Devon Branch

Issue Number 99 June 2017

Newsletter

www.devon-butterflies.org.uk

Stonechat with Cream-spot Tiger (Michael Brooking)

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Butterfly Conservation The Newsletter of Butterfly Conservation Devon Branch published three times a year. Copy dates: mid December, mid April, mid August for publication in February, June, and October in each year. Please send contributions for the newslet-ter to the Editor (address at back of news-letter). Accompanying images are espe-cially welcome.

Devon Branch Newsletter The Editor reserves the right to correct errors in, adjust, or shorten articles if necessary,

for the sake of accuracy, presentation and space available. Offerings may occasion-ally be held over for a later newsletter if space is short. The views expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the Editor or of Butterfly Conservation either locally or nationally.

Contents

From the Editor Butterfly lays eggs in freshly mown lawn Devon’s Butterflies in 2016 Roger Bristow First appearances in 2017 Red Admirals on a very cold day Pete Hurst Winter work parties mini roundup All The Moor Butterflies update Megan Lowe Devon BC In Your Area webpages Amanda Hunter White-letter Hairstreak appeal and workshop Jenny Plackett Devon BC Members’ Day & AGM programme The Grizzled Skipper in Devon - a much declined species Pete Hurst A (very!) good year for Vapourer moth Pete Hurst Events June - October 2017 Bake for Butterflies advert Committee and contacts

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11 12 12 14 15 16 16 17 21 22 26 27

Devon BC members who have the newsletter electronically have enabled more branch funds to be spent on conservation in Devon for which we are grateful. Others who still prefer a printed copy have donated an extra £6 to the branch (the cost of belonging to a BC branch) again, for which we give thanks. The electronic copy is full-colour and if you usually have a

printed version but wished to switch, please contact Amanda Hunter (see page 27).

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From the Editor The butterfly year has started off surprisingly well following the poor season in 2016. Many butterfly species have shown well including Holly Blue and Or-ange Tip. In my garden I saw Holly Blue egglaying on Dogwood, a foodplant listed in the literature but interesting to witness. In contrast with last year I have seen a good many first brood Small Coppers. My first Copper last year was on September 17th. I have however noticed a dearth of Small Tortoise-shells, not actually sure if I have seen even one this year yet. The committee welcome 2 new members: Dave Holloway and Peter Beale. Dave is part of a team along with Amanda Hunter and Bill Potter inputting information for our “In Your Area” webpages on BC’s national website. Peter has taken up the role of Conservation Officer for the branch. He has much experience to draw on from his day job as an ecologist and specialises in botany. Branch Rules: These were updated last year but new changes are pro-posed that we will be recommending we adopt at the AGM this autumn. To see old and new Rules visit BC’s In Your Area webpages for Devon Branch. The list you will see on the right has “Members’ Page” at the bottom. Click on this to get to get to both sets of Rules. Giving talks for Devon BC: If you are able and willing to give talks on butterflies for the branch please get in touch with a committee member. From time to time we are approached with requests for butterfly talks but we are not always able to oblige from the committee.

Butterfly lays eggs in freshly- mown lawn Whilst working outdoors, I noticed a White butterfly apparently egglaying on a customer’s recently cut lawn. The butterfly repeatedly flew low for short dis-tances and frequently stopped to inspect the ground and occasionally depos-ited an egg. Overtaken by curiosity, I pursued the butterfly, which turned out to be Green-veined White, following as close as I could to see what it was laying on. At one of the places she visited, I could only find leaves of Sorrel, Dandelion and grass with none of these being possible foodplants. I contin-ued following the butterfly and finally homed in on where she had just deposited an egg underneath a… tiny Cuckoo Flower leaf! Some lawns can have a strong presence of this plant especially in a clayey soil and this lawn had the plant well-distributed over a good part of it. A full -grown lar-va will be close to 1 1/2 inches long and I wondered if it might be possible to survive in a well-cropped lawn not much more than an inch high! Green-veined White

(Peter Vernon)

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Devon’s Butterflies in 2016 - Roger Bristow The year 2016 was generally not a good year for butterflies. The number of records received (15,022) was down by 20% on 2015, which was 18% down on 2014. How-ever, the start of 2016 was not too bad with 202 butterflies of 9 species seen in the first 3 months (compared with 176 butterfly sight-ings of 9 species in 2015). The relative abundance of butterflies at any one site was, however, about the same as last year, except in the Butterfly Conserva-tion numbering code E (>100). In category E, there were 14 species, whereas in 2015 there were 10 species. In terms of numbers of but-terflies observed at any one locality, the Orange Tip was in the top spot with 555 individuals counted on 3 April at Meeth (P. Butter), followed by the Mar-bled White with 429 individuals at Spreyton on 16 July (L. Gerrard). The top three Devon butterflies in terms of records submitted were the Red Admiral (1,704 records), Large White (1,632 records) and Small White (1,600 records). Last year’s No. 1 butterfly, the Meadow Brown, slipped to 4th place. Including the scarce migrants (Camberwell Beauty and Long-tailed Blue) and the Glanville Fritillary (probably an unauthorised introduction), which was also seen in 2014 and 2015, the total number of species seen in Devon in 2016 was 45. Excluding the hibernators, all but 4 species (Common Blue, Adonis Blue, Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary and Meadow Brown) emerged either at the same time or later than in 2015. The last flying date for over one third of the species was later than in 2015, alt-hough for two of these species (Large Skip-per on 10 Oct., Orange Tip on 30 Aug.) the last flying dates were exceptional. Excluding the hibernators, the flying season was shorter for 15 species compared to 2015, and longer for 11, with 10 about the same. As in many of the previous years, most of the species which are double-brooded, showed no clear temporal separation of the broods; the Dingy Skip-per, and Wood White were the exceptions. The Small Copper seemed to have a well-defined first brood (27 April to end of May), but thereafter there was no clear cut 2nd (commencing 7 July) and 3rd brood.

