Butterflies and Ladybirds

For the first time this year, on the 15th June, I recorded butterflies on all ten sections of my butterfly transect.  This runs from Crosstown in Morwenstow down into the Tidna Valley to the Altantic then climbs the cliff before returning along a Cornish hedge to the start.

Last year it was 23rd June when I recorded butterflies on all sections. 

Despite seeing butterflies in each sector, the abundance was low with only 25 specimens but a good range of species; ten in all.  In 2020 I recorded 64 specimens again of 10 species.

Large Skipper and Meadown Brown made their first appearance this year but it was the guest appearance of the second brood of Speckled Woods in the wooded sections that made a 100% record possible.

Large Skipper

Meadow Brown

Speckled Wood

In contrast, there were over 100 newly emerged 7-spot Ladybirds.  All along the open section in the Tidna Valley, were some quite yellow ladybirds.  There were one or two larvae and pupae, but it appeared that there had been a mass emergence and they had not quite managed to achieve their normal red colour.

Newly-emerged 7-spot Ladybird

Blogs I follow

https://downgatebatman.blogspot.com/

https://maryatkinsonwildonline.blogspot.com/

In like a Lion, out like a Lamb

In March, the surveying season starts. And when it starts, it starts with a bang.

After weeks of inaction due to Covid restrictions, the second week of March has been filled with the resumption of surveys of all types.

First off was Sunday morning, 14th March, surveying Maer Lake for the BTO’s Wetland Birds Survey. There were a limited number of bird species, although there was an unprecedented mixed flock of over 300 gulls, as most of the winter waders had left although a pair of Shelduck remained giving hopes of another breeding year. Black-tailed Godwits were also noted; they seem to be residents now.

This was quickly followed the next day by a visit to Tamar Lakes, again WeBS at Lower and Upper Lakes. This was similar to Maer with few winter visitors although the annual Goosander visitation had not come to an end with four remaining on the Lower and two on the Upper Lake.

Mixed flock of Gulls at Maer Lake

The temperature was around 13℃ so high enough to commence the Bee walk in Coombe woods. Although not many were seen, we did find that where Willows were in flower, they had attracted quite a few Buff-tailed Bumblebee queens high up in the canopy.

Thursday 18th was the day we planned the quarterly bird transect around Bude Marshes. Normally this is a group effort, but to conform with Covid regulations, Duncan and I have been the only two participants for a year now. Numbers of species are definitely down; from 31 last March to only 24 this year although it did include Shelduck, Curlew and two Cattle Egret.

Cattle Egret - Bude Marshes

During the month, the invertebrates had begun to appear from their winter absence. Gorse Shieldbugs, 7-spot Ladybirds and Buff-tailed Bumble bees were appearing at the beginning of the month in that short warm spell.

We had the very cold and windy middle of the month, typical of March until the last week when we had the mini heatwave. Butterflies - Small Tortoiseshell and Brimstone, and those harbingers of spring, Skylarks and House Martins.

During this cold spell, I completed my three Riverfly surveys adding another beetle to my growing species list - Oreodytes sanmarkii, a tiny 2-3mm water beetle that zooms about in the water column of stony streams.

2-3mm Water Beetle - Oreodytes sanmarkii

The 30th was a very warm day, hitting 18℃ when I recommenced my Butterfly Transect along the Tidna. Although there were only four butterflies of three species - Speckled Wood, Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell, other invertebrates were recorded. Common Carder and Red-tailed joined the Buff-tailed Bumblebees along with more Gorse Shieldbugs and 7-spot Ladybirds.

Of great interest were the Oil Beetles. I recorded both Violet Meloe violaceus and Black M. proscarabaeus in the Tidna Valley as well as the triungulins of the Violet species. These are bee parasites. The adults lay eggs in sandy soil near a bee nest . These in turn hatch into triungulins (so called because they have three claws on each leg)which emerge and crawl onto flower heads and lie in wait for a passing bee. They hitch a ride into the bee’s nest where they eat the bee’s eggs before changing into grubs where they remain until emerging as adults the following year. The cycle then repeats.

