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NEWSLETTER No. 7 - Summer 1982

WEST MIDLANDS BRANCH, BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION

If I started to talk about a site in Worcestershire where you might hope to see the Mazarine Blue, the Chequered Skipper and the Black-veined White you would no doubt regard me as mad or having come under the influence of John Lodge - possibly both. In truth, I have been reading an old book containing butterfly records for the county dated 1834.

Other species listed as occurring in the county, but now long absent included the Swallowtail, Duke of Burgundy, Large Tortoiseshell, Purple Emperor, Large Heath, Black Hairstreak, and Silver-studded Blue. The site given for the Purple Emperor is Perdiswell, which is now well within the city boundaries of Worcester, but presumably at that time must have been part of a large woodland system. Perhaps surprisingly, the picture is not one of total decline, the Green Hairstreak, for instance, describes as rather scarce in 1834 is now much more widespread, and the White Admiral, currently present in several woods, is listed as a "solitary individual near Worcester".

Some of the records do seem on the dubious side. What for example do we make of records for the Moorland Clouded Yellow in meadows near the confluence of the Avon and the Severn, or of the Early Green-veined White? Similarly, are we to believe that the Turquoise Blue was ever "not uncommon" in the county, or that the Green-underside Blue was "often seen in company with the Small Copper"?

Slightly more up to date was a second book published in 1901. As well as repeating some of the earlier records, new species are reported such as Small Blue, Brown Argus, Chalkhill Blue and Bath White. Being a newcomer to Worcestershire some of the localities mentioned are unknown to me, and, despite efforts to track them down, the following places I have so far failed to find: Helbury Hill, The Slads, Croft Farm & Lime Pits, Eldersfield, Middleyards and Bilberry Hill. Does anyone know?

There is of course a serious side to looking up old records in that they may indicate localities that have been overlooked in recent years and would bear further examination. The chances of turning up a long lost species is of course slight as most of the places mentioned have changed beyond all recognition. On the other hand, it was only a few years ago that Bob Sim found a Worcestershire site for the Chalkhill Blue, and the site where the Marsh Fritillary was "rediscovered" in 1976 was a known location for this butterfly for much of the nineteenth century and it may, therefore, always have been there but remained unnoticed.

Both books were found in my local reference library. Perhaps there are similar gems hidden away in yours! See what you can find - we would be interested in hearing.