Orange Tip (Peter Vernon) highest count of any species at

any locality (Meeth) in 2016

Adonis Blue (Amanda Hunter)

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The first butterflies of the year were Painted Ladies first seen on 2 Jan follow-ing a small-scale immigration (with moths) in December 2015 along the south coast. Some 15 butterflies, mostly Painted Ladies and Red Admirals, but with a couple of Peacocks (6th), and a Small Tortoiseshell (27th), were seen in January. There were 32 butterfly sightings, dominated by Red Admirals, Peacocks, and Small Tortoiseshells, in February. Additional species were Commas on the 21st and 25th and a Brimstone on the 21st at Bovey Heathfield. In March, 148 adults were seen. Small Tortoiseshells, Peacocks and Brim-stones were the commonest of the hibernators. Additional species included 7 Small Whites, with the first on the 10th in Exeter (D. Turp), a Speckled Wood on the 20th in Plymouth (C. Seidel) and another on the 21st in Penhill (G. Mor-ton) and an Orange Tip on the 31st at Colaton Raleigh (S. Williams). The commonest species seen in April, as in 2015, were the Peacock (25% of sightings) and Orange Tip (15% of sightings), closely followed by Brimstone (12%), Small White (11%) and Speckled Wood (11%). The first Large White was seen on the 3rd at Hooe (V. Tucker). April 11th saw the first appearance of the Holly Blue at Hooe (V. Tucker). A Green Hairstreak was seen at Gara Rock on the 13th (M. Brooking). Green-veined Whites were seen at several localities on the 19th. One Small Copper was seen at Bolt Head on the 27th (M. Brooking), followed by a Wall (P.Shaw) on the 30th. The first Pearl-bordered Fritillary was also seen on the 30th at Haldon Forest (N. Gardner) and Yarner (J. Rickett). A solitary Painted Lady was seen on the 23rd at Wembury (V. Tucker). At the other end of the season, 16 species (+ a Camberwell Beauty) were seen in October (last flying dates are in parentheses): Small Tortoiseshell, Holly Blue, Brimstone, Peacock, Small Copper, Wall, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown (10th), Clouded Yellow (31st), Large White, Small White, Green-veined White (9th), Com-ma, Red Admiral, Painted Lady and an exceptionally late Large Skipper (10th) Twelve of the above species: Brimstone, Holly Blue (28th), Small Copper (2nd), Large White (2nd), Small White (22nd), Wall (1st), Comma (2nd), Peacock (23rd), Red Admiral (dominant – 51 sightings), Small Tortoiseshell (30th), Painted La-dy (1st), and Speckled Wood (20th) continued flying into November. Three species were seen in December: 8 Red Admirals (30th), 2 Peacocks (28th) and a Brimstone (22nd) at Okehampton (A. Flack). The Red Admiral and Peacock flew in every month of the year; the Small Tor-toiseshell and Brimstone flew in 11 months of the year, and the Comma flew in 10 months of the year. Most other species had a shortened flying season. The first brood of the Dingy Skipper (24 sightings, as last year) flew from 1 May at Meeth (P. Butter) up to 7 June at Branscombe (R. Laughton). There were only 2 second brood sightings: on 31 July on the East Devon Undercliffs

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(P. Butter). There were only 4 sightings of the Grizzled Skipper between 6 May on Miltor Mator Common (A. Hunter) until 2 June at Kingskerswell (C. Harris), but 20 individuals were seen on Miltor Mator Common on 14 May (A. Hunter). Large, Small and Green-veined White numbers were all up, with the Large and Small Whites up by 30%. There was no clear separation into first and second broods. The stronghold of the Wood White is the new DWT Reserve at Meeth (where the first brood flew from 1 May to 8 June (P. Butter); and the second brood at Meeth from 7 Aug. (S.Murphy) to 14 Aug. (N. Bowie). On the east Devon undercliffs only the first brood was recorded: from the 8 May (D. Selby), to 8 June (R & F Blackmore). The Wood White was also seen at Quoditch and Ashwater (H. Marshall) on 3 June. Orange Tips flew from 31 March to 3 July. Unusually, there was a very small partial second brood with sightings on 28 July at Ashprington (A. Bairstow), Milton Damerel on 30 Aug. (D. Holloway), and on the same date at Salcombe (E. Walker). The number of sightings of the Brown Argus was down to 5 (20 in 2015; 24 in 2014), and only of the second brood. The Small Copper had a poor year, with numbers down by 20% and almost half of the number seen in 2014. There was no sharp distinction into first and second broods; but the first was about the beginning of June, with many more sightings of the presumed second brood. There were four sightings of the first brood of the Adonis Blue on 30 May and 7 June (A. Hunter) and good numbers of the second brood on the 27 and 29 Aug. There was only one sighting of the first brood (7 Jun, R. Laughton) on the East Devon undercliffs. There were good numbers of first brood Small Blue at Lumma-ton between 6 May and 27 June, and the second brood between 10 July and 3 Aug. (A. Hunter). Additionally, there were 4 sightings at Berry Head between 28 May and 6 June. (A Hunter), and 1 was seen on Walls Hill on 30 May (A. Hunter). For the sixth consecutive year, I have received no record from Braunton Burrows. It was a poor year for the Common Blue with the numbers down by 30% (following a 10% decrease in 2015) and with a shorter flying season. As pre-viously, the division between Spring and Autumn broods was possibly at the end of June/beginning of July, with the Spring brood about an eighth the size of the second brood. After a poor year in 2013, Holly Blue numbers picked up in 2014, and increased again in 2015, but halved in 2016. The first brood (about 83 sightings) flew from11 April at at Hooe (V. Tucker), until about the end of June. The second brood, about triple the first, flew from late June until 2 Oct. at Grenofen (Siewruk). There then was an amazing third brood in

Brown Argus (Michael Brooking)

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Plymouth which flew from at least 12 Nov. to 28th Nov. – the latest ever recorded date for a Holly Blue in Devon. On the East Devon Commons, although generally, the weather was not very good, the number of sightings of the Silver-studded Blue was up slightly (388, cf. 347) on 2015 (Lesley Kerry, pers. commn.), and with a similar flying season of just over 4 weeks. At Bolt Head and Middle Soar, excellent numbers were seen (over 100 adults on five occasions) over a 5-week flying peri-od by M. Brooking. Several adults were seen at Bovey Heathfield between 25 June (J. Walters) and 4 July, with a maximum of 5 on 3 July (S. Murphy). There were 18 sightings of adult Brown Hairstreaks, including at a new locality in East Devon near Colyton, between 4 Aug. and 28 Sept., with additional find of eggs later in the year. There was one sighting of an adult White-letter Hair-streak: in Plymouth Central Park on 19 July (E. Tor) – a new locality for this species. Green Hairstreak sightings were down by 60%, and with a shorter flying period (12 weeks) than in 2015. The number of Purple Hairstreak sight-ings were also down by over 60%, but the flying season was slightly longer. In the absence of other migratory species, the early appearance of the Red Admiral (6 Jan.) and continuing to fly right into December, indicates emer-gence during hibernation rather than migration, and that the Red Admiral is capable of surviving our Winters. White Admiral sightings were down by 50%, and there was a greatly reduced flying season (5 weeks; cf. 12 weeks in 2014). Peacock numbers declined by 30% following a 26% decline in 2015. The Small Tortoiseshell numbers fell dramatically by 75% following a 55% de-cline in 2015, but still remained in 8th place in terms of numbers recorded. Dark Green Fritillary sightings were down 15%, and it had a shorter flying season (8 weeks) than in 2015 (11 weeks). The Heath Fritillary at Lydford, the only site in Devon where the species occurs, had a good year, with a maximum count of 80 on 26 May (J. Braven). The flight period was from 15 May to 3 July and a total count for the 8 weeks was 279. Although the number of records was halved, but with a similar flying season (just over 5 weeks), the High Brown Fritillary did surprisingly well at most of the ‘good’ locations. Some 44 adults were seen at Smallacombe on 23 Jun (M. Oates). Small Pearl-bordered Fritil-lary sightings were down by almost 50%; the first brood flew from 3 May at Portlemouth (M.Brooking) until about the middle of June; sightings from late June until 1 Sept. at Stare Hole (R. Macklin) were presumably second brood. Pearl-bordered Fritillary sightings were down about 15% on 2015, and it had a much shorter, 6-week, flying season flying from 30 April at Haldon and Yarner, until 8 June at Blacka-don Down (J. Plackett). Marsh Fritillary records were up slightly, and there was a 9-week flying season. Maximum numbers on any one day were 101 at Corndon Ford Farm on 30 May (J. Plackett). (continued on page10)

