Glasgow and SW Scotland Branch of Butterfly Conservation
Conserving and Recording the butterflies & moths of SW Scotland
The Glasgow & SW Scotland branch area now has 34 species of butterfly after the recent arrival from England of the Small & Essex Skippers. There is currently no definitive list of moths for the branch area but being the most southerly of the three Scotland branches, the Glasgow & SW Scotland branch very likely has the greatest number of species.
The branch area includes Dumfries & Galloway, Ayrshire, Greater Glasgow, Stirlingshire, Argyll, the Argyll islands, Dunbartonshire & Loch Lomond. This includes Scotland's first National Park: Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park. These regions include a diverse range of landscapes providing a range of habitats from the fertile central lowlands and coastal parts of Ayrshire/Dumfries & Galloway to the moorland of more inland areas of these counties and to the rugged mountain scenery of the southern highlands and Argyll and to the unique scenery and habitats of the Argyll islands.
This diversity of habitats in the branch area is reflected in the distribution of some butterflies and moths. For example, the Mountain Ringlet is only found at altitudes above 300m in the southern Highlands, the Scotch Argus is not found in lowland areas of the branch area except in Argyll where it is found down to sea level. There are some spectacular moths of moorland in the branch area including the Emperor Moth, the Northern Eggar & Great Brocade.
The key butterfly species in the branch area are the Chequered Skipper & Marsh Fritillary in parts of Argyll, the Large Heath which lives in lowland and blanket bogs in various parts of SW Scotland, the Pearl-bordered Fritillary which has an important stronghold in Argyll and the Mountain Ringlet in the southern highlands.
The key moth species are the burnet moths of Argyll and the Argyll islands - Slender Scotch Burnet; New Forest Burnet & Transparent Burnet - and other western species including the Barred Tooth-Stripe, Square Spotted Clay, Argent & Sable & Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk Moth.
WHAT'S NEW?
BRANCH QUESTIONNAIRE
The committee has prepared a questionnaire to find out what branch members would like in the way of functions and branch activities and to see how many would be willing to take part in practical conservation work.
Another aim of the questionnaire is to collect email addresses for as many members as possible as communication is much easier this way and by sending newsletters by email, the branch can reduce paper and postage costs. Please click here to complete the questionnaire.
WATCH FOR MIGRANTS - PAINTED LADY & HUMMING-BIRD HAWK MOTH
The Painted Lady Butterfly and Humming-bird Hawk-moth are arriving from Africa and becoming increasingly common in the UK. To find out just how common, we need your help. If you have seen either the Humming-bird Hawk-moth or the Painted Lady since the start of 2008, please follow the links and help us track the impact of climate change on migration.
Read more and record your sightings....
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