Butterfly Conservation - Hampshire and Isle of Wight Branch

NEWS

Wednesday 4th June 2008

HAMPSHIRE MOTHS

Many people’s first reaction to the word “moth” is a negative one: they envisage small brown creatures which eat their clothes or big brown flappers crashing into their lampshades at night. The truth is rather different.

Hampshire is home to about 1900 species of moths, many of which are beautifully marked, intriguingly shaped and have interesting life histories. As well as being fascinating in their own right they are a fundamental part of our natural fauna, and an excellent indicator of the health of the environment. They act as pollinators, and are a vital food source for many birds, bats and small mammals without which these predators could not exist. They are an often overlooked part of our garden wildlife, but once you discover their beauty and diversity you may well become hooked!

Hampshire is particularly rich in species because of its southerly location and the diversity of its habitats: it has acid heathland in the New Forest, extensive woodlands such as Botley Wood and Pamber Forest among others, a band of chalk downland from the Hants/Wilts border across Winchester to Portsmouth, and coastal reed-beds and sand dunes. All these areas support different vegetation which in turn supports a great variety of Lepidoptera.
In spite of all this potential a sad fact is that moth numbers have decreased by a third since 1968.
Butterfly Conservation is organising an exciting new nationwide survey called Garden Moths Count which runs from 21 June to 6 July, to try to discover which moths frequent our gardens. Anyone can take part and full details will be found on the website www.mothscount.org. Click on the link to Garden Moths Count.

So how do you get to see moths? Moths are attracted to light so you can: ·

Leave on an outside light and inspect the wall in the vicinity ·
Open your curtains and see what comes to the windowpane
Leave the bathroom window open with a light (shut the door) for a few hours and see what comes in
Hang a white sheet in the garden and leave a strong torch shining on it
Go out with a torch to look for moths feeding on flowers at dusk

Members of Hampshire & IoW Branch regularly record moths in the county and run public events such as on National Moth Night (Saturday 7th June 2008) and Hampshire Moth Night (Saturday 5th July 2008) when anyone can go along and enjoy learning about moths. Quite a number of moths are day-flyers and could easily be mistaken for butterflies. You can join a walk organised by Butterfly Conservation and quickly learn to identify the various species you come across. Full details of walks and other events can be found on the website (HERE...).
There are lots of books and charts generally available which give details of a wide range of species. One book which is particularly recommended is Moths of Great Britain and Ireland by Waring, Townsend and Lewington published in 2003 by British Wildlife Publishing. The updated Concise Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland was published in 2007. Both books cover all the British species of macro (larger) moths. See also the Hantsmoths website at www.hantsmoths.org.uk

Juliet Bloss

Sunday 11th May 2008

When I told a friend I was going to a Caterpillar Training day. She went a bit quiet & then asked "to do what?"

Well the 20+ of us were the ones being trained, not the caterpillars! The course was arranged by Butterfly Conservation as part of the development of National Moth Recording Scheme & we were lucky to have leading national moth expert Dr Paul Waring as tutor. Paul provided inspiration to take an interest in moths & their caterpillars by describing how his interest had started at the age of two & three quarters and eventually being firmly established by the completion of a PHD on how woodland management affects moths. Those present, who included both beginners and experienced moth-ers, were also able to meet Hampshire & IoW Branch Moth Officer Tim Norriss and local moth expert David Green.
Paul highlighted the importance of hunting for caterpillars as some adult moths do not come to light. Also finding caterpillars feeding can enhance our knowledge of the aspect size and other features of larval foodplants. He stressed the importance of recording information at the time of finding caterpillars. Prior to "technology" he used a card index system - making sketches & recording size of caterpillar & foodplant information. He suggested that these days taking digital photos or using a video cam is better.
We were shown two main methods of finding caterpillars - beating - where the tree branch is given a strong tap 5 times & caterpillars fall onto a Bignell beating tray or collecting sheet or even an upturned umbrella, a good cheap alternative, to the sweeping where a net is swept lightly but firmly through grass etc. Both methods are best used after dark when caterpillars are feeding more actively. The welfare of the caterpillar was stressed - we had to collect a few leaves it was feeding on & keep them cool in the shade on what was a very hot May day.
Paul showed overhead slides of three families of moth & a graph of the month showing when their peak season was. This related to the presence of young & tender leaves free of tannins & other chemicals giving protection ie. Spring and then the Lammas growth in late summer, with grass feeding caterpillars being at a peak in July. May was a peak time for geometrids and sure enough we found many caterpillars of the looper type, most numerous of which were the Winter Moths. Just one December moth was found, Copper Underwing, Feathered Thorn with its two raised orange conical bumps near the tail and a Footman sp.
Time did not permit the identification of all caterpillars but hopefully all the significant ones were highlighted. Paul showed us the useful illustration of caterpillar shapes in the Observer Book of Caterpillars (after the event I found that the Collins Field Guide to Caterpillars of Britain & Europe that I use also included a similar guide.) The book Paul recommended is The Caterpillars of the British Isles by Jim Porter which can be obtained on Amazon for £33, but this is very comprehensive book. He also mentioned a set of old books by William Buckler (collectors items and virtually impossible to acquire) which are now available on CD - for a price!
Paul showed a number of slides representing the many different moth families. He explained about numbers and positions of legs and claspers to and how to tell which were not lepidopterous but sawfly larvae. I am sure we will remember they have lots more legs & look a bit shiny like jelly babies! It was a truly inspiring day & hopefully the results will be more records sent in to the Branch & those of us who attended passing on our interest & knowledge of caterpillars to others.
Lynn Fomison Reserves Officer Hampshire & Isle of Wight Branch

PRESS RELEASE - Friday, 7^th March, 2008

Forty years on, enthusiasts rescue crisis butterfly

Enthusiasts are claiming a remarkable turnaround in butterfly numbers at a Hampshire site. National figures indicate that the Chalkhill Blue has declined by more than a third over the past decade.