High Brown Fritillary (David Land)

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Spec

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Fir

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Las

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R

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2016

20

15

2016

20

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2016

20

15

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all

S

kip

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16/6

13/6

26/8

2/9

82

282

Lar

ge

3/4

23/5

10/1

0

2/9

126

424

Din

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1/5

21/4

31/7

6/8

26

24

Gri

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d

6/5

23/4

2/6

28/5

4

6

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1/5

15/4

14/8

23/8

21

55

Clo

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16/5

24/3

31/1

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13/1

0

44

54

Bri

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21/2

9/2

22/1

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1

276

491

Lar

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Whit

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3/4

4/4

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1

13/1

0

1632

1230

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all

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10/3

18/3

22/1

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24/1

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1600

1183

Gre

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19/4

6/4

9/1

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29/9

612

517

Ora

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31/3

21/3

30/8

15/6

259

278

Gre

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13/4

5/4

6/7

15/7

37

115

Bro

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4/8

4/8

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7

Purp

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11/7

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73

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19/7

19/7

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27/4

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267

318

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6/5

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12/8

17

19

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14/6

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513

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227

449

9

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30/5

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7

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24/6

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542

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27/1

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26/1

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796

1065

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926

1389

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251

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30/4

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137

162

Hig

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9/6

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8/6

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61

76

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-Wash

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25/6

14/6

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138

373

Hea

th

15/5

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8

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sh

5/5

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142

132

Spec

kle

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21/3

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994

1230

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30/4

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92

144

Mar

ble

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17/6

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230

314

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23/6

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60

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1/7

4/6

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1117

1471

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7/5

3/6

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1594

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582

371

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15/5

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58

170

15022

18631

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Silver-washed Fritillary numbers were down by 60%, but with a 13-week fly-ing season, as in 2015. Adult Glanville Fritillary were seen south of Torbay on 28 and 29 May. This is the third successive year that they have been seen in this locality. The number of records for all but one of the saty-rid species was down. The exception was the Ringlet up almost 160%. After 3 consecutive years (2009-2011) of being the most recorded species, the Speckled Wood dropped into 5th place in 2014 and was joint 5th (with the Large White) in 2015 and this year (2016) is in 6th posi-tion, but nevertheless was seen in every month between March and November. There was no clear separation into first, second and ?third broods. Sightings of the Meadow Brown, the 4th most widely recorded butterfly, were down by 28%. The number of Gate-keeper sightings fell by 24%, and the flying period was only 11 weeks. Sight-ings of the Small Heath were down by 66%, and it had a shorter flying sea-son than in 2015; there was no clear distinction between first and second broods. Sightings of the Wall were down 36%, following a 50% decline in 2015. As usual, the first brood (33 sightings) which flew from 30 April (P. Shaw) until about the middle of June was smaller than the second brood (59 sightings) which flew from 17 July at The Warren (R. Macklin) to 1 Nov. at Stoke Point (V. Tucker). Maximum numbers were 42 at Soar on 12 Aug. (R. Macklin). Apart from one sighting on 16 May at Chud-leigh (D. Cawthraw), Clouded Yellow sight-ings did not start to trickle in until 4 Aug. Mostly seen as singletons, some ten were seen at Strete Gate on 30 Aug. (M. Brook-ing); the last sighting was 31 Oct. Painted Lady sightings were about the same as those of 2015. There was a small-scale im-migration of Painted Ladies along the south coast which began on 24 Dec. and contin-ued into early January. The first sighting of 2016 was on 2 Jan. at Berry Head (S. Man-ning), followed by eleven up to 16 Feb. This was followed by another small-scale immi-gration, mostly singletons, beginning 23 April and continuing throughout the rest of the year, until 1 Nov. Of the scarce migrants, a Long-tailed Blue was seen at Dawlish Warren on 10 Sept (L. Harman). A Camberwell Beauty was seen on the 2 Oct. at Win-kleigh (J. Sanders).

Ringlet (Kevin New)

Clouded Yellow Helice form (Dennis Pickering)

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Robin snatches first hatchling … On 31st of March I saw my first newly-hatched butterfly of the year, a Green-veined White in a customer's garden near Dawlish, sitting low down sunning itself. Going back to my car for the camera I sneaked up on it hoping for a photo. As I was getting into position, in a lightning strike a Robin swooped from across the garden and in an in-stant snatched the basking butterfly and flew off with it! I initially felt dis-tressed as this had been my first new spring butterfly and its life had been so short. Coming to my senses I realised this was no more than nature in action, and of course many more Green-veineds would hatch & breed successfully.

First appearances January - April 2017

Jan 3rd Red Admiral Topsham Ray Jones

Jan 11th Peacock Ashleigh Rosier

Jan 22nd Speckled Wood Paignton Clive Harris

Feb 15th Brimstone Bovey Tracey Roger Brothwood

Feb 16th Small Tortoiseshell Westward Ho! John Bradbeer

Feb 18th Comma Paignton Clive Harris

Mar 2nd Painted Lady Spreyton Lesley Whittaker

Mar 26th Small White Ottery St. Mary Roger Bristow

Mar 26th Orange Tip Liverton John Martin

Mar 26th Holly Blue Starcross Keith Walker

Mar 26th Green-veined White Bovey Tracey Steve Ayres

Apr 6th Small Copper Dawlish Warren Stephen Edwards

Apr 7th Clouded Yellow Mattiscombe Sands Adam Whitehouse

Apr 8th Wall Brown Bolt Hd./Middle Soar Rob Macklin

Apr 8th Wall Brown East Soar Kevin & Jacki Solman

Apr 11th Pearl-Bordered Frit. Ramshorn Down Dave Hopkins

Apr 16th Grizzled Skipper Kingskerswell Phil Johnson

Apr 18th Wood White Branscombe Roger Laughton

Apr 23rd Dingy Skipper Chudleigh Knighton Pete Hurst

Apr 23rd Large White Soar Mill Valley Rob Macklin

Apr 23rd Green Hairstreak Soar Mill Valley Rob Macklin

Apr 27th Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

East Prawle Nigel Spring & Kathy Henderson

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Red Admirals on a very cold day - Pete Hurst On 23rd January following one of the harder frosts (probably minus 3C) of last winter with frost still lying on shad-ed grass in the afternoon, there were 2 Red Admirals in Dartington gardens on a south-facing bank nectaring on Win-ter Heather in the bright sunshine. Staff at Dartington said it had felt "bitter" when they arrived early morn-ing. The butterflies probably roost in the dense parts of evergreen shrubs & trees which are very close by and that would keep them frost-free. I think it is realised now that Red Admirals don't hibernate in our winter time, rather they lie dormant in sheltered places until tempted out by sunshine or warmth whatever the month.

