White-letter Hairstreaks Back at Towngate.

A visit to the elm tree at Towngate in Newport on the 24th June discovered several male White-letter Hairstreaks high in the branches.Today a prolonged watch resulted in a probable male nectaring on cow parsley and at least one female laying eggs on the lower branches of this disease-resistant elm.

White-letter Hairstreaks at Towngate.

I first noticed a White-letter Hairstreak flying near to the top of the Towngate elm tree last Tuesday the 12th June.Unfortunately none decided to investigate the lower branches at the time.I had better luck today as after a patient wait at least two hairstreaks came to eye level.The advantage of this site is a footbridge that spans the stream below.The elm is planted on the bank of the stream and therefore standing on the bridge gives access to the branches halfway up the tree.(See last years blog entry) 

White-letter Hairsreaks Still Busy.

Yesterday as I observed the elm that has been home to White-letter Hairstreaks for the last three seasons I was fortunate to see a female wandering along a branch in search of  buds on which to lay her eggs.This carried on for some time as she fluttered onto other branches in pursuit of more buds.

Early Return for White-letter Hairstreaks.

This year the season seems to be at least two weeks early and many of the summer species are on the wing sooner than expected. The White-letter Hairstreak is no exception as normally they would not be seen until July.

At Newport the colony of White-letter Hairstreaks were counted in almost double figures and it is pleasing to know that this is the third year in succession that they have been recorded here.The photo below shows the disease resistant elm ( the smaller tree on the right) where these butterflies have made their home.Unlike many sites where it is normal to gaze up at the Hairstreaks from ground level the adjoining foot bridge gives an excellent vantage point.

Favourite Find of 2016.

The 2016  butterfly season in the UK has been disappointing with sightings down on recent years.The results of The Big Butterfly Count can be viewed here.I have found this trend too on my forays around the Isle of Wight this year.A noticeable lack of butterfly numbers in the common species that I would expect to see doing well as our summer  had good spells of warm,even hot weather.

I was pleased to see that the Newport town centre White-letter Hairstreaks were back on the elm tree where they were discovered in 2015.Along our southern seaside cliffs the Glanville Fritillaries seem to have had a good season too.

During my two visits to the Greek Islands in 2016 I had the treat of  seeing several Lang's Short-tailed Blues and that import from South Africa,the Geranium Bronze which has now spread all along the Mediterranean coast from Spain to Greece.An unexpected sighting was a colony of Lulworth Skippers among the wild flowers of an olive grove on Greek Island of Lefkada.A rare butterfly in the UK,only seen on the coastal cliff tops of Dorset.

However my favourite find was during May when a trip was made across the Solent to the New Forest in Hampshire to see the beautiful Pearl-bordered Fritillary.Now alas,gone from the Island since 2011 due to a lack of sustainable habitat at its last location in Parkhurst Forest.The particular New Forest inclosure visited on that day was named New Copse and despite the rather cloudy weather there were good numbers of these fritillaries on the wing.The habitat here is well managed  for the needs of the Pearl-bordered.

  

Back In Town.

The White-letter Hairstreak colony discovered last year on a disease resistant elm in Newport is still going strong. The first individual was spotted about two weeks ago and today several females were seen on the lower branches.This particular elm was planted around the time of the millennium and last season was the first time that any hairstreaks were recorded on the tree.

Top Highlight of 2015.

The past season has thrown up several exciting sightings, such as the close encounter with White-letter Hairstreaks  on an elm in Newport town centre,the joy of seeing the valezina form of the Silver-washed Fritillary in numbers at Porchfield,and finding a colony of Lesser Spotted Fritillaries on the beach on the Greek Island of Thassos. However the best must be the discovery of Glanville Fritillary pupae or chrysalies on the Island back in May.Here the habitat for this fritillary is unique as the continental Glanvilles frequent meadows,riverbanks,and woodland clearings.On the Isle of Wight it is a butterfly of our cliffs and clifftops.Therefore finding a spot to pupate can mean under stones or rocks and this is the place where these chrysalises were found.As normal they use a strand of silk to attach themselves to their chosen stone where it will take up to three weeks to emerge as an imago.
  

A Red-letter Day.

The White-letter Hairstreak is a secretive butterfly and relies on the elm tree for its life cycle.Therefore disaster struck when in the 1970s Dutch Elm Disease decimated millions of British elms.Fortunately,the caterpillar can survive on new sucker growth and their recovery has been helped too by the dedicated work of local wildlife and butterfly conservation volunteers who have planted disease resistant elms.

So it was a great day today when I had the opportunity, for the first time, to see these lovely little butterflies.An eagle-eyed friend of mine had seen butterfly activity around such a resistant elm and as they tend to spend much of their time towards the top of the tree obtaining good views of this Hairstreak is difficult.However my luck was in today as several individuals descended to the lower branches to seemingly investigate the elm tree buds.