Sussex Branch

Forever the optimist I walked up to High and Over today crunching through the frosty ground as I felt I had an outside chance of seeing a Peacock or Red Admiral. The conditions were very similar to the 1st day of 2019 when I saw a Peacock at High and Over. Anyway, cut a long story short, I had just located another Wall Brown larva when a Peacock flew past me and fortunately settled for a photo or 10. (Bob Eade, High and Over)

Spent some time this afternoon doing a short search for Brown Hairstreak eggs at Benfield valley LNR and came across quite a few in different areas. On the grounds of the LNR, I counted 12 eggs in 30 minutes, but with much more ground to cover at a later date. Nearby I managed to find 57 in 45 minutes on a very sparse amount of blackthorn distributed intermittently along a 100m hedge. Huge variation in heights used, including some as low as 5cm, and others above 2m. A number of doubles counted and various examples of 4+ eggs on one branch, within 10cm of eachother. One instance of 18 eggs in around 4m of hedge. A potentially important population of Brown Hairstreak, with high potential to expand beyond the area. (Max Anderson, Benfield valley local nature reserve) - TQ264065

Despite the frosty start to the day the sunshine soon warmed up the main area for Wall Brown larvae at High and Over. I decided to do some careful clearance work of new Hawthorn saplings and regrowth from last years clearance around the tussocks where the larvae feed. During the work 9 larvae were found as well as a pupal case of some unknown species that was on the grass blade next to a sleeping Wall larva. I did have a Froghopper nearby so it could possibly be that? When I touched whatever it was it fell off the blade into the tussock. (Bob Eade, High and Over)

Just completed the Christmas Quiz - an interesting challenge - thank you. Made me look at the butterflies in more detail than I usually would. I took it to be 'open book' - if that is not in the spirit feel free to remove my score. (Robert Watson, )

Thanks for the quiz, very enjoyable. Some very difficult! We got several wrong because we went on the times we see most of the particular butterfly rather than the times in the answers. This morning we took a walk from Hove to Kingston & back via the Lock Gates & Basin Road South - no butterflies of course, but we did see a bee delving into a cherry tree blossom, which was quite a surprise. (John Heys, Aldrington, Hove) - TQ270050

Just wanted to thank Martin Kalaher for the Christmas quiz. I'm disappointed to see that my knowledge of food-plants hasn't improved, but I'm still happy with the result. And now, come on Spring, we want butterflies! (Istvan Radi, Brighton)

I've been doing some research on White-letter Hairstreaks to understand their distribution and status in Sussex. Most of this has involved trawling through the sightings pages from 2006 onwards to gather any records. It appears that there are good numbers of records of adults, but very few eggs recorded, so I thought I'd fill in a gap and see what I could uncover. Throughout the Brighton and Hove area, there are many elm trees lining roads and parks, however there are few which have the necessary low-hanging, accessible branches for egg searching. A relatively brief search at Hollingbury yielded only 2 eggs, where there are a good number of elms with accessible branches, but many of them along west or north facing tree-lines, which tend to be less frequently used for egg-laying. I also headed over to Elm Grove to look in the cemetery, only to find a nice triplet of White-letter Hairstreak eggs on a branch about 3m from the ground. One of the eggs appears to be a bit worse for wear, and there also appears to be what I think look like noctuid moth eggs in there too. I'll be doing more searching in the new year. (Max Anderson, Hollingbury golf course and Brighton Cemetery)

Over 3 hours of searching for Black Hairstreak eggs at Ditchling common left me elated with only 1 egg. Plenty of Brown Hairstreak eggs (15) and Purple Hairstreak (8), after not much effort put in. Plenty more ground to be covered in search of Black Hairstreak eggs here. I'll dedicate more time to this in the new year. (Max Anderson, Ditchling common)

Q21 1) Identify this butterfly: a) Large Skipper b) Small Skipper c) Essex Skipper 2) On the very best Sussex butterfly sites, what numbers might we find per square kilometre a) 350 per square km b) 550 per square km c) 3-4000 per square km Answer: On the best sites Small Skippers may be found at 3-4,000 per square kilometre Explanation: The antennae tips are club-shaped and orange and so this is a Small Skipper. Such is the impoverished state of our countryside we don’t usually think in terms of thousands of butterflies but in June 2016 whilst recording Dark Green Fritillary at Chantry Hill there were also 3-4,000 Small Skippers and 3-4,000 Marbled Whites. Chantry Hill is approximately one square kilometre. (Martin Kalaher, Storrington wildlife garden) - TQ082140

Q15 1) Identify this blue butterfly: a) Chalk Hill Blue b) Adonis Blue c) Common Blue 2) In Sussex, where are the largest colonies located? a) Chalk grassland b) Mature deciduous woodland c) Well-managed heathland Answer: In Sussex, the largest colonies of Common Blue are found on chalk grassland. Explanation: Both Chalk Hill and Adonis Blue have chequered white borders to all four wings. This butterfly does not have a chequered pattern and so both of these species may be removed from the reckoning. The depth of blue on the upper wings (especially the hindwing) might suggest Adonis Blue but without the chequered border it must be a Common Blue. This butterfly is nectaring on Red Clover. (Martin Kalaher, Storrington wildlife garden) - TQ082140

Talking of Ringlets, I found this striking ab in Abbots Wood on June 28th. There were actually two with similar markings, but I could only follow one!. (Trevor Rapley, Hailsham) - TQ527021

Martin's mention of Ringlets liking cool moist places reminds me that they are one of the few species Val & I have sometimes seen out and about in light rain. Even they wouldn't have liked today though. (John Heys, Aldrington, Hove) - TQ270050

Q9 IMG 4369 (2) 1) Identify this “Brown Butterfly”: a) Brown Hairstreak b) Ringlet c) Meadow Brown 2) Where are you most likely to find one? a) A wildflower meadow b) In woods and cool moist places c) Chalk grassland Answer: Ringlets are most likely to be found in woods and cool moist places. Explanation: With all those big, bold rings I think it must be a Ringlet. This species may be found in many different locations but as Prof Thomas reminds us “it avoids the summer’s heat by living in woods and cool moist places, where the air is damp and still”. Ringlets can often be seen flying around wildflower meadows (where they can be confused with Meadow Browns) but it never seems to very long before they return to the shade. (Martin Kalaher, Storrington wildlife garden) - TQ082140

1) Identify this butterfly: a) Brimstone b) Large White c) Clouded Yellow 2) At what stage of development does this butterfly species over-winter? a) As a caterpillar b) As a Chrysalis c) As an adult butterfly Answer: This is a Brimstone, which over-winters as an adult butterfly. Explanation: Brimstones often visit gardens in late summer/early autumn, seeking out nectar-rich flowers such as Michaelmas Daisies. They need to lay down reserves before winter sets in. Brimstone is one of five British butterfly species that over-winters as an adult; the others are Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock and Comma. (Martin Kalaher, Storrington wildlife garden) - TQ082140