Glasgow & SW Scotland Butterflies

Forester (Adscita statices) is one of the Burnet moths but does not have any crimson  spots on an inky blue/black background which are charcteristic of this group of spectacular moths. The Forester has green and very shiny wings making it unmistakeable and a very attractive moth to find.

Forester moth Credit: Andrew Masterman

The habitat of the Forester in Scotland is considered to be damp meadows and coastal marshes with a medium to tall sward which contain the larval foodplants, Common Sorrel and Sheep Sorrel, and its preferred nectaring plants which are Ragged Robin, Marsh Thistle and Devil’s Bit Scabious.  Light grazing to control scrub is considered essential but overgrazing is detrimental. Some shelter provided by trees or bracken may also be required but more data on sites in which it occurs would increase our knowledge of its ecology and help to conserve it.

The Forester is on the wing from early June in warm years through July with a few individuals flying in early August. It is a day flying moth being active in sunshine but may be found resting on vegetation in cloudy weather.

The Forester has a well-distributed but local distribution in England but is in decline as the open semi-natural habitats which it inhabits are being lost to agricultural intensification.

In Scotland, the Forester is confined to coastal parts of Argyll and the nearby islands of Jura, Lismore and Mull. But there are some old records from the Borders so it is likely that it used to be more widespread in Scotland but has been lost due to agricultural intensification.

There are 20 Forester records on the west coast of Argyll. It is very likely that the Forester is under-recorded so searching for it in coastal areas between the 20 known sites may well lead to the discovery of new sites.  There are records for the isle of Seil, so it is possible that both Kerrera and Luing also have the Forester. Other promising areas to search for the Forester would be the Ardfern peninsular and the Loch Melfort area.

You can download a Word document containing the three maps below and the grid references by clicking here.

Forester sites on the west coast of Argyll

The map below (click for larger image) shows a close up view of the more northerly sites in the above map.

Forester sites near Oban

The map below (click for larger image) shows a close up view of the more southerly sites near Kilmartin.

Forester sites near Kilmartin

Written by Andrew Masterman

Hi,

From a local recorder today: “Earlier this morning I saw my first butterfly of 2010, it was a Small Tortoiseshell fluttering between a handful of Dandelions in the lovely sunshine near the former location of Littlemill Colliery just outside Rankinston.”

Neil

Countryside rangers in Stirling are appealing for people to help them
with a butterfly survey:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/8562819.stm

Hi,

We’ve had a report of a Peacock butterfly out and about in Kilmacolm on 7th March. It was then found resting on the snow!

Neil

Transparent Burnet (Zygaena purpuralis) like the other burnet moths is a striking insect. Instead of red spots, the Transparent Burnet sports bars of red on its transparent wings - hence its name.

Transparent Burnet Credit: Neil Gregory

The strongholds of this amazing moth are the Hebridean islands of Mull, Skye, Ulva, Eigg, Canna, and Rhum and the only records on the mainland are around Oban and also in parts of Kintyre. It was seen on the islands of Kerrera and Lismore in 1960 but there are no recent records.

Transparent Burnet Credit: Tom Prescott

The adults are day-flying in warm sunshine from early June to July and the caterpillars feed on Wild Thyme (Thymus praecox). It overwinters as a caterpillar. Its habitat is steep, heathy and grassy south and south-west facing slopes and under-cliffs. Sites with Transparent Burnet are normally within a few km of the coast on cliffs or steep hillside where Wild Thyme grows in abundance.

There are two methods of surveying this spectacular moth. Searching for the day-flying adults on sunny days from early June to July is the obvious one and if successful, you get the reward of seeing this beautiful moth. Alternatively, during April and early May, you can look for the full-grown caterpillars which are easy to spot on the low growing Wild Thyme  which is their foodplant.

Transparent Burnet nectaring on wild thyme Credit: John Knowler

All the historical Transparent Burnet sites in vice-county 98 (Argyll Main) are shown on the map below but many of them are not recent and these sites need revisting to check that the moth is still present. Also,  it is very likely that Transparent Burnet is under-recorded.  So once you have checked out one of the known sites and have learnt to recognise the habitat and hopefully seen the insect itself, it is hoped that you might go on to look for Transparent Burnet as other potential sites along the coast.

