S u f f o l k N a t u r a l i s t s ’ S o c i e t y

N e w s l e t t e r 9 0 S p r i n g 2 0 1 5

W h i t eW h i t eW h i t e A d m i r a lA d m i r a lA d m i r a l

C o v e r p h o t o : E m e r g i n g A d d e r b y K e v i n R o b s o n

h t t p s : / / w w w . f l i c k r . c o m / p h o t o s / k h r i m a g e s /

ISSN 0959-8537

Published by the Suffolk Naturalists’ Society

c/o Ipswich Museum, High Street, Ipswich, Suffolk IP1 3QH

Registered Charity No. 206084

© Suffolk Naturalists’ Society

E d i t o r i a l B e n H e a t h e r 1

L o g o C h a l l e n g e B e n H e a t h e r 2

S p r i n g M e m b e r s E v e n i n g 2 0 1 5 & A G M 3

W h a t ’ s o n ? 4

C h a l c i d w a s p s M a r t i n C o o p e r 6

S o m e o b s e r v a t i o n s o n A g r o m y z i d a e M a r t i n C o o p e r 7

A R e s e a r c h H o l e i n t h e R e d C r a g B o b M a r k h a m 9

R e t u r n t o W a l b e r s w i c k P a t r i c k A r m s t r o n g 1 1

H i g h B r o w n F r i t i l l a r y a t L a n d g u a r d N i g e l O d i n 1 4

S a v i n g a b i r d o n t h e b r i n k S a m a n t h a L e e 1 6

U p d a t i n g t h e F l o r a o f S u f f o l k M a r t i n S a n f o r d 1 9

O b s e r v a t i o n o f a W a t e r S h r e w A d r i a n K n o w l e s 2 2

S h i e l d b u g o b s e s s i o n ? T r e v o r G o o d f e l l o w 2 3

S t o a t i n m y N e i g h b o u r ’ s G a r d e n C o l i n H a w e s 2 6

N e w B u r s a r y a v a i l a b l e 2 6

L a t e R e d A d m i r a l s R i c h a r d S t e w a r t 2 7

S p l i t G i l l f u n g u s , i n S u f f o l k C . J . B . H i t c h &

L . W a s h i n g t o n

2 8

T h r e e s e a s o n s o f l o o k i n g f o r l e a f h o p p e r s C o l i n L u c a s & T r i c i a

T a y l o r

3 0

S c a r c e ( Y e l l o w - l e g g e d ) T o r t o i s e s h e l l B i l l S t o n e 3 2

T h e B r e c k l a n d B a t P r o j e c t D r S t u a r t N e w s o n &

J a m e s P a r r y

3 4

C o n t e n t s

White Admiral 90 1

E d i t o r : B e n H e a t h e r

S u f f o l k B i o l o g i c a l R e c o r d s C e n t r e ,

c / o I p s w i c h M u s e u m , H i g h S t r e e t , I p s w i c h , I P 1 3 Q H

b e n . h e a t h e r @ s u f f o l k . g o v . u k

Welcome to the Spring issue of the White Admiral newsletter. I have been

inundated with copy for this issue which is brilliant and I have had to put in

four extra sides to accommodate it, please keep the copy coming in. It has also

been excellent to get copy from some new contributors commenting on some

pleasing subjects from Suffolk.

One piece I would like to highlight is on page 16. This calls for sightings of

Turtle Dove to be submitted via the Suffolk Biological Records Centre’s online

recording pages. These online recording pages will allow users to use

interactive recording forms to submit wildlife sightings. The system, which is

built upon the same technology being applied by the likes of iRecord, is in its

final stages of testing and will be formally launched very soon. However, parts

of the site, including the Turtle Dove recording form, are fully operational and

can be found here www.suffolkbrc.org.uk/turtledove.

Please may I draw your attention to the list of bioblitz and recording events

that SNS is getting involved in this year, these can be found on page 4. One of

these events, the Holywells Park bioblitz, is being organised by the Suffolk

Wildlife Trust and their new HLF funded ‘Closer to Nature’ Project. This

project, by working with Ipswich teenagers, hopes to encourage the next

generation of natural historians and they are also keen to work with Ipswich

Museum and use its natural history collections.