That’s not so at Magdalen Hill Down near Winchester. At this Butterfly Conservation reserve the number of Chalkhill Blue butterflies has increased by as much as 700 per cent in recent years. Other butterfly populations at the site, including the Common Blue, are also showing a spectacular resurgence.

These reversals are the result of a major volunteer effort over the past 19 years. During this period the land available for butterfly habitat has been expanded five-fold.

Today (Friday, 7^th March) a team from Hampshire & Isle of Wight Branch of Butterfly Conservation will once again be working on the site, cutting back scrub and striving to achieve the flower-rich grassland on which butterflies depend.

Lynn Fomison, who oversees this reserve, said: “Last summer butterflies everywhere suffered because of the continual rain. Hopefully we’ll have a better summer this year and there’ll again be a profusion of these beautiful butterflies to provide a shimmering mass of blue. It’s magnificent sight”

Magdalen Hill Down was traditionally a butterfly paradise, but the steep hillside became overgrown with scrub from the1950’s onwards. Other parts of the hill had been ploughed and taken into arable cultivation during the 1940’s. Many acres of chalk downland supporting butterfly species were lost. Thoughout the country vast tracts of other butterfly habitats were being similarly destroyed, prompting the setting up of the charity Butterfly Conservation 40 years ago this weekend.

By the time Butterfly Conservation was able to take responsibility for the Hampshire site in 1989 the butterflies had diminished to a fraction of their former numbers.

The Magdalen Hill Down volunteers will today be joined by journalist, author and broadcaster Rosie Boycott. Rosie is a member of Butterfly Conservation who has her own West Country smallholding and champions closer links to the countryside. She said: “We must treat our countryside with respect. Butterfly Conservation has shown that we can save these wonderful species.”

The Hampshire work party is one of 15 being organised on key butterfly sites nationwide to mark Butterfly Conservation’s 40^th birthday. They are the first of a series of activities throughout the year marking the anniversary.

Over the past 40 years Butterfly Conservation has grown from a handful of members to more than 13,000, many of them actively participating in conservation work and in recording butterfly numbers. Butterflies are much more sensitive to change than other wildlife. The monitoring of them on this large scale provides invaluable data about what is happening to our environment and about climate change.

Contact

Nerys Coward,
Publicity Officer,
Butterfly Conservation.
Tel: 01929 406010
Mobile 07834 787903
Email ncoward@butterfly-conservation.org

Lester Cowling,
Senior Publicity Officer,
Butterfly Conservation.
Tel 01929 406038
Mobile 07976363546
Email lcowling@butterfly-conservaton.org

Tuesday 27th November 2007

November 2007 was a good month for Matthew Oates. He joined us at our Branch AGM and members day on 10th November. As joint founder of our branch 25 years ago who better to cut the celebratory cake! Matthew also gave an excellent talk reviewing the last 25 years of butterflies and even daring to look ahead.

But better was to come. At the National AGM and Members Day on 17th November at Leamington Spa, Matthew received the prestigious Marsh Lepidoptera Award for Lifetime Achievement. See National web site News section for more details.

Thursday 22nd March 2007

Spring into Action 1st May to 7th June! This is an initiative from British Trust for Conservation Volunteers BTCV to promote the importance of volunteers trying out practical activities to look after their local wild life & green places. Details will be on the web site www.btcv.org.

Butterfly Conservation is very dependant on volunteer help in caring for our reserves and I support BTCV is seeking to find new volunteers. Two groups affiliated to BTCV - The Wednesday Group and Hampshire Conservation Volunteers have been giving us regular help for years.

I hope that the Spring & Summer programme of walks at reserves will encourage new comers to enjoy the wonder of butterflies and moths and to feel inspired to help us with winter conservation work.

Lynn Fomison Reserves Officer

Friday 12th January 2007

Nigel Spring from the Dorset Branch says "We have arranged a week visit to La Brenne in central France for the halfterm period in February 16th-24th and are hoping to find 10 people to come with us. It should also be suitable for families with children over 12 and for unaccompanied young people over 16. Funding is available to make the cost of this much less of a shock in the post-Christmas poverty zone!

The aim of the trip will be to set up the beginnings of an exchange with volunteers in that part of France, to carry out practical management tasks on various habitats in the nature reserve particularly for Large Copper, Alcon Blue and Marsh Fritillary butterflies, to enjoy this delightful wetland area of 2000 fishing lakes with their overwintering wildfowl and the woodlands and heaths that surround them, not to mention the food, wine and local culture. It is intended to be a relaxed, enjoyable visit which will lead on to other things... La Brenne is within easy reach of Caen so we shall be travelling in a minibus via the Portsmouth-Caen ferry. I have attached further information about this.

If you are interested in joining us, could you let me know? I will then send you a booking form. Even if you cannot join us in February, perhaps you could help by sending this information on to your contacts or printing it and displaying it somewhere. Or you might have access to funding that can enable us to offer more concessional places - please get in touch!".

Please click here for more information.