SAFETY ADVICE: steep coastal cliffs which Transparent Burnet inhabits are potentially dangerous places should you slip so don’t put yourself at risk during these surveys. The adults are conspicuous insects and use of a pair of binoculars to scan suitable sites on cliffs is recommended and avoids the need for accessing steep slopes.

Transparent Burnet sites in Vice-County 98

 
A closer up view of most of the records is shown in the two maps below:

Transparent Burnet sites around Loch Feochan

Transparent Burnet sites around Glen Lonan

And the grid references of all the sites and dates of last record are shown in the Table below. You can download the maps and Table in a Word document by clicking here.

Written by Andrew Masterman

Figures for butterfly sightings in 2009 have raised fears that five of Britain’s rarest butterflies face a growing risk of extinction. Their numbers last year either continued to plummet or remained at near rock bottom levels.

Conservationists are particularly concerned about the Duke of Burgundy, which has reached new low points in each of the past three summers and is now at its lowest level since monitoring began. The butterfly, which 50 years ago was a common sight in woodland clearings, now has less than 80 colonies throughout the whole of the UK. Other rare butterflies that remained at very low levels in 2009 include the High Brown Fritillary, with less than 50 colonies, and the Wood White and the Lulworth Skipper, both of which are down to under 100 colonies. Another rare species, the Pearl-bordered Fritillary, had its second worst year in 2009.

Concern for the future of these butterflies follows analysis of data collected by the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme from over 1,000 sites nationwide. The UKBMS is co-ordinated by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and the charity Butterfly Conservation.

Experts believe that the extremely wet weather throughout the summers of 2007 and 2008, followed by the above average rainfall of July and August 2009, have accelerated a long-term decline in numbers. Heavy rain makes it hard for butterflies to survive.

And it’s not just the rare butterflies that are having a tough time. According to the new data, collected in the course of last year by the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme, some relatively common species including the Wall Brown, Small Skipper and Green Hairstreak also remained at very low numbers in 2009. The Small Tortoiseshell, which has suffered a serious decline in recent years, made a slight comeback.

The highlight of 2009 was the massive migration of Painted Lady butterflies, which originated in North Africa and arrived in vast swarms in early summer. At one point it was estimated there could have been over a billion Painted Ladies in the UK. However, the UKBMS figures indicate that this migration was not quite on the scale of the last big one in 1996.

The UKBMS statistics show a very modest overall recovery compared with the dire summer of 2008, which was the worst for 25 years. In addition to the abundance of the Painted Lady, some native butterflies also did well in 2009. These included the Green-veined White, Ringlet and Speckled Wood – all of which thrive in lush woodland areas and may have been beneficiaries of the damp but not particularly cold conditions.

Dr Tom Brereton, Head of Monitoring with the charity Butterfly Conservation, said: “We are particularly concerned about the Duke of Burgundy. At the start of the century there were about 200 colonies in the country. This number has now more than halved – and most colonies that remain are small. It is a serious situation.”

Butterflies are important as indicators, alerting us to underlying problems with the environment. If butterfly numbers are falling, inevitably other wildlife is in decline.

The main factors causing the long term decline of many butterfly species include the loss of crucial habitats such as flower rich grassland and the intensification of farming methods. A lack of management is also causing problems in habitats such as woodlands.

Each year the UKBMS collates data collected by hundreds of volunteers nationwide. Dr Marc Botham, a butterfly ecologist at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology who analysed the results said: “The results show the enormous value of long running datasets in identifying environmental problems. We are extremely grateful to the many volunteers who contribute each year. Through their efforts a new milestone was reached in 2009 when the number of sites monitored passed the 1,000 mark for the first time.”

Butterfly Conservation
Manor Yard
East Lulworth
Wareham
Dorset BH20 5QP
Tel. 01929 400 209 Fax 01929 400 210

Company limited by guarantee, registered in England (2206468). Charity registered in England and Wales (254937) and in Scotland (SCO39268).