Finally, on a more sombre note, Darsham Common, adjacent to Darsham

Marshes has been donated to SWT in the memory of Peter Lawson, SNS

member and respected botanist who passed away last year.

N e w s l e t t e r 9 0 - S p r i n g 2 0 1 5

Suffolk Naturalists’ Society

The

White Admiral 90 2

L o g o C h a l l e n g e - S t i l l A c c e p t i n g E n t r i e s !

The logo challenge continues to accept entries so there is still a chance to

send in a design or simply an idea that could form part of the new SNS

logo.

Above are a few ideas received so far to get you thinking.

Designs need to be graphic based and ideally contain no text. Designs will

be digitised into a suite of logo layouts of which some will contain our

letterhead.

Please send your ideas and designs to the editor using the contact details

on page 1. If sending images via email please do not send items over 10mb.

White Admiral 90 3

S p r i n g M e m b e r s E v e n i n g 2 0 1 5 & A G M

T u e s d a y 1 4 t h A p r i l | 7 . 3 0 p m

C e d a r s H o t e l , N e e d h a m R o a d , S t o w m a r k e t , I P 1 4 2 A J

S p e a k e r s a n d T a l k s :

Agenda:

Apologies for absence

Minutes of the 85th Annual General Meeting

Chairman’s Report – Martin Sanford

Treasurers Report – Joan Hardingham

Secretary’s Report – Gen Broad

Election of members to the Council:

Ordinary Members proposed: Howard Mottram, Kerry Stranix

Any Other Business (The Chairman reserves the right to consider only

items submitted in writing 2 weeks before the AGM.)

Following the conclusion of formal business and refreshments there will be

a series of short presentations on natural history by members and projects

funded by SNS.

D r i n k s a v a i l a b l e f r o m t h e p a y b a r o n a r r i v a l a n d h a l f -

t i m e r e f r e s h m e n t b r e a k p r o v i d e d ( t e a a n d c o f f e e ) .

D e a d l i n e s f o r c o p y a r e : 1 s t F e b ( S p r i n g i s s u e ) , 1 s t J u n e ( S u m m e r

i s s u e ) a n d 1 s t O c t ( A u t u m n i s s u e )

T h e o p i n i o n s e x p r e s s e d i n W h i t e A d m i r a l a r e n o t n e c e s s a r i l y t h o s e o f

t h e E d i t o r o r o f t h e S u f f o l k N a t u r a l i s t s ’ S o c i e t y .

C o n t r i b u t i o n s t o W h i t e A d m i r a l

White Admiral 90 4

SNS members are welcome to a gall recording meeting to be held at

RSPB Minsmere Nature Reserve on Saturday 10th October 2015, 10am -

4pm. Meet at the visitor centre (IP173BY). Leader Jerry Bowdrey (01728

603526) or jeremybowdrey@btinternet.com. Bring packed lunch or

purchase from the centre. Ample parking and the usual facilities are

available. The meeting is suitable for both enthusiasts and beginners

alike.

W h a t ’ s o n ?

T h e B r i t i s h P l a n t G a l l S o c i e t y

S u f f o l k B i o b l i t z & R e c o r d i n g E v e n t s

The Suffolk Naturalists’ Society is going to be involved in the following

bioblitz & recording events in Suffolk:

Dunwich Heath Bioblitz with the National Trust - 24 hour bioblitz

which is taking place from 12 noon on the 27th & 28th May.

Holywells Park Bioblitz with the Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s ‘Closer to

Nature’ Project - Taking place on Sun 7th June.

Touching the Tide Surveying and Recording Day at Trimley Marshes -

Taking place on Sat 18th July.

Lackford Lakes Bioblitz with the Suffolk Wildlife Trust - 24 hour

bioblitz which is taking place from 4:00 pm on Saturday 1st August

(ending 4:00 pm Sunday 2nd).

