Wrekin Forest Volunteers: The 58 - Episode X - White-letter hairstreak

7 Jun 2020

The 58 - Episode X - White-letter hairstreak - tension

Sunday, 7th June 2020

We are getting close to the end of our hero's quest, 51 seen and 7 to go.

Just 7. Here they are:

Brown hairstreak
Chalkhill blue
Clouded yellow
Grayling
Scotch argus
Silver-spotted skipper
White-letter hairstreak

I have received an email querying why the quest was for 58 butterflies and not 59 which is the "official" number of British butterflies.

Number 59 is Real's wood white which is only, as far as I know, found in Ireland, and so did not qualify for the quest ,which was to see the butterflies of Great Britain. (It would be an interesting challenge to attempt to see this butterfly on a day trip from our homes!) I hope I have cleared up this point satisfactorily.

Back to the quest.

It was now early July 2019 and of the seven remaining butterflies four were not due to "emerge" for at least a couple of weeks. Grayling was due on the wing about now. Clouded yellow is a migrant that does not normally overwinter and apart from sporadic early sightings usually starts to arrive from mid-July. The only adult butterfly that could be pursued was White-letter hairstreak which flies from late June.

White-letter hairstreak is quite a widespread butterfly but its dependency on elm has greatly reduced its population. It can be found, however, in Shropshire and surrounding counties. Find some elm and you may find the butterfly.

We ventured to some local sites where we knew there was elm.

No White-letter hairstreak.

In desperation we got in touch with people we knew had seen the butterfly and asked if they were still present at their sites.

Only negative replies were received.

The news on the internet was scanned … no recent sightings reported.

Time marched on and other butterflies were on the wing.

Our hero took himself off to the bog.

Bog mine is on the foothills of the Stiperstones in Shropshire. The large car park for the site is well known as a basking site for:

Number 52 - Grayling

It was now mid-July and still no White-letter hairstreak, and still nothing from our contacts who were keeping an eye out for it.

Our hero decided that we needed to go further afield to find it.

On a lovely sunny day we set off for Fermyn Wood in Northamptonshire.

Having entered the woods on one of the main rides we were immediately greeted by someone who had been staring at the ground all the time we had been putting on our boots and packing our rucksacks.

"If you want to see Purple emperor, there is one - there" he informed us, pointing to a speck on the ground.

He then promptly left leaving our hero's question addressed at an empty space.

"We are not here to see Purple emperor. Have you seen any White-letter hairstreak?"

But I had not seen one, so I took a photograph:

The Purple emperor flew off and was almost immediately replaced by a Silver-washed fritillary.

Another first of the year for me - what a good day!

Not that our hero would agree, these butterflies were old hat; his brow was deeply furrowed.

We wandered the rides and paths of this large mixed woodland but no White-letter hairstreak were observed.

A couple from up t'north who had come to see Purple emperor were quizzed about the butterfly. They enthusiastically told us where to find "lots".

Where?

Brockholes Nature Reserve. They gave us a precise location on the site.

Where is Brockholes Nature Reserve?

Just off Junction 31 of the M6.

Pretty handy from Northamptonshire then!

But the information was most welcome. It gave us an alternative if none were found on this trip.

Our wanderings continued. Still no target butterfly

We met another butterfly spotter. Had he seen the (blasted) butterfly?

"Oh yes! Last year there were lots at Bedford Purlieus ...

"But when I went this year I did not see many."

As Bedford Purlieus is close to Fermyn Wood we left the site and drove to this National Nature Reserve.

The wood was easy to find, but how to get in was a problem.

Needless to say we did not have an OS Map with us which would have indicated where public access was possible, thus we had to drive around the site looking for an entrance. Having completed a lap and not found the entrance we parked on the opposite side of the road to another car. As the driver of that car was about to leave our hero leapt out of our car and dashed across the road. He asked a rather startled driver if this was the entrance to the wood and if his spot was the "car park".

It was on both counts so our hero squeezed his car into the car park and the hunt was renewed.

This was the entrance to the site:

It is no surprise that we missed it! And just in case you were thinking of taking your car along the track:

The track is not deemed suitable for motor vehicles. You don't say!

There was some elm scrub by the entrance. This was inspected. No butterfly.

We passed a scruffy elm a few yards along the "road" without pausing … there is bound to be some better specimens of this species in this wood.

But what we found was hugely disappointing and, accepting we only saw a small corner of the woodland, did not seem worthy of the qualification as a National Nature Reserve. Clearly there is more to this wood than we saw.

It was getting late and the light was fading. We decided to call it a day. Our hero's brow had furrows on his furrows. Was his quest going to fail?

As we walked past the scruffy elm ignored earlier we paused ...

Just in case ...

Was that something in the tree ...

Yes...

A Speckled wood.

But something else held our attention ...

And yes, there in the top of the tree was a butterfly. Our hero quickly trained his binoculars on it to confirm then grabbed his camera:

Number 53 - White-letter hairstreak

Just in case you cannot see it I have put a red ring around it in the following photograph:

Here is one that was taken on another occasion by our colleague Bob.

What a relief.

The furrows melted off the furrows; then the furrows melted off the brow. Our hero stood up and was three inches taller, such was the weight that had been lifted off his shoulders. He smiled. He was back on track.

What better way to celebrate than a meal at the Chequered Skipper in Ashton near Oundle.

It was shut.

We travelled on, hungry But noticing a sign on the road we made for the Wheatsheaf in Titmarsh and enjoyed an excellent meal before wending our way home.

I had intended to go on to the next target species but the telling of this tale has taken far more words than I expected. The next butterfly will have to wait until the next episode.

Some time ago I wrote that we adapted "No Mow May" on our front lawn. Here it is at the end of May.

A profusion of Ox-eye daisy together with Catsear, a few Campanula, Fox and cubs and Daisies. During the month other flowers such as Germander and Thyme-leaved speedwell, Wild strawberry and Lesser trefoil put in appearances but the hot weather brought these to a premature end. A worthwhile exercise and the good news is that it remains unmown apart from a strip by the path.

To finish, what has become a weekly event, a round-up of photographs that have come my way during the past seven days or so.

Andrena cineraria:

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

Angle shades, from an angle that shows of its crest, which I must admit, I had not noticed on this species of moth before:

Photograph: Peter Hodgkison

I must offer my sincerest apologies to Peter. As long as I can remember I have included an "n" in his surname when crediting photographs. He has been far to polite to point this error out.

Sorry Peter.

And from the recently dug pool in Horsehay - eggs:

Photograph: David Williams

These are eggs of a Broad-bodied chaser which had been busy creating the next generation around the pool recently. We await the emergence of the larvae in the not too distant future.

And from the same pool a Clubonia spider that managed to get itself marooned on an duckweed leaf island. The photographer has returned it safely to land which is its more natural habitat.

Photograph: David Williams

The larva of a Common footman moth:

Photograph: Bob Kemp

Next, a rather striking moth that looks as it ought to be a grass moth in the Crambidae family, but it is classified in a different family, the Gelechiidae. The moth is Dichomeris marginella, known as the Juniper webber as its larvae feed within a web that they create on junipers.