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Butterfly Conservation is dedicated to saving Butterflies, Moths and their Habitats. If you would like further information please view our website at <http://www.butterfly-conservation.org/>

Over 40 years of saving butterflies, moths and their habitats.

Do you currently record butterflies in your garden or around your neighbourhood? Perhaps you’ve fancied taking part in one of the branch butterfly surveys but the sites were all too far away or took up too much time with repeated visits? If so you might be interested in the ‘My Patch’ recording project which aims to discover more about the butterfly species in Your local area. It’s not hard work and gets you out of the house with a purpose. By doing a ‘patch’ it means you wander anywhere you can access within a 1kilometer square. Go out as often as you like, for as long as you like – just get out for a walk and simply jot down the date and what you see.

Painted Lady

Your ‘patch’ can start right outside your front door if you like. Even by walking through housing areas, glancing in allotments, hedges, spare land, scrubby areas, river banks etc. you can usefully record areas which will otherwise be blanks on the County records map. Others might prefer to get in a car or on a bike and do a ‘patch’ a couple of miles away, you know, that bit you’ve always thought looks good but never quite got there to have a good look.

If you fancy the idea, and there really is not any more to it, get in touch with me and tell me the ‘patch’ you want to do or let me know where you are and I’ll suggest a ‘patch.’ I need to know before you start because somebody else might already be doing the bit where you are. Just use footpaths, roadside verges or areas with open access as we don’t want you being frog marched out of anywhere or having to run like the clappers with a bull halfway up your shirt tail! Go on, give ‘patches’ a go – adopt a 1km square as your own.

The scheme was launched last year in the Cumbrian branch area and Steve Doyle of the Cumbrian Branch reports great success, with many folk there wanting to do the next 1km square too! It’s always the same, when you get to the boundary of your square, the next bit looks interesting too!

You can either e-mail or post me your records at the end of each month or all together at the end of the year and I’ll pass them onto the correct Butterfly Recorder for your area and ensure that all your records get passed onto the National Butterfly database. There is a recording form that you can use to keep track of your records.

Scott Shanks

Flat 1/2 , 113 Haugh Road

Yorkhill

Glasgow

G3 8TX

07793052501

Scottshanks01@msn.com

Transect recording has been the key method of recording thus far and will continue in the future as it is a very valuable source of repetitive data from which trends emerge. We can use the information gathered from these trends to see how well butterflies are doing across the country and can also tell if management action needs to be taken at the transect site to protect the species there.

Some regard transects as rather formal however and are not so willing to commit to walking a transect once a week. Even so, despite formal transects and other valuable ad hoc records there were still a vast number of blank unrecorded or under-recorded squares (even in towns and cities) in south west Scotland. This is where the ‘Your Patch’ recording project can help.

If you already send in your casual/ ad hoc records from day trips and walks please continue to do so as you are contributing vital information for research into butterfly distribution.

The My Patch recording project will hopefully highlight areas in our cities, towns, villages and the countryside where butterflies are thriving, squares with lots of species or those with high numbers of a particular species. This information can be used by local councils managing our green spaces or community groups keen to encourage biodiversity or land owners keen to manage their land with wildlife in mind.

South West Scotland Butterfly ‘Patches’ – General Guidelines

1. If your square covers an area where you feel threatened or in danger, don’t do it. Report back to me and we can agree a different one.
2. No need to stick to the same route in your square every time. Go everywhere within it that you can. Your square is at most 1km long so it is not a long way from one side to the other.
3. Best times of day to record are 10.00 until 16.00 but beyond that in a very warm spell and provided the weather is fine.
4. Remember different species fly at different times of the year so visit regularly or at least once a month.
5. Walk at a slow steady pace, lingering in likely places, watching for movement.
6. Not all species fly at eye level or below. The Purple Hairstreak is very under-recorded in  South West Scotland. The Purple Hairstreak is undoubtedly more widespread, so in late afternoons in July and early August pause and look for movement at the top of oak trees. If you see ‘silver coins’ flitting around they are likely to be Purple Hairstreaks which rarely come to ground.
7. If you have difficulty telling different species apart, let me know and I will get some help for you.
8. Complete your form during your visit or immediately after. Don’t leave it too long.