Clockwise - Violet Oil beetle, triungulins, Black Oil beetle

On the last day of the month another butterfly, a Red Admiral was recorded along with the first Green Shieldbug of the year.

To top it all off, life has continued to develop in my Lockdown Pond. I built it during Lockdown1 from 8th April and filled it with water on the 16th. At the begining of March, I found a Palmate Newt under a log and transfered her into the pond where she vanished into the bottom mud.

Palmate Newt

 In the last few days of the month I have seen, a Backswimmer (Notonecta), Pond skaters (Gerridae), a Whirligig beetle (Gyrinus) and three Dragonfly nymphs. As I noted ovipositing Broad-Bodied Chasers last May, these would appear to be its progeny.

Broad-bodied Chaser nymph

Those last few days of March were gentle, warm and windless - almost as gentle as the large numbers of new-born lambs in the fields.

Blogs I follow

https://downgatebatman.blogspot.com/

https://maryatkinsonwildonline.blogspot.com/

Spring has sprung.

February thought it was March - we had a very cold snap when temperatures hovered around freezing here in North Cornwall.  Then there was a very cold easterly wind when eventually backed southerly and became warm, but just as strong, eye-wateringly strong.

My pond was frozen for almost a week but Water Boatman and Diving beetles survived the ice and could be seen foraging in the warm weather.

Then, Spring arrived.  In the last few days of February temperatures rose to double figures.

Wild and garden daffodils began to flower.  A large queen Buff-tailed Bumblebee disappeared into one of their trumpets.  Honey bees massed on my neighbours flowering Heather.

The first invertebrates had awakened from their winter sleep.

Gorse Shieldbug

After a couple of months of checking on local Gorse bushes, we saw our first Gorse Shieldbug on the 25th and every day since.  7-spot Ladybirds are about too whilst overhead, a Buzzard mewled and a Great-spotted Woodpecker drummed in a nearby copse.

7-spot Ladybird

Along the hedgerows, it seemed that every tall twig held, alternately, a Robin or a Dunnock each spaced about 100 metres apart and proclaiming his territory.

And on the 25th the first butterfly roused from hibernation; a Peacock and a Small Tortoiseshell on the 28th.

Spring has most definitely sprung.

Blogs I follow

https://downgatebatman.blogspot.com/

https://maryatkinsonwildonline.blogspot.com/

Red Letter Day

A red letter day is one of those days highlighted in red on the calendar, from the medieval practice of colouring saints days in red.

Today, despite the very strong north easterly wind, I embarked on my weekly butterfly transect.  I expected a few stray species not a bumper crop.

Beginning at the Bush Inn at Crosstown, I quickly notched up 5 Small Whites.

Small White

And so it continued through each of the ten sections with butterflies on each of them.

All week I have been noting many Large and Small Whites as well as Red Admirals so was expecting to see some of them.

Red Admiral

I was totally unprepared for the sheer numbers.  I recorded 40 Small and 14 Large whites but what made a real RED letter day was the 51 Red Admirals seen on 9 of the 10 sections.

Small Coppers and Small Tortoiseshells as well as the almost mandatory Speckled Wood and two rather late tattered Silver-washed Fritillaries made up the rest of the list. It was the second largest total of butterflies I have recorded this year.

Small Copper

For a September transect, I counted an unusually large total of 143 butterflies of 7 species.

To top it all off, deep in the woods on Bracken was an unusual sightiing for this area, a Hawthorn Shieldbug.

Hawthorn Shieldbug

Truly a butterfly transect to note on the calendar in red.

Blogs I follow

https://downgatebatman.blogspot.com/

https://maryatkinsonwildonline.blogspot.com/

Two Transects

For the first two weeks in July I was on Lundy.  While I was there I undertook two weekly butterfly transects for UKBMS.  I established this transect in 2019 to cover as diverse a selection of habitats as possible on the island.  

