Eggs Found on Worcs/Warks Border

It has been known for some time now that the Brown Hairstreak are gradually spreading east from Worcestershire into Warwickshire. Unfortunately, the expansion isn't expanding as fast as we'd like it to. The county boundary runs along a busy road and is bordered by dense woodland and built up areas in parts. Last season, we found quite a few eggs close to the border in Worcestershire but only a few actually inside Warwickshire. Our main breakthrough was finding 19 eggs just inside Warwickshire near a place called Cookhill. However, i estimate around 8397589178975894 deer are in residence there and much of the blackthorn with eggs on was browsed. Visits to some promising looking ash trees during the flight period unfortunately yielded no sightings what so ever but we all know how elusive...

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Welsh populations

Pembrokeshire is out on a bit of a limb and is often largely overlooked, but it has to be remembered that this part of the UK is one of the three principal strongholds for the Brown Hairstreak. Of course, unlike most other parts of the country, the weather is comparatively unreliable, but this can unearth observations that would otherwise not be recorded, such as the butterfly's cold tolerance levels. The principal site in these parts is the coastal location at West Williamston, a lovely spot...

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INDIVIDUALS OR SIGHTINGS?

My last two visits to Steyning Rifle Range on 20th and 22nd September produced 6 and 7 female Brown Hairstreak respectively, bringing my 2012 total for the site to 52. To give some idea of how prolific the species is here, this is a lower count than in previous years; 2012 being a modest or even poor season in most areas. One of the questions I'm regularly asked is "how do you know whether you are counting the same butterflies more than once?" Clearly it is useful to know whether we are recording...

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Hello All

Well I am new to this blog but have been interested in Brown Hairstreaks since seeing my first one at Noar Hill six years ago. Hampshire is not overly blessed with large numbers of sites and the two keys ones are at the extreme east and west boundaries of the county. However there have been intriguing reports in the Hants BC annual reports from one or two other locations. I have seen good numbers Shipton Bellinger in the west where they do seem to be spread over a fairly large area. The other site in the east is of course Noar Hill - the numbers here seem to fluctuate but are generally quite low and seemingly restricted to a small area - the reserve itself. I have searched for eggs at NH over the last three winters finding none one year and a max of 23. This is similarly reflected...

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Brown Hairstreak ebulletin

For those interested in a more detailed account of Brown Hairstreaks in Worcs (and now W. Warks) a regular email is distributed in my capacity as Brown Hairstreak Species Champion for West Midlands Butterfly Conservation.  Past copies can be accessed via the branch website www.westmidlands-butterflies.org.uk or if you contact me direct I can add you to the mailing list.  The series goes back to January 2005 so plenty of historic data available and we have just published number 96 earlier this month.  The current issue provides an account of the Brown Hairstreak open day at Grafton Wood last month, news of this year's Big Ash Bash and dates of our forthcoming egg hunt days this coming winter.  The latter are open to one and all and any...

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9 Brown Hairstreak at Grafton on the 15th

I met up with Simon Primrose at 0930 on Saturday at the Church at Grafton Flyford for another Brown Hairstreak search. The weather was just about ideal: blue sky with only a few fluffy white clouds, and not much breeze. As we walked down though the fields towards the wood we checked one potential Ash on the way. There was something there, either a very tatty male BH or a Purple Hairstreak. It was so frayed that it was impossible to tell for certain, so we decided to move on. We went and checked...

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Magic Day Saturday

Today was a golden BrH day despite failed sightings going back eight days at known sites. At outset today I had the forlorn hope of a maybe across a range of Bucks - Oxon border sites. However 10.30 am rang the ding-dong-BrH bell with a double-header male and female atop an ash and adjacent shade-bound elm right on the County boundary here in sunny Buckinghamshire - Oxon borders (one foot in each!). It was an estimated mere 15 degrees at the time. Further forays to another three regular BrH sites delivered mixed fortunes topped by another glorious female Brh at 1.30 pm on a fence-post in the Piddington area and a couple of eggs located after a brief search at Piddington Woods at approx 3.30 pm. More questions you guys and dolls:  why are some days seemingly totally...

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Brown Hairstreaks in captivity

Attached photo of captive BrH pair in cop. I had bred them through from the egg stage and was amazed to find them one morning as a mating pair. My interest is the bahaviours of butterflies, BrH in particular. In my view there is very little authorative information available in the literature - e.g. egg- laying cycle; pupal preferences; adult feeding (honeydew on ash?!) and lots more. I have attempted to breed individuals initially from the egg stage with some success and subsequently through the...

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Brown Hairstreak larva image

This is really a test image, but shows a 3-day old first instar larva which was taken in April 2011 when I raised three Brown Hairstreaks from egg to adulthood. This process was photo-documented in diary form on UK Butterflies, but with Gillian's assistance I hope to produce a full report with observations and photos on Ash Brownies soon. Vince Massimo...

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Mapping The Brown Hairstreak In Sussex

Here's a link to an excellent article by Michael Blencowe, reproduced from ‘The Sussex Butterfly Report 2010 (Issue 3, Spring 2011)’. Well worth a read. Click on 'Read More' to activate the link. http://www.sussex-butterflies.org.uk/downloads/BrownHairstreakArticle_MichaelBlencowe.pd...

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Brown Hairstreak at Shurnock

I met up with Simon Primrose at 1115 today (13th) at Shurnock for my first ever Ash Bash. I've never seen or attempted to see the Brown Hairstreak before, so wasn't building my hopes up too much beforehand. There is a very fine line between standing in a field staring up at a tree looking for butterflies, and just standing in a field staring up at a tree! Well, thanks to Simon's expertise by 1200 it was standing in a field staring up at my first ever Brown Hairstreak. I even managed a few fuzzy...

