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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, 7th 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, 7th 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 40th
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.
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