From the pond in Millcombe, the route ascends under trees and shrubs to Millcombe House then loops around the gorse covered slopes of Hangman's Hill and back under the trees to the head of the valley.  From here is follows a level route along the edge of the arable farm fields above the bracken covered sea cliffs to the beginning of the Quarries.

Towards the end of the Lundy Transect near Quarry Cottages

By contrast on Tuesday, I completed week 16 of my local butterfly transect - the Tidna Transet.  It begins and ends conveniently at my local, the Bush Inn and continues for half its length following the Tidna through its wooded valley and emerges at the edge of the Atlantic before climbing flowered covered cliff and returns along a Cornish hedged lane to complete the circuit.

Tidna Valley look inland from the Atlantic Clifftop

Both transects are within 20 miles of each other separated only by the Atlantic Ocean and Bristol Channel and cover broadly similar habitats.

I did my first Lundy transect on the 10th July on a really hot day only affected by a stiff North-west breeze although we were shielded from it by the field walls on the eastern side of the island.  Butterflies were recorded in each of the nine sectors with a total of 71 butterflies of seven species seen.  These were Small and Green-veined White, Red Admiral, Grayling, Meadow Brown, Ringlet and Small Heath.  On the second transect on the 15th, the weather was poorer resulting in fewer butterflies and only five species.

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary - Tidna Transect

By contrast, my local transect, on the 21st July was in very hot weather with clear skies and hardly any wind.  Here also, butterflies were recorded in all ten sectors with a total of 155 butterflies of 14 species.  The species recorded were; Large, Small and Green-veined White, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Comma, Small Pearl-bordered and Silver-washed Fritillaries, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Ringlet and Small Heath.

Silver-washed Fritillary - Tidna Transect

With a few exceptions, both transects resulted in very similar species.  It was a little early for Gatekeeper, Speckled Wood is rare on Lundy and the Fritillaries have never been recorded.

A Lundy Grayling

I am jealous of the sighting of the Grayling though.  I have not yet seen one here on the mainland, but continue to be hopeful.

Recommended blogs

Lundy Birds

Mary Atkinson Wild

"mock Tudor, half-timbered building"

After a week of poor weather, we were rewarding by another mini-heatwave.  I took the last opportunity to complete week 12 of the UKMBS butterfly survery yesterday (23rd June).  It was the hottest day of the year with a temperature of 26C.

But, half of the transect is along a delightful stream running through a maturely wooded valley.  

Tidna Valley main part of the transect

The temperature in the shade of the trees was much more reasonable.  Having seen a Meadow Brown on the first of the ten sections, I dared to anticipate a full house (https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/2530752943335211299/3755956790555006431 ) that is, recording butterflies on every one of the ten sections.  Meadow Brown and Speckled Wood were common under the trees particulalry where the canopy is open allowing brambles to flourish and produce flowers attractive to all insects.

It was in one of these sunlit open areas that a New For Year (NFY) Silver-washed Fritillary appeared on section three.

Silver-washed Fritillary

Where the route emerges from the tree cover, at section six, it is more open with steep sided slopes covered in Gorse either side of a more open scrubby pathway.  It is here that the Large Blue Butterfly became extinct in Cornwall in 1979.  Despite efforts to reintroduce it, the ecology is still not yet suitable.  However Skippers and Small Heaths did appear here as well as Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries in season.  And it is here where another two more NFY appeared, a Small Skipper and a Ringlet.

Small Skipper

Ringlet

The best was yet to come.  Further along this valley, within sight of the Atlantic Ocean I spotted a large, dirty white flying insect.  I could not be sure if it was moth or butterfly, but the blurred, dirty white was similar to the colour moths present as they flap their wings.  However as it came nearer, it was apparent that it was a large black and white butterfly.  I could see that the black and white were in distinct panes not unlike a mock Tudor, half-timbered building - it was a Marbled White.  So, not only NFY, but also new to this site and an uncommon species in North Cornwall VC2.

