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Brown Hairstreak in Worcestershire - Bulletin 34

October 2006

Dear Brownhairstreakers,

It is always good to receive records of adult Brown Hairstreaks away from Grafton Wood and the immediate area and it was therefore very pleasing to hear of two such sightings in recent weeks. First up, was a sighting on the edge of Trench Wood by Andrew Curran on 19th September (see photo below) in an almost identical spot to one seen there in 2004. Andrew is a regular helper at our Grafton Wood work parties so virtue in this case clearly brought its own reward! Trench Wood is listed as a location for the Brown Hairstreak in Victorian times and last winter we were able to record eggs there, confirming breeding in the wood for the first time in over 100 years. Given that the site is now a nature reserve managed jointly by the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust and Butterfly Conservation, it provides the opportunity to look at ways of enhancing the habitat there for the butterfly and over the coming months we will consider the best way of achieving this.

The second sighting on 25th September by Trevor Bucknall between Smite and Oddingley was of also of particular interest as it constitutes the first Brown Hairstreak record in Worcs west of the M5 motorway (SO9060). Virtually all of our new additions to the distribution map have come from locating eggs during the winter so it is really pleasing to be able to add a new 1km square through spotting an adult. The location of this record, however, certainly opens up a whole new area of egg searches this coming winter but please don't try to look for eggs while driving up the M5! Talking of which, we have now set some dates for the coming months. Like last year, we have decided to start this side of Xmas in the hope that we can get our core area count out of the way early in the new year to free up time for undertaking wider searches for eggs. Dates arranged so far are Sunday, 17th December, which will include a training session for new egg hunters, a New Year's Eve special on Sunday 31st December, which will offer a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie to everyone who finds an egg, and Sunday, 21st January, which, providing the core count is complete, will introduce egg hunters to the delights of square bashing! The meeting arrangements for all three is 10.00 am at Grafton Flyford church just off the A422 Worcester-Stratford road. If anyone has not been before, we usually, dependent on weather and enthusiasm, continue to around lunchtime occasionally extending in to the early afternoon but people can stay for as long as they like. Any additional dates in the new year will be notified through this ebulletin.

Female Brown Hairstreaks are still being regularly reported at Grafton Wood with the latest so far being two on 24th September seen by Miriam Tilt. The photo provided by John Tilt (see below) is typical of the condition of most individuals still on the wing. With luck, some specimens will survive into October so it is well worth continuing to keep your eyes peeled on any sunny days.

Visitors to Grafton Wood should also look out for second generation White Admirals which have been spotted recently. Grafton Wood holds a good population of White Admirals but these are normally gone by mid-August so to see butterflies at the end of September is unprecedented certainly in the Midlands. Any sightings of either species in the coming weeks please let me know.

Finally, just to remind local Brown Hairstreak champions that we have a new supply of blackthorn plants for local planting. These are free and can be ordered via John Tilt on 01386 792458 or John.Tilt2@btopenworld.com; all we ask in return is that you complete a simple form with details of any eggs you subsequently see on the blackthorn. Hope to see some of you at the next Grafton Wood work party on 8th October. We meet at the Church at 10.00 am every second Sunday of the month through to next April.

Mike Williams,
Brown Hairstreak Species Champion