Winter work parties 2016/17 mini roundup Practical conservation work tasks are in important part of Devon BC. Whilst we are a relatively small player in our vol-unteer conservation efforts in the coun-ty, nevertheless, targeted work for but-terflies and moths that also benefits other wildlife is increasingly valuable and certainly is helping with the survival of colonies of butterflies at sites where we are involved. These sites are mainly nature reserves. In the last winter we had 9 tasks and amazingly, all went ahead on the scheduled days and none were rained off before we had done our planned work (similar to last year, again which is remarkable). In November, 9 members and assistants directed by Devon Wildlife Trust (DWT)’s Andy Bakere helped enlarge a coppiced part of Chudleigh Knighton Heath. We began this coppicing in 2015. It is highly likely that Pearl-bordered Fritillary will find its way into it for breeding any time soon as this species was here in recent years and is found nearby. DWT has since been back and cleared

One of the Red Admirals at Dartington (Pete Hurst)

Winter work at Heathfield reserve (David Turrell)

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another patch immediately adjacent, so the cleared area is now quite large and will be more attractive for fritillaries. Also in November, 7 members raked up strimmed material on the first of 2 work days at the Old Railway reserve in Lydford to enable the continuation of many butterfly species not least being the rare Heath Fritillary. At Teigngrace Meadow, a DWT reserve near Newton Abbot, 8 members began cop-picing work at the base of a west-facing slope for our final November task. This will encourage both Pearl and Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries to breed as exposed ground should encourage growth of violets – the caterpillar foodplant. A Harvest Mouse nest was found nearby in the long grass. Into 2017, the branch had a well-attended event at Teignbridge’s Heathfield reserve near Bovey Tracey on 15th January where clearance work should maintain the tiny colony of Silver-studded Blue. At Little Breach reserve near Culmstock in the Blackdowns on 22nd January, only 3 members turned up to do the grassland raking. This work was nevertheless complet-ed as the vegetation was so dry and easily gathered up. A minute’s silence was ob-served in memory of David Hinde who had been reserve officer for several years before sadly dying last year. In February we had a second day at Heathfield and also Little Breach. At the Bovey Heathfield day more clearing of vegetation was done and also 2 scrapes were begun on the ground. The scraping off of the top turf aids a warmer environment which the Silver-studded Blue butterfly prefers and also regenerating heath plants on the bare areas are said to be chosen for egglaying. At Little Breach only 2 members showed up to finish off raking of the strimmed grassland. Task organiser John Bell was able to return later along with a helpful non-member who lives nearby to finish the work. More volunteers at Little Breach would be welcome. In March we had a second Lydford day on the Old Railway reserve where 9 peo-ple quickly cleared recent brushcuttings before the weather went downhill. Also in March a new site, Miltor Mator near King-skerswell was scrub-bashed for the benefit of the increasingly rare Grizzled Skipper. Thanks to Teignbridge Green Spaces volunteers who came to some of the days, also volunteers from the Dartmoor Preservation Society and Kingskerswell Natural History Society. Also thanks to Aggregate Industries for permission to do the work at Miltor Mator. Next year’s winter work party days will be advertised in the autumn newsletter as well as the Butterfly Conservation In Your Area Devon Branch web pages.

Lydford day, March 2017 (Pete Hurst)

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All the Moor Butterflies Update Megan Lowe Following the announcement that But-terfly Conservation was successful in receiving funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund in the last Branch newslet-ter, we are very pleased to say that the new ‘All the Moor Butterflies’ project is now up and running. Two members of staff have been em-ployed to deliver the project across the landscapes of Dartmoor, Exmoor and Bodmin Moor; Simon Phelps and Me-gan Lowe have taken up the positions of Conservation Officer and Community Engagement Officer respectively. The project aims to help conserve six of Britain’s most threatened butterfly and moth species; the Marsh fritillary, High Brown Fritillary, Heath fritillary, Pearl-bordered fritillary, Narrow-bordered bee hawkmoth and Small Pearl-bordered fritillary. In recent years these species have seen huge declines in both their numbers and distribution, probably due to a combination of factors including habitat loss and change of land man-agement. The project officers will work closely with landowners and partner organisations such as Dartmoor and Exmoor National Park Authorities to restore and reconnect suitable habitats for these special species. The project will also help volunteers, landowners and members of the public to learn more about Moorland butterflies and moths, and discover how they can help them recover and thrive. Training days, guided walks, butterfly sur-veys and conservation work parties will be held across Devon, Cornwall and Somerset over the next three years offering new opportunities for local peo-ple to get involved with Butterfly Conservation. A diverse programme of events and workshops have been planned for the summer; many of which will provide unique opportunities for beginners and experts alike to see and learn about these charismatic species. Project offic-ers are hoping to work closely with community groups and local schools, and are running activities at various family friendly events including National Play

Simon & Megan

High Brown Fritillary (Iain H. Leach)

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Day on 2nd August at Castle Drogo. All of the events will be advertised on the event pages of the BC website so please keep an eye out for them and do pop along to take part or say hello. Having officially launched in January the project has started delivering con-servation work for some of the target species, working with local volunteer groups on Dartmoor, and teaming up with the National Trust to carry out vital habitat management work for High Brown and Pearl-bordered fritillary at Heddon Valley on Exmoor and Castle Drogo on Dartmoor. The project officers are seeking volunteers who would like to get involved with the project work. There are many different opportunities on offer and no previous knowledge or experience is required - all you need is enthusi-asm! Whether you would like to get involved with surveying, can lend a hand at one of the educational events, or want to get stuck in at a practical work party Megan would love to hear from you! For more information about the project or to get involved please contact Megan Lowe (Community Engagement Officer) at mlowe@butterfly-conservation.org / 07827 460 767.