My local patch is in the west end of Glasgow. Grid reference NS5665.

my 1km local Square

Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth  (Hemaris tityus) has 50 Argyll records relating to 24 sites mostly in north Argyll but there is one much further south for the southern tip of Bute in 1960.  It is also found in some other parts of Scotland including the Cairngorms, Moray, Easter Ross and Wester Ross. The map below shows all the records of Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth (NBBHM) in Vice County 98 relating to the northern part of the Glasgow and SW Scotland branch of Butterfly Conservation area.

Distribution of NBBHM in VC98

NBBHM is an amazing day-flying moth with a body length of about 2 cm and a total wing span of about 4-4.5 cm - so a large and spectacular moth!  It is on the wing from mid-May to early July in the same areas as the beautiful Marsh Fritillary. This is no co-incidence as they both have the same foodplant, Devil’s Bit Scabious and the same flight period so it is possible to see both these rare species of Lepidoptera at the same site on the same day!

Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth Credit: Phil Holt

NBBHM is not the easiest of moths to identify in the field for two reasons.

1. NBBHM does not look like a moth -  NBBHM has transparent wings and therefore looks like a large bumble bee (it is a very convincing bumble-bee mimic) but you can distinguish it from bumble bees because it does not fly like a bumble bee and it doesn’t buzz. Bumble-bees have an erratic zig-zag flight and are noisy too! NBBH tend to fly in straight lines and they have a large buff-coloured backside which is conspicuous and diagnostic. There are also insects known as bee-flies (Bombylius spp) but these are smaller than NBBHM and not as spectacular.
2. NBBHM flies fast - this characteristic means you may only get a fleeting glimpse of an insect which looks like a bee but there is something un-bee-like about it. But this leaves you uncertain about whether or not you have indeed seen a NBBHM. As this is a UK BAP species, it is important that you are confident of your identication before you submit a record to the VC moth recorder. But NBBHM does like to nectar and this behaviour enables you to get a much better look at it to be sure of an identification. It nectars while hovering unlike bees which land to feed but in cooler cloudier conditions, you might see it at rest on nectaring plants.

The preferred nectaring plants of NBBHM are louseworts, bugle, viper’s bugloss, common bird’s foot trefoil, rhodedendron and red valerian. Apparently, you can lure it to a sprig of lilac which you could take with you into the field!

NBBHM only flies in warm sunshine so you do need good weather to see it. The habitat of NBBHM and Marsh Fritillary is low lying flat  damp grassland, sometimes a more heathy type habitat,  with abundant Devil’s Bit Scabious but the bottom of slopes which also tend to be damp may also provide good habitat. A couple of examples are shown below:

Grazed damp grassland

Marshy Heathy type habitat

There are several areas in North Argyll where there are a number of historical records of NBBHM and branch members are encouraged to visit these areas to see this spectacular UK BAP moth, to recognise its habitat and to look for it in other nearby sites or other sites in Argyll.

One such area is Taynuilt where an open area known as the common grazings has patches of marshy habitat with abundant Devil’s Bit Scabious where NBBHM may be found and Marsh Fritillary can also be seen in low numbers. The red spot in the south-west of the map below (NM986307) which is just before the road goes into an area with houses (Balindore)  is a great spot to see NBBHM and Marsh Fitillary in a marshy area just to the east of the road (the red spot is on the wrong side of the road!).

NBBH Sites around Taynuilt

Around Glen Creran is another good area with many NBBHM records with the Appin Peninsular being a hot spot and there may well be other sites to be discovered in the Appin peninsular.

NBBHM sites around Loch Creran

There are also a number of NBBHM records for the Isle of Lismore just to the west of the Appin Peninsular. There is a passenger ferry from Port Appin which takes just 10 minutes enabling you to bring a bicycle if you wish and a car ferry from Oban taking 1 hour. See Lismore Ferry for more details.

NBBHM sites on Lismore

There are a few scattered NBBHM records around Oban which suggests that it is under-recorded here so searching in the area between Oban and Loch Feochan may well result in the discovery of some new sites. There is also one record on the Isle of Kerrera  just to the west of Oban which is a short passenger ferry trip from south of Oban.

