Butterflies a plenty ...

In addition to the considerable signs of Duke of Burgundy feeding, the Murray Downland Trust trustees observed the following butterfly species on a site visit to the Heyshott Escarpment reserve on 22 July 2014:

Large White

Small White

Green-veined White

Clouded Yellow

Brimstone

Chalk Hill Blue

Common Blue

Red Admiral

Small Tortoiseshell

Peacock

Comma

Silver-washed Fritillary

Dark Green Fritillary

Marbled White

Meadow Brown

Ringlet

Gatekeeper

Small Heath

Speckled Wood

Essex Skipper

Small Skipper

Large Skipper

This may be the highest species count recorded in one afternoon on an MDT reserve. Unless you know better ...

Nick Sherwin

Good News For The Duke

The Duke of Burgundy emerged in good numbers at Heyshott Escarpment this spring, with a peak day count of 104 adults. Of course this is only a small part of the story, and the fortunes of each species from year to year depend far more on the success (or otherwise) of the early stages, particularly the caterpillar, than they do on adult numbers; good flight seasons can easily be followed by population crashes.

I was therefore delighted to see the extent of larval feeding damage to the cowslips on this site when I visited on 12th July. Plants over the entire eastern flank of the reserve were peppered with the characteristic pattern left by mature caterpillars. A diligent search is often required on Duke of Burgundy sites, but on this occasion the evidence was simply everywhere I looked, almost to the very summit of the slope. The majority of larvae had probably pupated by the time of my visit, given the generally good conditions since May, and are now safely tucked up in their mossy beds. Things look very promising for the Heyshott Duke in 2015.