BC Devon Branch ‘In Your Area’ web pages - Amanda Hunter Have you looked at the branch web page recently? If not we encour-age you to do so as you will find latest news about butterfly sightings and much, much more! We are now located within the main Butterfly Conserva-tion web site under ‘In Your Area’ http://butterfly-conservation.org/253/devon-branch.html - although if you use our previous web address www.devon-butterflies.org.uk this will take you straight there too. Here is a quick list of some pages you might find interesting:- Latest sightings – check here for latest butterfly news! We invite members to tell us which butterflies they are seeing and where so please contribute your sightings if you think they would be useful information to other members. Photo Gallery – Enjoy taking photos? We are inviting members to send in their 2017 butterfly and moth photos and will be displaying some of them here and also compiling a presentation for our Members Day in October. (Photos must be taken in Devon this year please). Events and Reports from Events – Want to find a butterfly event? There have been some changes and some new events organised since we pub-lished our Events Programme so do check the Events box (only next three visible but click on ‘View All’ to get details of other Events later on). If you attend and enjoy one of our events why not sent us a quick write-up – we will be trying to publish a short report from every event this summer on the ‘Reports from Events’ page. Members Page – Want to know what the branch is doing? This page is for news specifically for our members. Included is a list of links to the last few

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monthly branch news emails which are sent to members (but which some-times disappear into people’s spam folders!) We hope to add more content to these web pages later in the year and have set up a small Branch Sub-Committee to oversee and expand our web pres-ence - so if there is something you would like to see included please email us at contact@devon-butterflies.org.uk and mark the email for attention of Web-site Team please.

Please help us save the White - letter Hairstreak in Devon's Bovey Valley Woodlands! This rarely seen butterfly has an orange margin on the underside of its wing, a distinctive 'tail' to its wing shape and a white line in the shape of a W on its hindwing. It is often overlooked because it spends much of its time high in the canopy of Elm trees, although you may be lucky to spot one if it comes down to nectar on brambles or oth-er flowers. Natural England and the Woodland Trust at East Dartmoor National Nature Reserve are keen to establish the status of the butterfly in their Bovey Valley Woodlands, and would love to hear from anybody who is able to help with surveys of suitable Elm trees and of the adult butterflies. There could also be some data entry too (not obligatory!), and possibly some mapping of suitable habitat. If you are interested to find out more, please contact Jenny Plackett (BC's Senior Regional Officer) on 09718 073654 / jplackett@butterfly-conservation.org or Albert Knott (Reserve Manager) on 01626 831581 / albert.knott@naturalengland.org.uk

Stop Press: There will be a workshop for White-letter on Sat. 1st July at 13:00 meeting at the Woodland Trust Car Park SX789 801. This date is the start of the usual flight period. Booking required. Please contact Jenny Plackett on 09718 073 654. Devon BC Members’ Day & AGM Sat. 21st October 2017 Our Members’ and AGM Day will once again be in the Boniface Centre in the grounds of Crediton Parish Church and will run 10 am - 4.20 pm. The morning half will consist of our branch AGM, a coffee break, a wildlife photo presenta-tion from Colin Sargent and an update on All The Moor Butterflies project. To end the morning session, Bob Heckford and Stella Beavan will give a talk en-titled “ Micro Moths: Discoveries, Rarity and Conservation”. After lunch John Walters will talk about “The Secret World of the Undergrowth” followed by Paul Butter with a shorter slot on “The mid-Devon Wood White”. There will then be a members’ photo session which was very popular last year

White-letter Hairstreak (Mark Ogden)

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organised by Amanda Hunter and Jonathan Aylett. Dave Holloway will give a brief demonstration of using the branch’s webpages and finally we will finish with tea and cake.

Lunches will be available on the day bookable in advance (suggested dona-tion £9). The finalised programme will be published in the autumn newsletter.

The Grizzled Skipper in Devon – a much declined species Pete Hurst, Species Champion for Grizzled Skipper in Devon Grizzled Skipper is one of our smallest butterflies with a wingspan no broader than a ten pence piece. Grizzled is often found in the same kind of habitat preferred by Dingy Skipper i.e. areas of warm often bare ground with a ground flora still pre-sent. Both species can be found in short turf grassland though Dingy seems more tolerant of slightly taller or ranker grass-land. Grizzled larval foodplants are said to be Agrimony, Wild & Barren Strawberry, Cinquefoils, Bramble and other related plants. Care is needed to separate the 2 species as male Dingy can be almost as small as Grizzled and they are not easy to tell apart in flight. Some dayflying moths on the wing around the same time as Grizzled can also cause confusion. The chequer-board appearance of the butterfly may throw up the question “why this design?”, but when seen in grassland with flowering Ribwort Plan-tain you can appreciate it gains protection from resembling it. In Devon Grizzled Skipper has been found around sunny, sparsely vegetat-ed forest track edges, around rural industrial areas where nature has still been allowed a foothold and other brownfield sites especially where there is occasional disturbance of the ground which can help maintain the barer warm conditions preferred. The butterfly always seems to have been local with a scatter of records in the county. It has been found around quarry sites and also on the coast at Braunton Burrows in the north and there are rec-ords from around Axmouth and Seaton on the East Devon coastline. Meeth Quarry, a relatively new DWT reserve near Hatherleigh which is a very good site for many butterflies has not yet had confirmation of a breeding colony of Grizzled (personal communication from Paul Butter) though it has been hoped to find it there (Dingy is well established).

Grizzled Skipper (David Land)

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When the national Species Action Plan for Grizzled Skipper was formulated by BC in 1998, Devon was listed as having around 30 main sites for the species. John Randall who was a very active committee member of Devon BC or-ganised a county survey for Grizzled and Dingy Skipper in 2006. He decided to check all known sites post 1990 and for Grizzled this numbered 65 sites. The May weather in 2006 was not very good; however John’s survey revealed that 24 historical sites still had Grizzled but also 3 extra sites were discovered so a total of 27 extant sites.

By the time we get to 2015, Roger Bristow, County Recorder for Devon only had records submitted from 5 sites: Miltor Mator near Kingskerswell, King-skerswell, Great Haldon, North Wood near Great Haldon and Trenchford Dam near Hennock in the Teign Valley. By 2016 only 3 sites returned rec-ords: Miltor Mator, Kingskerswell and Trenchford.

Some reliable areas to find Grizzled around the time the Species Action Plan was formulated were at Braunton Burrows in North Devon and also in the Cookworthy Forest area between Holsworthy & Hatherleigh. In West Devon a cluster of map squares returned records for Grizzled around the Lydford Forest area. Haldon Forest near Exeter was also a reliable area and the nearby Teign Valley had records of the species dotted about. The adjacent Bovey Basin between Bovey Tracey and Newton Abbot had a number of colonies including around Chudleigh Knighton, Stover Country Park and Great Plantation. Other notable places for Grizzled included around King-skerswell and also perhaps the East Devon coast around the Seaton area.

In the late 1990’s I adopted the species as a Species Champion for Devon and over a few years was able to add records for some old sites as well as new ones near to where I live in Chudleigh. I found 2 sites on the outer edg-es of Haldon at Harcombe and several sites in the Teign Valley where there had been no recent records. One new site was a builder’s storage area on

Grizzled Skipper distribution map showing records since 2010 (Roger Bristow)

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the rural outskirts of Bridford. In the Bovey Basin, I found the species in ground next to British Ceramic Tiles, a site also where Pennyroyal has been found, a very rare plant.