Marbled White

I couldn't beat that, but did manage to complete the "full house" with a least one butterfly in each of the ten sections.  It was not the highest number seen so far this year, but 64 butterflies of ten species with four NFY and one new for the site was very satisfying.

UNLOCK!

No, it's not the sound of Mr Speaker, Sir Lyndsay Hoyle MP, announcing the end of a division in the House of Commons.  It is what has happened over the last week in the surveying world.
British Trust for Ornithology were the first to announce the lifting of surveying restrictions which had been in place since late March.  They were followed by Riverfly and UKBMS.  All them caveated the lifting of surveying restrictions with government advice on social distancing and a maximum of two people surveying.

I must admit to slightly preempting the Riverfly announcement by surveying my Tidna site on 14th May.  Water levels were falling and I didn't want to risk missing the opportunity to survey while there was still some water flowing in the stream.  Despite my misgivings, there was an abundance of invertebrates in the stream giving an abundance score of 12, 4 over the trigger level with Baetidae contributing an abundance score of 3 with over 250 individuals counted.

My Riverfly survey site on the Tidna - May 2020

On Sunday 17th I completed my first WeBS (Wetland Birds Survey) since March at Maer Lake.  Water was in very short supply here with this seasonal lake drying rapidly. 

Maer Lake drying out May 17th 2020

The lack of water and time of year limited the number of birds seen, but I was able to add Mute Swan and Whitethroat to my personal species list for this site as well as seeing a pair of Shelduck.  These bred last year, so with a little luck, and some rain, we may see more Shelduck chicks this year.

Maer Lake - Mallard, Mute Swan, Moorhen and Black-tailed Godwit.

Maer Lake - a pair of Shelduck

I followed this with my survey of Lower and Upper Tamar lakes on Monday 18th.  Again, water levels and species diversity was down.  But Mallard and Canada Geese have bred and young were seen as well as the spring migrants such as Chiffchaff and Willow and Sedge Warblers.

Canada Geese and Goslings at Upper Tamar Lake

Sedge Warbler at Upper Tamar Lake

All these synchronised BTO WeBS surveys were one week later than previously planned due to the length of the lockdown.

My most recent survey was today, the 20th, probably the hottest day of the year and ideal for my butterfly transect unlocked and now made possible by  UKBMS (United Kingdom Butterfly Monitoring Scheme).  This is normally a weekly survey which I last undertook during the last week of March.  What an excellent survey, 73 butterflies of 12 species - Large Skipper; Brimstone; Large, Small and Green-veined Whites; Orange Tip; Green Hairstreak; Small Copper; Common Blue; Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary; Speckled Wood and Small Heath.  What a wonderful range of species.

Green Hairstreak Tidna Valley

Small Heath Tidna Valley

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary Tidna Valley

Common Blue Tidna Valley

I plan to complete my monthly suite of surveys with my two other Riverfly surveys in Coombe Valley and Duckpool/Stowe Woods Bee Walk (although this latter has only just been authorised by Bee Conservation Trust).
It the weather continues as it looks to be, sunny and dry, it is looking like and excellent year for invertebrates now we are unlocked.

Week Six – Full House?

Week six of my butterfly transect, the weather was perfect.  No clouds and 100% sun, virtually no wind, just a slight breath of air from the southwest and a temperature of 18C in the shade.

Green-veined White

Orange Tip

I began the survey on the first sector with three Green-veined Whites followed by two more and a Speckled Wood and my one and only Orange Tip on the second sector.

I began thinking that I might have sightings on all ten sectors after the first five very sparse weeks.

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Speckled Wood

I continued to record Green-veined Whites and Speckled Woods until I emerged from the woods to where the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries appear.  And appear they did.  I saw one and photographed it and another appeared later in this sector (No 6).  Walking along the valley towards the sea I could see a bank of sea mist hugging the cliffs.

