scotland (SCO39268) 01792 642972 Butterfly Conservation is the UK charity [email protected] taking action to save butterflies, moths and our environment. Working with a wide range of partners, we are taking Russel Hobson, action by: Head of Conservation, Wales • Advising landowners and managers Clare Williams, Conservation Officer on conserving and restoring (based in Mid Wales) important habitats. George Tordoff, Conservation Officer • Purchasing and managing land for (Maternity Leave Cover) threatened butterflies, moths and other wildlife. Judy Burroughs, Administration Assistant • Carrying out surveys, monitoring and other essential research. • Lobbying government and its Butterfly Conservation is very grateful to the agencies to influence land use policy. following organisations in Wales that have made our work possible: Carmarthenshire • Working partner of BC County Council, Countryside Council for Wales, Forestry Commission Wales, Oakdale Trust, This newsletter has been produced thanks to Vale of Glamorgan County Borough Council, a grant from Countryside Environment Wales and the Welsh Government. Council for Wales and edited Printed on by Butterfly Conservation staff. FSC 80% The views expressed do not recycled necessarily reflect those of paper Butterfly Conservation.