I had not been conscious of any sudden de-clines of Grizzled populations until 2014 when I visited a brownfield site bordering the Finlake leisure complex near Chudleigh. I had last visit-ed this site 7 years earlier. In 2014 I could find no Grizzleds there which was surprising as it had been a good site. Moreover, Dingy was still present in good numbers and one of the larval foodplants for Grizzled, Wild Strawberry, was still very common at the site. From then on I have searched most of my nearby sites for the species only to find that the species is absent. Dingy Skipper prevails at most of these sites indicating to a strong degree that they ought to be still ok for Grizzled.

Investigating further using information from Devon BC’s County Butterfly Re-corder, Roger Bristow, I learnt that at Braunton Burrows the last record for Grizzled was in 2009 (John Breeds). At Lydford Colin Sargent reports that the years 2013 – 2016 have been blank for the species. One of my local Dev-on Wildlife Trust nature reserves near Trusham, at Ruggadon in the Teign Valley also may have lost the species – last record May 17th 2014 (P. Hurst) and Ruggadon used to hold a strong colony. Another Teign Valley site, a pri-vate one near Doddiscombsleigh may still hold the species – 3 Grizzleds re-ported there on 13th April 2014.

Grizzled may have gone from the Bovey Basin as there are no recent records from Stover, Great Plantation or Chudleigh Knighton Heath. At the latter site some populations may have lost habitat to scrub invasion.

In East Devon only 2 records have been received for Grizzled Skipper since 2010 and none at all for Southwest Devon. In North Devon only 4 sites have provided records since 2010. Further south, thankfully, records have contin-ued from Trenchford Dam in the Teign Valley. John Rickett who visits Trenchford reports numbers from a small colony there:-

2013: 4 Grizzled on 25th May 2014: 1 Grizzled on 9th June 2015: 3 Grizzled on 23rd April 2016: 1 Grizzled on 29th May 2017: 2 Grizzled on 3rd May (in less than ideal weather) John’s visits to Trenchford usually last 20 – 30 minutes.

Grizzled pair at Trenchford Dam (John Rickett)

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Also at Kingskerswell in South Devon Grizzled continues to flourish at Ston-eycombe with healthy numbers seen regularly up until and including 2017. Barry Henwood found Grizzled larvae feeding on bramble there in 2015. This is one of the foodplants the books list but a very interesting confirmation. At Haldon less good news: 2013: 1 Grizzled on 1st June (J. Hulbert) 2014: 2 Grizzled on 1st June (D. Hopkins) 2015: 1 Grizzled on 16th May (G. Vernall) 2016: No records

The sudden disappearance of Grizzled from so many sites in a relatively short period (less than a decade) makes me wonder if an adverse weather event has occurred that has critically affected the species in one of its life stages. 2012 was a poor year for many species with much inclement weather which may have had an impact. The weirdly warm winter weather 2015/16 is thought to have done none of our butterflies any favours with a correspondingly disap-pointing season generally in 2016. There may be other environmental factors also responsible. As I stated earlier, it is still puzzling though why its sister spe-cies, Dingy Skipper has largely escaped the fate of Grizzled.

STOP PRESS: Good news! On an organised Devon BC walk at Haldon on 21st May 2017, John Margesson saw and photographed a single Grizzled Skipper midway along the Butterfly Walk. David Land also reports seeing a Grizzled Skipper at Haldon this May higher up on the Butterfly Walk area. Dave also saw 8 Grizzleds at North Wood near Haldon on 8th May 2017. He also relates that the private site at Doddiscombsleigh in the Teign Valley is still showing “good numbers” this season according to his contact there. Finally, Roger Bristow has just received a list of butterfly species from Grahame Pres-ton, seen on 9th May 2017 at Braunton Burrows which included a single Griz-zled Skipper. Perhaps this is all evidence of a recovery at some sites after a very low ebb; welcome news indeed.

I think it behooves us to stay vigilant around Grizzled sites and do what we can to assist this vulnerable, much declined butterfly. A detailed Species Factsheet for Grizzled Skipper can be downloaded from BC’s website: butterfly-conservation.org On the Home Page, looking at the list across the top, you will see a heading “The Difference we make”. Click on this and you will see Reports and Factsheets at the bottom of the drop down list.

Please send in any records of Grizzled Skipper to Roger Bristow – it is only possible to get a county perspective from the records that we all send in. My thanks to Roger for sending me data for the species and its county distribution and also thanks to the individuals mentioned who have provided information for this article.

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A (very!) good year for Vapourer Moth - Pete Hurst In 2016 I had more sightings than usual of the common Vapourer dayflying moth. The species is well known to eat many kinds of shrubs, trees and other plants and sometimes can be a nuisance at the caterpillar stage. The orangey-brown males fly about erratically at speed and are often mistaken for other species. Last autumn I asked a keen moth-trapping friend if he had seen the species commonly in the year. He said that he couldn’t remember seeing any. Had I seen many? So I said “well yes I have.” Then a smile broke out on my face and I continued: “In fact only last week I came across about 5,000 of them, and possibly a few thousand more. In addi-tion, they were all in the same front garden.” My friend smiled wryly and looked incredulous, certain I was pulling his leg. To explain I continued: “Well, actually the ones I saw were all at the egg stage. The wingless females lay a large batch of eggs on the old pupa cocoons cov-ering the whole of the surface. From a photo I took I have counted a good 500 eggs just on one cocoon. I saw at least 10 cocoons covered in eggs high up under the eaves, possibly more, so a minimum of 5,000 eggs were there.” The house where I saw them has a large spreading Wisteria across the front of the building and obviously can support huge numbers of caterpillars. The moth has 2 or more broods in a year and overwinters at the egg stage.

Vapourer cocoons, many covered in eggs, lined up under the eaves (Pete Hurst)

Vapourer male (Ian Kimber)