NBBHM sites around Oban

Any NBHHM records in Argyll VC 98 should be sent to andrewmasterman@hotmail.com. Records from other vice-counties should be sent to the appropriate recorder whose contact details can be found on the Mothscount website.

The above maps and the grid-references of the historical records can be found in this word document which you can print out.

There is a Butterfly Conservation leaflet on NBBHM (PDF 540 kb) available which provides more information on the lifectcycle of this amazing moth.

Andrew Masterman
VC98 Moth Recorder

Vice County 98 covers Argyll south of Loch Leven and north of the Crinan Canal near Lochgilphead, the Cowal peninsular and Glencoe, most of Rannoch Moor and the islands of Lismore and Kerrera.

As of February 2010, there are 22958 Macro-moth records in the VC98 database relating to 331 species. Eighty-six per cent of these records relate to the Glencoe Rothamsted trap at the National Trust for Scotland visitor centre. The Rothamsted Light Trap at Glencoe is part of a UK wide network of 80 traps run by the Rothamsted Insect Survey since 1968.  The Glencoe trap has been in operation since 1996 and the addition of the data from this trap added many new species to the VC98 database. There were 62 new species which are classified as common species. There were a further 28 species which have much more local distributions and are interesting records.

As of February 2010, there are 191 Micro-moth records in the VC98 database relating to 62 species.

Six UK BAP Macro-moth species are present in the VC98 database.

Barred Tooth-striped  (Trichopteryx polycommata) has 27 records relating to five sites in north Argyll. This moth has very localised scattered distributions in Scotland and England with the majority of Scottish records in Argyll.  It flies early in the year in March April and comes to light traps. The larvae feed on Ash or Privet and it overwinters as a pupa. In Argyll, it has been recorded at Creagan Wood and Glasdrum NNR on the north side of Loch Creran, on the south side of Loch Creran at Barcaldine and also at Glen Nant NNR. There is also one record at the Glencoe RIS trap. These are all deciduous woodland sites but in southern England, it is associated with open scrub on chalk downs and with some limestone sites south of Cumbria.

Barred Toothed-striped

Argent and Sable  (Rheumaptera hastata) has 16 records relating to 12 sites in north and central Argyll. This is a day-flying moth on the wing in May and June and the caterpillars feed on bog myrtle and birch and it overwinters as a pupa. There are three sub-species in the UK with hastata hastata occurring in England and southern Scotland as far north as southern Argyll, a smaller and darker form,  f. nigrescens found in the Hebrides and the far NW of Scotland and a third sub-spp hastata f. laxata which occurs in Argyll and other parts of the southern Highlands.

Argent & Sable Credit: John Knowler

Square-spotted Clay  (Xestia rhomboidea) is an ex-UK BAP species and has 15 records relating to 4 sites in north and west Argyll. This is a rare species in Scotland with most records from Argyll although it is much more common in southern England. If flies in late July and August and comes to light. There is some uncertainty about which plants the caterpillars feed on but birch and bramble are likely examples of a range of plants which can be used. It overwinters as a small caterpillar. The habitat is deciduous woodland and in Argyll, it has been recorded at Glasdrum Wood and Glasdrum NNR, Glen Nant NNR and Taynish NNR all of which have mature decidious woodland and also around the Loch Melfort area.

Square-spotted Clay

Forester (Adscita statices) has 22 records relating to 8 sites on the west coast of Argyll. It is a day-flying moth which is a joy to see with its bright emerald shiny wings. Its caterpillars feed on Common Sorrel and Sheep’s Sorrel and its habitat in Scotland is sunny sheltered  areas with some bracken in coastal parts of Argyll.

Forester

Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth  (Hemaris tityus) has 50 records relating to 24 sites mostly in north Argyll but there is one for the southern tip of Bute in the south of Argyll. This is an amazing day-flying moth found during late May and June in the same areas as Marsh Fritillary. This is no co-incidence as they both have the same foodplant, Devil’s Bit Scabious and the same flight period so it is possible to see both these rare species of Lepidoptera at the same site on the same day! The habitat of both these species is low lying flat  damp grassland, sometimes a more heathy type habitat,  with abundant Devil’s Bit Scabious but the bottom of slopes which also tend to be damp may also provide good habitat.

Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth Credit: Phil Holt

Transparent Burnet Credit: Neil Gregory

Pair of Small Blues mating on Kidney Vetch

The butterfly’s small size and weak flight mean that the adults are quite sedentary, with few individuals moving further than 50 m from the colony during their short lives. Both sexes are similar with dark slate blue upper wings and silvery blue undersides with a few dark spots. Males often have a dusting of blue scales on the upper-wings, while the females tend to be slightly browner than the males. In Scotland, adults can be on the wing from late May/early June through to July, depending on weather conditions. A small second brood may be seen in August/September in exceptional years.

The female lays a single egg on the flower heads of kidney vetch, the caterpillar food plant. Only one egg tends to be laid per plant as the young caterpillars can be cannibalistic. When not being anti-social the caterpillar feeds on developing seeds in the flower head, undergoing 3 moults before hibernating under moss or in a crevice in the soil. The following spring the caterpillar pupates without further feeding.  Adults seem to prefer nectaring on the yellow flowers of kidney vetch or birds-foot trefoil, although other plants may be used.

Kidney Vetch flower colour forms

 Colonies of this butterfly tend to be small and are prone to local extinctions due to their dependence on the levels of kidney vetch flowering in the colony area. Habitat fragmentation and loss due to building developments, changes in grazing and scrub encroachment, can all quickly make sites unsuitable for this habitat specialist species. Most colonies are found at coastal locations where erosion exposes bare ground where new kidney vetch seedlings can germinate and the adults can bask in the sun. Colonies may also be found at old industrial brown field sites or quarries; again with lots of bare ground and low fertility where the kidney vetch does not get out-competed by grasses. Low levels of grazing by rabbits can help maintain small blue colonies; however they do tend to eat the flower heads, as do sheep. Autumn /winter grazing and ground disturbance by cattle or horses is ideal at managed sites.

Working with the Scottish Wildlife Trust we would like to reintroduce this charming little butterfly to south west Scotland. Gailes Marsh is an SWT nature reserve situated just south of Irvine on the Ayrshire coast, and just 1km from the site of Ayrshire’s last small blue record.

Map of Gailes Marsh reserve

The reserve currently boasts a range of butterfly and moth species including common blues, small coppers and dark green fritillaries. An area with a high density of kidney vetch exists in the south west of the reserve. We plan to expand this area and also transform the north- west section of the reserve into good small blue habitat. Coastal dunes west of the reserve contain suitable small blue habitat with good amounts of kidney vetch.

It is hoped that we will eventually see natural colonisation of this area by butterflies from the reserve.

The timing of the actual reintroduction will depend on how long it takes to create good quality habitat and maintain the levels of kidney vetch flowering on the reserve, which must be sufficiently high to support a healthy butterfly population. Kidney vetch is a short lived perennial which can take between 2-5 years to flower depending on conditions. We are currently in discussion with other branches of Butterfly Conservation about the source of initial small blue stock for the project.

Habitat creation at Gailes Marsh is due to commence in early 2010. The fertile top soil will be removed to create strips of bare sandy subsoil and south-facing soil banks that will be sown with kidney vetch seed. The areas sown with kidney vetch will be sheltered from the wind by planting native hedging along the western edge of the reserve.

Small Blue Buttefly on Kidney Vetch

Anyone who would like to help with this project would be very welcome indeed. We are currently looking for volunteers to help plant the hedges and sow kidney vetch. If you are able to find space in your back garden, window sill or green house to grow kidney vetch plants for the project, we can provide you with seed.

In the next few years we will also need volunteers to help monitor kidney vetch germination and flowering at Gailes Marsh and areas outside the reserve. After the small blues are introduced to the reserve we will need volunteers to help with timed counts of adult butterflies during their short flight season. This is necessary to monitor how well the project is going. Training in using a GPS device to accurately monitor kidney vetch patches or butterflies can be provided to any interested volunteers. This is a fantastic opportunity to get involved with real conservation work for a native Scottish species.

Scott Shanks

(scottshanks01@msn.com)