Well above average

23/6/2022

With temperatures around the 28 degrees C mark, Wednesday afternoon's week 12 transect was a hot one and this brought out the butterflies.
The Meadow Browns were the most numerous at 117 (similar to last week's 109) but added to this were 71 Marbled Whites (up from 13 last week), 26 Small/Essex Skippers (up by16) and the first of this season's Ringlets straight in at 29. These figures, along with the smaller counts for 7 other species (see total below), gave a reasonable overall total of 270 butterflies, well above our week 12 average of 226.

Count Details:
117 Meadow Brown
71 Marbled White
29 Ringlet
26 Small/Essex Skipper
8 Common Blue
6 Small Heath
5 Dark Green Fritillary
4 Large Skipper
2 Brimstone
1 Comma
1 Small Tortoiseshell
Summary: 270 butterflies from 11 species. Click on butterfly names for more info.

CLEARANCE NEEDED
We're finding Section 3, the lower path through Fames Rough, is becoming increasingly blocked by thorn scrub, and it has been noticeable over the transects done so far in 2022 that we're not recording so many butterflies in Fames Rough as in previous seasons. The thorn makes it difficult for us to push our way through, seems to be choking out the flowering plants the butterflies feed upon and obscures our sight of any butterflies that may be there. It is vital that the scrub build-up is cleared to restore this important site for both butterflies and their food plants to thrive.

Survey by Brian Gardner, Graham H and Graham K submitted to Butterfly Conservation (UKBMS).
Report by Brian Gardner. Pics by Graham K and Brian G.
Click on pics to enlarge.