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Events June - October 2017 Sun. 4 June: Meeth Quarry nr Hatherleigh DWT Reserve 1.00 pm Meet at the main DWT car park at the end of the lane off the A386 at Meeth village marked by a DWT sign at SS 540 085. Meeth Quarry never ceases to amaze and as well as Wood White we will be going across country looking out for Dingy Skipper, Green Hairstreak, lots of dayflying moths and possibly Wall Brown. Drinks/snacks advised. Leader Paul Butter 07807 680 455. Sun. 18th June: Lydford Old Railway Reserve 11.00 am: booking required Meet in the National Trust “waterfall” car park (SS 501 831) which is free, and about 1ml SW of the main Lydford Gorge entrance. This is our most valuable reserve for the rare Heath Fritillary. Small Pearl-bordered may still be flying in the adjacent FC area. This event is for BC members only and your BC membership cards may need to be shown. Ticks are present so it is recommended that arms and legs are protected. Colin Sargent is leading this guided walk for Heath Fritillary and as numbers are limited please con-tact him beforehand on cfs.cfs@btinternet.com Sun. 25th June: Ashclyst Forest nr. Exeter 1.00 pm Meet in the big Forest Gate car park at SX 999 995. The lanes up from the B3181 from both Beaumont and a little further north of Broadclyst at Bud-lake are narrow so drive slowly. Ashclyst Forest is a large area of mixed woodland with some excellent wide rides created with butterflies in mind and is a good site for White Admiral and Silver-washed Fritillary as well as the rather spectacular Scarlet Tiger moth. Leader Paul Butter 07807 680 455. Sat. 1st July: Bovey Woods near Lustleigh White-letter Hairstreak workshop 13.00 hours Meet in the Woodland Trust car park near Drakeford Bridge SX 789 801 Booking required. Telephone Jenny Plackett 09718 073 654. Sun. 2nd July: Soar near Salcombe 10.30 am A coastal walk past Middle Soar Cottages east to Bolt Head (about 1.5 miles) returning via Starehole Bay and Overbeck House. Meet in the car park at Middle Soar SX 713 375. Species seen on this walk include Wall Brown, Grayling, Dark Green Fritillary, Silver-studded Blue plus possible 2nd brood Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary. Bring picnic and refreshments, sun pro-tection - let’s be optimistic - binoculars and stout footwear. Ticks may be pre-sent in long grass. Booking required. Telephone John Rickett: 01626 830 079. Weds. 5th July: Bircham Valley LNR nr. Plymouth 12.00 midday Meet at the Jack Rabbit pub post code PL6 8BD. Make it 1 pm if you just want to get walking. The pub (with toilets) is just off A386 in the Derriford part of Plymouth. This is a new venue kindly being led by local member Dave Gregory who last year found it to be a good butterfly site with Marbled

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White, Common Blues, Small and Large Skipper amongst others. The site is not arduous and new records could be made and an eye kept out for day-flying moths as well. Leader contact Dave Gregory davegregory2000@yahoo.com Sat. 8th & Sun. 9th July 9pm – 1 pm Dunsdon Moth Trapping and But-terfly Walk Join the Devon Branch for a moth trapping and butterfly walk with leaders Barry Henwood, Jenny Evans & Steve Threlkeld. Meet at Dunsdon SS 302 080, nearest postcode EX22 7JW, at 9pm Saturday for moth trapping, 9:30 am Sunday to see moths caught during the night and 11:00 am for the butterfly walk. Directions: From Holsworthy, take the A3072 west towards Bude, after 2.5 miles take a right turn to Pancrasweek. Continue north past Pancrasweek church for about a mile, turn right at the T-junction, through Lana, following the lane round a sharp left bend. The entrance to the Nature Reserve is on the left, just before Gains Cross (Grid reference SS 302 080). There is a large car parking area at the end of the driveway. Limited camping will be available, no fires permitted & no dogs at the event. Bacon butties will be available to campers for breakfast at a cost of £2.50 a head. A porta loo will be on site. Torches required. Booking required. Please book through Steve Threlkeld, (details below) by phone (probably answer phone) or email, stating your contact details, how many people are attending which sessions, how many are children, how many tent or van pitches and if having breakfast whether vegetarian or meat eaters. He will then return your call or email to confirm your book-ing. Numbers are limited so early booking is advised. Note: Please try to arrive at the advertised time, take care of your own per-sonal safety and listen to the short introductory briefing by the event organis-er, about any hazards in the area such as electric cables, slippery paths etc. Children are most welcome but must be accompanied by a parent or guardi-an if under 16. This is a joint meeting with Devon Wildlife Trust, Devon Moth Group, Butterfly Conservation, & Devon Biodiversity Records Centre. Booking: Steve Threlkeld 01288 331 324 sthrelkeld@devonwildlifetrust.org

Saturday July 8th: Aish Tor nr Poundsgate 11.00 am Meet in the car park area SX 707 714. Off the B3357 at the top of Newbridge Hill turn west onto the very minor road where parking is immediately on the right. This is the best site for both High Brown and Dark Green Fritillaries and an ideal chance to observe them together and get some great photos. Bring a packed lunch to give the option of exploring this wild bit of Dartmoor in the afternoon if the weather is kind. Leader John Barkham Tel: 01364 653 903 or by email at bark.person@gmail.com Sunday July 9th: Hunter’s Inn Heddon Valley 11.00 am Meet outside NT Office at Hunters' Inn nr. Parracombe, North Devon SS 680

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489 post code EX31 4PY. There is a fee paying car park (£4) opposite the Office and some limited free parking near the hotel. Bring packed lunch for a day’s ex-ploring of some of the best High Brown Fritillary sites in Devon and butterfly rich habitat. There are steep slopes and plenty of Brambles so long trousers and good footwear are recommended. A joint meeting with British Naturalists Association Leaders Brian Sims tel. 01271 343 607 and Paul Butter 07807 680 455 Fri 14th July: Andrew’s Wood, Loddiswell nr. Kingsbridge Moth Trap-ping 9.00 pm Meet in the Andrews Wood car park at SX 7131 5195 (TQ7 4EA). Directions: From A38, take A3121 turn-off towards Ugborough/Yealmpton, then turn left onto B3196. Go straight across the junction at Kitterford Cross and at California Cross take the left-hand fork beyond the petrol station towards Loddiswell. Carry on to Coldharbour Cross and the car park is about 250M beyond this on the right-hand side. If the weather looks unsettled please contact the leader by 6:30pm to check the event is still happening. This is a joint meeting with Devon Wildlife Trust, Dev-on Moth Group, Devon Biodiversity Records Centre, Butterfly Conservation and Devonshire Association. Leader Barry Henwood 01626 364 080 Sun. 23rd July: Goat Island and Undercliffs nr. Seaton 11 am Meet at Stepps Lane, Axmouth SY 266 903 for a butterfly walk .We will be guided by Martin Drake of Axminster Vale & District Conservation Society (AVDCS) through the complex of “off piste” pathways through the Undercliffs to arrive at Goat Island where much conservation work has been undertaken by Natural England to restore chalk grassland. This is an arduous walk and strong footwear essential as well as a good constitution. Bring a packed lunch, water and sun-protection. This is a joint meeting with AVDCS with Butterfly Conservation member numbers limited to 12 so early booking strongly recommended. Parking is lane-side with space for 8-9 cars so car sharing is to be promoted. Paul Butter will be the BC contact on 07807 680455 paulnbutter@hotmail.com. Tuesday 25th July 2017, Heddon Valley, EX31 4PY 1.00pm-2.30pm Join Megan Lowe from Butterfly Conservation for a gentle-paced walk around National Trust Heddon Valley. Learn how to identify common butterflies and day-flying moths, and take part in the Big Butterfly Count.