24-spot Ladybird on Sea Campion

Wall 

It was Sector Eight that let me down.  Here the footpath ascends the cliffs and the sun was hidden by the mist just overlapping the cliff edge.  So no full house although I did search for and found four 24-spot Ladybirds.  They were where they always are in season, on the Sea Campion that grows all the way up the cliff path.  So the sector was no a total loss although no full house this time.

Once at the top of the cliff I turned inland with the mist behind me and the sun fully blazing once again.  The last two sectors produced butterflies, notably three Wall Brown, another first species of the year.

Nine out of ten sectors produced 26 butterflies of 6 species giving me a target of a full house for next time.

The Last Post

27^th October was the last day of the last week for undertaking my butterfly transect survey. I had missed the previous week (week 29) as I was away from home on Lundy which meant I had missed the after effects of Hurricane Ophelia and Storm Brian. I didn’t anticipate seeing any butterflies except perhaps the odd Red Admiral.  So I was really surprised to find two very faded and bedraggled Speckled Woods in the wooded part of the transect.

The broken bridge

The fallen tree

What did come as a surprise was the broken bridge at the bottom of the footpath to Rectory Farm.  Cattle had trashed the boardwalk between this path and the Bush Inn steps some months earlier and perhaps weakened the bridge.  In any event it is badly broken.  A little further on my way was blocked by a fallen tree.  This was obviously the result of one or other of the storm events.  It was no great problem to bet by but both of these problems have been reported to the owners, the National Trust, who will no doubt address them in due course.

I was pleased to see both Peregrine and Buzzard in the open area between wood and sea.  Even better were the Ivy Bees colonising the northern edge of the new path section which climbs the cliff. 

A new colony of Ivy Bees

The last section from cliff top to Crosstown was most rewarding – a Small Tortoiseshell and four Red Admirals, one pair of which were engaged in a mating dance.

Pair of mating Red Admirals - one much the worse for wear

This final survey of the year enabled me to compare this year's survey  with last year's survey

2017       21 species totalling 845 individuals over 26 weeks of a possible 30 week season

2016       22 species totalling 977 individuals over 26 weeks of a possible 30 week season.

The numbers are down – one species fewer, I failed to see a Green Hairstreak this year.  The totals might just reflect a much wetter summer this year compared to last.

A new sighting in the valley on an Ash stump was Cobalt Crust – a rare and spectacularly coloured encrusting fungus. At first sight I thought someone had marked the stump with blue paint so vivid is the colouring.

Cobalt crust on an Ash stump

It might have been the last butterfly transect posting of the season but I can’t wait to see what species next year will bring.

Big Butterfly Count

Comma

Small Tortoiseshell

I have taken part in the event over the years.  It is an excellent way of involving people in nature and giving everyone who takes part some ownership in the decline of butterflies.


Bur, for the last couple of years I have undertaken a weekly butterfly transect - waling a set route on a day when conditions are good for seeing butterflies.

This occupies me for an hour and a half for 30 weeks of the year - spring to autumn - and as well as being good exercise, it has really honed my butterfly identification skills.

Red Admiral

Silver-washed Fritillary

Today (17th July) was challenging.  The temperature in the shade, that is, under my car, was 22͒C.  Half the walk is through the woods, in the welcome but humid, shade.  The rest is in the open with hardly a breeze today.  Near the start, section two takes me down 50 step to the the river valley.  At the end of next three sections, near to the sea, I have to climb about 100 meters to  the top of the cliffs on the South West Coast Path.

Peacock

Gatekeeper

But, this was not the most challenging part of the walk.  It was the sheer number of butterflies I counted; 127 butterflies of 12 species in all.  It's times like this that it takes at least two to survey, one to spot and identify, the other to log them all.  And, if you want pictures too, an additional cameraman would be useful.

I'm not complaining though, it was the best transect of the year - so far.

Oh, I didn't really miss the Big Butterfly Count.  I walked to a different cliff, at Stanbury for lunch on Friday and in the first 15 minutes recorded 27 butterflies of 7 species, plus a couple of day flying moths all of which have been submitted to BBC.