Dorset butterfly updates
Crescent Plume moth. Photo: Mark Pike
Mark photographed this beautiful Crescent Plume moth at Badbury Rings on 1/06/20.
They are in flight Mid June -August so this one put in an early appearance this year.
The foodplant is Restharrow and Spiny Restharrow and it has various habitats, one being downland.
White-letter Hairstreak butterflies are quite rare in Dorset; their caterpillars breed on elm trees, so finding the trees will help us find the butterflies. You can help us map some of the remaining healthy Elm trees in Dorset and by so doing help us locate some of our missing White-letter Hairstreaks (WLH) Continue reading
The UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme organisers have announced that transect walking may resume, with certain precautions. Continue reading
You can find both documents in pdf form on our Branch Newsletter page.
We are unable to send print versions of either document out at present, as HQ have had to close the Lulworth office Continue reading
Because of concerns around the coronavirus, the Butterfly Conservation/Dorset Wildlife Trust meeting scheduled for 10 March has definitely been cancelled. We are currently taking a decision about our ‘Butterfly Trends in North Dorset’ meeting on 20 March, so please check this website before travelling to it. Continue reading
We have had two reports recently of Glanville Fritillaries in North Dorset! Continue reading
This very tired-looking Duke of Burgundy turned up in a very surprising place: Continue reading
We asked you recently to paint Dorset yellow by reporting Brimstones – now we want you to look out for Orange Tips as well! The map shows Continue reading
Orange Tip. Photo: Shona Refoy
Dingy Skipper Photo: Shona Refoy
Shona tells us:
I went to Badbury Rings yesterday (29/04/2019), and saw this Orange Tip beside the path on the way to the Rings. The Dingy Skipper was in the valley between the Rings. Both are nectaring on Dandelions, which seem to be a popular source of nectar at the moment!
Do you have any interesting or notable butterfly/moth experiences to share with our members? Continue reading