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Brown Hairstreaks in Redditch and elsewhere

In recent years, the Brown Hairstreak has been steadily moving eastwards in Worcs and for the first time last winter we found eggs within the town of Redditch.  This year, we thought we would have a crack at enlisting the support of the public at large in trying to find adults and produced a press release and poster asking members of the public to keep a look out for the butterfly.  The idea clearly caught the eye of at least two local papers who picked up on the story and did a write-up including photos of the upperside of the butterfly.  Within a few hours of publication, we now have our first definite report of a sighting within the town which is great news and a whole new area to search for eggs this coming winter!  This...

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Sussex Still Going Strong

Although the female Brown Hairstreaks are now appearing later in the day (12.30 pm rather than 11.15 am), I was left in doubt that the betulae season is still going strong when I visited Steyning Rifle Range today. Of the 7 females I saw, 3 were in mint condition and didn't appear ready to lay eggs yet, making only brief sorties from the master trees to relieve the boredom that this species must suffer spectacularly. As always the action petered out rapidly soon after 2.00 pm and at 2.30 pm, despite warm and sunny conditions, I watched a female go to bed in an ash tree, finding a secure perch on the top of a shaded bud before bringing her antennae parallel and entering the Land of Nod. This butterfly is shockingly lazy. Steyning is an excellent site...

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Bits and Bobs

First of all, let me start off by saying a huge thank you to everyone who has signed up to contribute to the blog so far, and also to everyone who has emailed me with positive feedback. Things have gotten off to a great start and will hopefully continue with more updates, even though the emergence is now past its peak. In the Midlands area, most males are looking fairly sorry for themselves but there are still some fresh females around. Let the onslaught of egg-laying begin! Ive started working on the gallery which i think is going to be a reasonable size once its completely finished. Im looking in particular for photos of individuals/groups egg searching and ash bashing so please get in touch (eorlingas@gmail.com) if you'd like to contribute any. Just a reminder for anyone...

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Eggs at Shurnock, Worcestershire

Following the failings of 12 successive site visits over the past three weeks to get a close up sighting of a Brownie, Monday 10th September saw the 13th attempt which was also to end in failure. Many of these trips did take place in the afternoon which seems to prove the point that adults are most likely to be seen in the morning, although some sightings at the top of Ash trees have been made in the late afternoon/early evening around 5pm. Following the latest disappointment, I resorted to egg searching at a site near Shurnock which last year produced a fantasatic result of around 300 being found. On Monday, I started at one of the Master Trees and worked along the main hedgerow for a distance of some 400 yards (I don't do metric). Surprisingly, no eggs were found near to the Master...

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Big Ash Bash 2012

Went out early yesterday morning despite the cool, breezy conditions (and also despite having had only 4 1/2 hours sleep after watching the tennis!). Visited the potential new assembly tree on Blaze Lane, just to the SW of Redditch town, in which I had seen a definite female BH on Monday 3/9. Weather was 70% cloud, cool, breezy. Observed for about 30 mins - nothing seen, of any species. Left there and drove to Naunton Fields NR (a Worcs Wildlife Trust reserve). A number of adult BHs had been seen there last year and a reasonable number of eggs had been found during the autumn/winter. Weather was still mixed and nothing was seen in the 'main bank' of trees that had supported the adults in 2011. Met Pete Seal whilst there but we then split up to search different areas. I searched...

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Glory Days

Being presented last night with a free ticket for a visit to the Olympic Park today placed me in a dilemna this morning. Should I join the mass sporting fraternity in their hour of need or maximise another beautiful sunny day in adding to my tally of Betula with no medals in prospect. Of course I did the latter! This weekend resulted in two very contrasting BrH days. Betula seemed very active at the three sites I visited on Saturday. I managed to confirm five individuals, four atop the ashes and one glorious female at ground level. Another beautiful morning today Sunday gave me high expectations of further sightings but alas it was not to be. All seemed quiet on the Betula front despite visiting three further regular BrH haunts. This experience is not a first for me but an example...

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A Good Couple of Hours at Grafton

Having just returned from a week in Dorset and with 1500+ photos to sort through I couldn’t help but notice that Brown Hairstreaks had been showing well during the past few days at Grafton Wood. With the weather set to stay good over the weekend, I mentioned it to my son Chris, and as he had the day off his work today (Saturday) we decided to bimble over for a look.Grafton Wood is only about 45 minutes drive from our house in Solihull and so we left just after 10.30am in glorious sunshine. Nearing...

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Shurnock Success

There was plenty of activity yesterday morning at a brand new Brown Hairstreak site discovered just last year near Shurnock in Worcestershire. Despite arriving at the known master tree at around 9:30am, it was still quite chilly and the sun was rather hazy. No doubt all the Brownies were hiding at the top of the ash, trying to warm up! I was there for a good 45 minutes before I saw the first one take flight. Between 10:15am – 11:30am, I estimate I saw between 4-5 individuals (most likely males),...

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Ash Brownie Debut

Ever since i first laid eyes upon the brilliance that is The Purple Empire, I'd thought about creating something similar for the Brown Hairstreak. Regular Hairstreakers are usually kept busy throughout the entire year, whether it be egg searching, caterpillar hunting or trying to spot those elusive adults in the blackthorn and ash trees. With so much activity going on, i thought that documenting sightings, observations, photographs and trip reports from around the country in one place would be an excellent way to keep up to date with all the latest Brownie goings on. The aim is to have lots of contributors who will post their own entries on anything Brown Hairstreak related. If anyone would like to do so, please do not hesitate to email me (Gillian Thompson) at eorlingas@gmail.com....

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