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NEWSLETTER No. 3 -  Summer 1980

WEST MIDLANDS BRANCH, BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION

 

Book Reviews

"Atlas of the Lepidoptera of Staffordshire : Part 1 - Butterflies"
R.G. Warren
Published by the City Museum and Art Gallery, Broad St, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent

 This provisional list of the butterflies of Staffordshire was first published in 1975, and we are grateful to the author for making a copy available to the Society. The Atlas lists all 42 species of butterfly recorded in the county since the turn of the century, with historical data supplemented by an up-to-date assessment of the species' present status. The publication itself is exceptionally well-produced and both author and publisher deserve to be commanded on their work.

Perhaps its main value to members of the West Midlands Branch of the B.B.C.S. is that it affords the opportunity to make comparisons between the distribution of butterflies in Staffordshire with the surrounding counties, and in particular, with the recently published survey of Warwickshire's lepidoptera reviewed in our last newsletter. The differences in the two counties are, in fact, more marked than one might imagine, with a number of species which are reasonably well distributed in Warwickshire either infrequent or absent in Staffordshire. Warwickshire would seem from the Atlas to mark the northern limit of what might be loosely termed southern species in the UK - the Marbled White and the Wood White are both absent from Staffordshire, and the Ringlet and Purple Hairstreak are both rare. Even the commoner species like the Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper and Brimstone are restricted in their distribution. On the other hand, Staffordshire can boast of a number of localities for the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary (but not its slightly larger cousin) which has been absent from Warwickshire for some years.

In many ways, if Warwickshire is to be seen as the end of the south, Staffordshire can be seen as the beginning of the north. In the early years of this century, the Large Heath was present at two sites in the county. and there is a possibility that it may exist even to this day (see Letters Page). Similarly, the Brown Argus in its site in the north-east of the county shows evidence of being a mixed race of both the northern and southern type.

Like its Warwickshire counterpart, the Staffordshire Atlas makes no claim to being a complete survey, and we hope that members with records for the county will make a point of sending them to the Official Recorder. For those interested in the conservation of butterflies in Staffordshire, this book would seem an excellent investment


"The Endless Village"
W.G Teagle
Published by the Nature Conservancy Council, West Midlands Region

This study of the wildlife of the Black Country published in 1978 confirms the extent to which wildlife has succeeded in adapting itself to an unpromising urban environment, and points to the importance of a range of surprising habitats - gardens, railway banks, waste land, canals, old buildings, etc., even land beneath Spaghetti Junction, to conservation. In some senses, of course, the report is one-sided: it records what has survived, it discounts what has been lost; and much has been lost, through man's greed to use land to the full in his own interests. The point remains, however, that, although one cannot undo, by and large, the harm that has been done in the past, one can, by careful management and greater public awareness, hope to retain something of what remains. By identifying some of the sites that are important for wildlife, the Report performs a valuable service. It is to be hoped that the Nature Conservancy Council will be able to build upon this foundation and gain a measure of protection for certain habitats by declaring them nature reserves or sites of special scientific interest.

For the butterfly enthusiast the Report draws attention to a number of sites which seem worthy of attention, and B.B.C.S. members living in the area would be undertaking a useful task if they were able to check out some of the localities mentioned. Doulton's (or Saltwells) Pit at Netherton, the stretches of railway passing through Wolverhampton's Valley Park and Birmingham's Handsworth Park, the farthest extremities of Bury Hill Park facing Warley, Stubbers Green, Haden Hill Park at Sandwell, Birmingham's Cannon Hill Park and Nature Centre, Rough Wood in Walsall, Bluebell Park and Wren's Nest N.N.R. near Dudley; all would seem to command closer examination. We would be pleased to hear from any members who know these sites, or any of the others mentioned by Teagle. One error which we should perhaps correct is his reference to Marsh Fritillaries at Sutton Park. Although once present there, it has been absent now for many years.

The final chapter of the Report is appropriately enough entitled "A Way Ahead", and a series of very positive proposals are made on how some of the present day features of our urban landscape might be made more attractive to wildlife. Teagle stresses that everyone can play some part in this process - statutory authorities, private industry and the ordinary citizen. He concludes that the priorities are to retain the best of what exists, improving management policies in parks and open spaces, and considering wildlife needs in reclamation projects. The flora and fauna of waste land must be studied and the public must become interested in their wildlife heritage. These are worthy aims which demand our support.