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.
MOUNTAIN RINGLET SURVEYS ON SCOTTISH MOUNTAINS 2008
The Mountain Ringlet was designated a UK BAP species in 2007 on the basis of declines at lower altitudes which are thought to be caused by climate change. Moreover, this butterfly is certainly under-recorded in Scotland owing to its remote mountain habitat.
These are two reasons to get out and survey this butterfly this summer. To these two reasons can be added a third. The Scottish mountains are fantasic places to be on a fine summers day. The flight period of the Mountain Ringlet is from late June to early August.
The Mountain Ringlet has a distribution centred on the southern Highlands of Scotland stretching from Ben Lomond in the south to Ben Nevis and Creag Meagaidh in the north. It is not found on the Grampians in general but there are records from Loch an Eilean, Aviemore and Glendoll. The reason for the absence from the Grampians is the dominance of heather here as Mountain Ringlet requires grassy mountains with abundant Mat-grass, its foodplant. However, there are many grassy mountains further north in the west highlands of Scotland on which there are no Mountain Ringlet records: the mountains of Kintail for example. Is this a genuine absence or is it simply under-recorded here or is the habitat not right in Kintail?
Click here for further details on the survey methodology. A fine summers day with either unbroken sunshine or long sunny spells is required and it is essential that several transects per mountain are obtained from a range of altitudes. Data from any Scottish mountain would be welcome as the Mountain Ringlet is certainly under-recorded and negative results are needed to define the true distribution of the Mountain Ringlet. While the Mountain Ringlet is unlikely to be found on the Grampian mountains which are dominated by heather, it is possible that by selecting areas with less heather and more grass, it might be found outside the two known areas of Loch an Eilean and Glendoll. Some example mountains presented on the survey page relate to the Glasgow & SW Scotland branch and give an idea of how many 1km squares may be found on the south-facing aspect of a mountain on which Mountain Ringlet may be found.
If you have a GPS with the facility to download tracks & waypoints to a computer, it would be brilliant if you could record your track and save a waypoint for each Mountain Ringlet you see. This would provide superb information on the distribution of Mountain Ringlet on a mountain.
COLLECTION OF MOUNTAIN INVERTEBRATES
There is currently a research project funded by Scottish Natural Heritage, National Museums of Scotland, National Trust for Scotland, the John Muir Trust & Butterfly Conservation to increase the knowledge and understanding of Scotland's montane invertebrate fauna. So while you are out on the hills at any time of year, collections of mountain invertebrates such as spiders, beetles, flies, wasps & bugs (not butterflies or moths) would be most welcome. The collection methodology is shown below:
- when out on the hills, please take with you a supply of plastics
tubes or similar containers (contact Graham Rotheray at address below for plastic containers)
- keep an eye out for montane insects and spiders and search for them
by examining flowers, turning over stones etc;
- use an empty tube to 'catch' the insect or spider or use a net if you
have one
- for each place you catch an insect or spider, add a pencil written
label to the tube with the following data: date; name of hill; grid reference; altitude
(if known); collectors name
- on return home place the inverts in a freezer which will kill and
preserve them
- when convenient, pack tubes in a padded envelope or better, a
cardboard box and post to Graham Rotheray at the address below
- PLEASE remember to include your contact details so Graham Rotheray can let you know
what you have caught!
Dr Graham E Rotheray, Curator of Insects,
National Museums of Scotland, Chambers Street,
Edinburgh EH1 1JF Tel +44 (0)131.247.4243
Fax +44 (0)131.220.4819
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....
BUTTERFLY SURVEYS 2008
In 2008, there are four species specific butterfly surveys being organised in the Glasgow & SW Scotland branch area which need volunteers to get involved. So if you fancy a day or two out in Scotland’s fantastic highland scenery surveying some wonderful butterflies this summer, please see Butterfly Surveys 2008
EVENTS 2008
There are a number of events organised this summer in the branch area covering both butterflies & moths and including National Moth Night & Day 2008. Please see the Events 2008 page.
ARGYLL MOTH RECORDING 2008
There is now a dedicated page on moth trapping in Argyll (see Argyll Moth Recording) which shows up-to-date moth data for some sites where moth trapping is regular and this will provide an identification aid for moth-trappers in Argyll.
SEASON 2008....
25/06/08: The first Mountain Ringlet have been seen on the wing in Argyll on the 23 June and volunteers are needed to go out and survey this butterfly in the next month - (see here). In general, both butterfly and moth activity are disappointing owing to the cool unsettled conditions but Common Blue, Grayling and Meadow Brown have been seen (see 2008 Sightings).
12/06/08: The first Meadow Browns are now on the wing (Rouken Glen Park, Glasgow & Glenfinnan, Lochaber) and the Dark Green Fritillary has been seen in Dumfries & Galloway. So the next species to look out for are Ringlet, Large Heath, Mountain Ringlet & Grayling. The migrants, Painted Lady & Clouded Yellow have already been seen in Glasgow (see 2008 Sightings). Marsh Fritillary are having another good year in Argyll with high numbers but a little down on the last two years. This is unusual as this butterfly has large cycles in population with peak numbers normally only lasting 1 or 2 years.
27/05/08: Further first butterfly sightings have occurred over the last couple of weeks: Dingy Skipper; Chequered Skipper; Marsh Fritillary; Small Copper; Small Heath; Small Pearl-borered Fritillary & Northern Brown Argus (see 2008 Sightings).
11/05/08: Last weeks warm sunny weather resulted in some more first butterfly sightings for 2008: Pearl-bordered Fritillary; Wall; & Holly Blue (see 2008 Sightings). The fine weather also resulted in some good moth catches in Argyll. The most exciting result was finding the UK BAP species, Barred Tooth-Striped, at two new sites: Creagan Wood & Glen Nant NNR. In addition, many new species for 2008 appeared: Pebble Prominent; Pale Shouldered Brocade; Knot Grass; Rivulet; Silver-Ground Carpet; Small Angle Shades; Peach Blossom etc. See Argyll Moth Recording for more details.
02/05/08: April has seen first sightings for Orange Tip, Green-veined White, Large White & Green Hairstreak being recorded (see 2008 Sightings). The Small White has yet to be recorded and other species to look out for in May are Pearl-bordered Fritillary (see Butterfly Surveys 2008) in various parts of the branch region, Chequered Skipper in northern Argyll, Speckled Wood in Argyll generally and the Small Copper almost anywhere in the branch region.
20/04/08: Recent days have seen some fine sunny weather in western Scotland and a male Orange tip was seen at Loch Creran Argyll on 18 April (see 2008 Sightings). Moth activity is picking up with Engrailed, Early Thorn, Brown Silver Lines, Early Toothed Stripe, Early Grey being recorded in Argyll together with an abundance of Quakers: Common Quaker; Clouded Drab; Twin Spotted Quaker & Hebrew Character. The UK BAP species, Barred Tooth Stripe was found at Glasdrum Wood Nature Reserve where it has been recorded before.
12/04/08: What a difference 2008 is to the very early spring phenology of 2007! April 2007 comfortably broke long term UK temperature records as the warmest April on record and both butterflies and moths were active incredibly early. By this date in 2007, seven butterfly species had been seen (Peacock; Small Tortoiseshell; Red Admiral; Orange Tip; Small White; Green-veined White & Comma: see 2007 Sightings) whereas just three species have been seen so far in 2008 (see 2008 Sightings).
On the moth front, there has been little activity so far owing to the predominantly cold conditions over the last month while in 2007, the earliest dates for some spring species were obtained.
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