Dorset butterfly updates
Do you have any interesting or notable butterfly/moth experiences to share with our members? Continue reading
Our Branch AGM is not far away. Would you like to join our Committee? If so, let us know, and we can arrange to suggest you for election at the meeting, or you Continue reading
We are delighted that, at the eleventh hour, we have a volunteer to run the results meeting at Wimborne: huge thanks to Stephen Brown for stepping forward. We do, however need help from those who undertake the butterfly monitoring walks in the east Continue reading
Silver-studded Blue. Photo: Peter Salmon
Peter spotted this male Silver-studded Blue while at Bourne Valley NR on 30/06/18.
This delightful butterfly is found in close-knit colonies, with individuals rarely flying any distance.
The newly-emerged larva feeds on the tenderest parts of the foodplant, including young shoots, buds and flowers. The larva is often found in the presence of ants, especially the black ant Lasius niger, which are believed to offer the larva some form of protection against parasites and other predators.
Brian Arnold sent us the above photo, taken on 14 August. Dingy Skippers are usually around in May and June Continue reading
Hummingbird Hawk Moth. Photo: George McCabe
George found this Hummingbird Hawk Moth in his house at Weymouth on 4/07/18 and says when he tried to catch it to put it safely outside, it played dead!
An immigrant species which sometimes occurs in large numbers, especially if there’s an extended period of warm weather or southerly airflow.
It flies in the sunshine and hovers in front of flowers, sipping the nectar with its long proboscis, very much like the hummingbird which gives it its name.
The larvae feed on bedstraw (Galium), and some of these may hatch and give rise to autumn adults in an influx year.
Silver-studded Blues are being seen in huge numbers at the moment, and further west than ever before recorded.
It’s that time again – we need help stuffing our newsletter into envelopes to be posted out. This will be on Tuesday 12 June starting at 2.00pm, at Butterfly Conservation HQ, East Lulworth, BH20 5QP. Continue reading
Andy Martin has not only sent us this photo of a Clouded Yellow helice form at Ulwell (near Swanage), taken on 12 October but also Continue reading
A team of BC and EuCAN volunteers are working alongside contractors with powertools to clear the former chalkpit on the north side of the Butterfly Conservation Butterfly Reserve at Lankham Bottom. Continue reading