This event is open to all, but is ideal for families and children interested in

learning more about butterflies. Meet outside the National Trust shop/offices, opposite the car park. Parking charges apply for non-National Trust members (£3 all day). This event is FREE, but donations are welcome. No need to book, just turn up on the day. Please wear suitable footwear for a walk in the countryside. Long trousers are advised. In the event of bad weather, it is likely that we will have to cancel. If in any doubt please check the BC website for updates or contact Megan on mlowe@butterfly-conservation.org / 07827 460 767

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Fri. 28th to Mon. 31st July Slapton Ley Field Centre, near Kingsbridge: An introduction to moths and butterflies Slapton is an ideal location for the study of butterflies and moths. The wide variety of habitats – woodland, reedbed, maritime grassland and coastal cliffs – will allow us to find a wide range of species. With luck we will see some of the most attractive moths and butterflies in a range of beautiful locations. Butterflies and moths are beautiful and fasci-nating creatures, and good indicators of the health of the environment. This course will appeal to anyone wishing to know more about them, and will cover how to identify the different species, their varied life-cycles and natural history, and how to help record and conserve them. Tutor: Martin Harvey tutors regularly for FSC and for Manchester Metropoli-tan University. He is an ecologist specialising in insect conservation and recording, carrying out entomological surveys, and is a Research Fellow at the Biological Records Centre. Martin has been recording butterflies and moths since the age of 11, and since 1995 has been the County Moth Re-corder for Berkshire. Cost: £380 (resident) Venue: Slapton Ley Field Centre, Slapton, Kingsbridge, Devon, TQ7 2QP For more information and to book a place, visit the Field Studies Council website. Weds. 2nd August, National Play Day, Piddledown Common, Castle Drogo near Chagford 2.00pm-4.00pm Butterfly Conservation will be joining the National Trust to celebrate Nation-al Play Day at Castle Drogo. Come along for an afternoon of fun, games and some butterfly spotting on Piddledown Common. Learn how to identify butterflies and take part in the Big Butterfly Count. This is a free event, just turn up on the day! Please see the National Trust website for more information. Note: activities are taking part outside of the main Castle Drogo property. If you visit the property before or after the event then normal admission charges will apply. Sat. 5th August: Yarner Wood, East Dartmoor NNR nr. Bovey Tracey daytime Moth Event 9.00 am Examining moth traps set the previous evening. Meet at the Woodland Centre, Yarner Wood at SX 7822 7835 to examine moth traps set up the previous evening. Moth Group members who wish to join Barry trapping on the Friday night should contact him in advance. DIRECTIONS: Follow brown signs to East Dartmoor NNR from Bovey Tracey on B3344 to Mana-ton for approx. 2 miles. East Dartmoor NNR entrance is signed on left. This is a joint meeting with Devon Wildlife Trust, Devon Moth Group, Devon Bio-diversity Records Centre, Butterfly Conservation and Devonshire Associa-tion. Leader Barry Henwood 01626 364 080. Sun. 20th August : Fontmell Down nr. Shaftesbury Dorset 11.00 am Meet at lay-by car park ST 886 187. From Shaftesbury take the B3081

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Blandford road through Mel-bury Abbas and up onto the downs where the car park is on the right before you get to the Compton Abbas airfield junction. Fontmell is a brilliant site and this event is timed to see the rare Silver-spotted Skipper as well as Adonis Blue and possible Chalkhill Blue and Clouded Yellow. It is a big area so bring drink, sun protection and packed lunch. A joint meeting with Dorset Branch. Leader Frank Crosier tel. 017227 904 19. Sat. 16th to Sun 17th Sep-tember 4pm – 11am Exmoor Family camp out Heddons Mouth EX31 4PY Come along and camp in some of the most amazing locations on Exmoor. Set your camp, cook your dinner and enjoy the communal campfire, storytelling, and a night walk. Ideal for first time campers. Camping is available for one or two nights from Friday 15th September. Activities will be run Saturday evening. Butter-fly Conservation will be run-ning moth traps overnight so do stay to meet the moths Sunday morning. This event is led by Exmoor National Park Authority. For more information and to book please visit their website. Charges apply for camping (A family ticket costs £30 for both nights. Additional adults £10/additional children £5). There is no extra charge for activities. Sat. 21st October: Devon BC Members’ Day & AGM In Crediton’s Boniface Centre in the grounds of the parish church. See page 16 for the day’s programme.

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Committee members

Butterfly Conservation Company Limited by guarantee Registered Office: Manor Yard, East Lulworth,

Wareham, Dorset. BH20 5QP. Tel: 01929 400209 Registered in England No. 2206468.

Registered Charity No. 254937. Registered in Scotland No. SCO 39268.

Jonathan Aylett - Volunteer Co-ordinator 01626 364016 9, Westwood Road, Ogwell Cross, Newton Abbot jsaylett@googlemail.com

Peter Beale - Conservation Officer 01626 333106 22 Frobisher Road, Newton Abbot TQ12 4HT su5917@eclipse.co.uk

Roger Bristow - County Butterfly Recorder 01395 578003 2, Sid Bank, Sid Lane, Sidmouth EX10 9AW devonbristows@btinternet.com

Paul Butter - Events Co-ordinator 01837 82378 Hazelwood Farm, Sampford Courtenay, Okehampton EX20 2SH paulnbutter@hotmail.com Mary Harold - Publicity Officer 01566 783188 Malthouse, Coryton, Okehampton EX20 4PG mary.harold@btinternet.com

Barry Henwood - Chairman & County Moth Recorder 01626 364080 Greenacre, 6 Lakeland, Abbotskerswell TQ12 5YF barry.henwood@btinternet.com

Dave Holloway - Website d.hllwy51@gmail.com

Amanda Hunter - Membership Secretary amanda.bc@clara.co.uk 391 Teignmouth Road, Torquay TQ1 4RR

Pete Hurst - Editor 01626 854182 36 Woodway Street, Chudleigh, Newton Abbot TQ13 0JU petehurst@pobroadband.co.uk

Ray Jones - Treasurer 01884 255386 10 Broomhill, Tiverton EX16 5AS ray1432.jones@btinternet.com

Colin Sargent - Lydford Reserve Officer 01822 810433 Stags Head House, Brentor, Tavistock PL19 ONP colin@colinsargent.co.uk

Marjory Taylor - Branch Organiser 01404 881250 Danes View, Lower Lane, Dalwood, Axminster EX13 7DW

Non-committee posts for Devon BC:- Jenny Evans - Transect & WCBS Co-ordinator jennifer.evans@lineone.net

Lesley Kerry - Silver-studded Blue Co-ordinator 01395 567880 lesley.kerry@ymail.com

Phil Parr - East Devon Coast/Undercliffs phil.parr@warwickshire-butterflies.org.uk Co-ordinator

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Aberrant Heath Fritillaries at Lydford Old Railway, May 2017 (David Land)

Green Carpet, fresh and sun-bleached examples at Orley Common, May 27th 2017 (Amanda Hunter)

Lime Hawk pair

(Alan James)

Grass Emerald (Colin Burningham)