When more information is available this will be placed online at

www.sns.org.uk

E a r s h a m B i o b l i t z

River Waveney Trust Association Bioblitz at their Earsham

Headquarters (The old Otter Trust). Taking place 18th and 19th July.

More information will be available here http://groupspaces.com/

RiverWaveneyTrust/

White Admiral 90 5

C o u n t i n g B u t t e r f l i e s

A Butterfly Transect Training Session run by the Suffolk Branch of

Butterfly Conservation. - Saturday 2nd May

An indoor presentation for novice & potential volunteer transect

walkers, followed by field work on the Spring Lane Transect on Tayfen

Meadows.

Assemble at 09:50 in the Bury St Edmunds Library Conference Room.

Time: 10:00 indoors, 12:00 short walk to site, Finish approx 14:30.

The event is free, but places need to be booked in advance. Contact Rob

Parker robparker@waitrose.com for more details.

Register: as soon as possible, as places are limited.

The training is aimed at butterfly fanciers involved in existing butterfly

transect walks, or novices prepared to volunteer to walk regular

transects (26 weeks/year).

B u t t e r f l y C o n s e r v a t i o n F i e l d P r o g r a m m e

The Suffolk Branch of Butterfly Conservation have released their 2015

field programme see www.suffolkbutterflies.org.uk/events.html. Up and

coming events include:

Butterflies - Illustrated talk by Suffolk Butterfly Recorder Bill Stone

with Shotley Peninsula Wildlife Group. Thursday 23rd April, 7.30pm

to 10.00pm, Tattingstone Village Hall.

New Members and Novice Recorders Day - An indoor training

session, followed by practical butterfly watching on an excellent site.

Sat 25th April, 10:00am, Barnham Village Hall, Enrol in advance -

Rob Parker 01284 705475

Dingy Skipper surveys in the King’s Forest - Assemble at access

track to John O’Groats cottages, on west side of B1106. First count at

King’s Archery Site. Please enquire in advance to notify availability

and whether you can assist with other locations. Surveys continue

until end of May. Wednesday 13th May and Wednesday 20th May,

10:30am, Leader is Bill Stone 07906 888603

White Admiral 90 6

C h a l c i d w a s p s

Chalcid Wasps are tiny, beautiful and

often overlooked insects. I became

aware of them by chance.

In October 2014 I found a small green

wasp resting on a parsley plant in my

garden near Christchurch Park in

Ipswich. At the time I thought it was

a fly! However, under the microscope I

saw it was worth photographing

because of its striking colour and the

interesting sculptured texture of its

surface. I posted the photos on the

Facebook Hymenopterists Page where

the family was quickly identified as

Pteromalidae. A key to the European

Pteromalid species indicated that it

was a male Halticoptera flavicornis, a

parasite of flies. Hannes Baur, an

expert on these wasps based at the

Natural History Museum at Berne in

Switzerland, subsequently confirmed

the identification.

J e w e l - l i k e i n h a b i t a n t s o f S u f f o l k g a r d e n s a n d c o u n t r y s i d e

H a l t i c o p t e r a f l a v i c o r n i s

P t e r o m a l u s c f . a l b i p e n n i s

White Admiral 90 7

Having become interested in these

tiny insects, I remembered a

specimen I had collected near the

Martlesham Recreation Ground in

July. I photographed it and

consulted Hannes Baur once again.

He identified it as a species close

to Pteromalus albipennis. The

taxonomy and nomencla-

ture of Chalcids is com-

plicated and for now

this one has to be

labelled Pteromalus

cf. albipennis. These wasps are

parasi to ids o f f ru it f l ies

(Tephritidae) developing in flower

heads of Asteraceae, for example

the Banded Burdock flies (Terellia

tussilaginis) of which there is a

large colony on the Burdock plants

(Arctium) near to where I found it.

I have now sent the wasp to

Switzerland to be added to Hannes

Baur’s collection.

Martin Cooper

This note records two

species of agromyzids

reared from mined

leaves found near my

home in Ipswich, East

Suffolk, TM166450.

On 16th June 2014 I

collected a mined Nipplewort

(Lapsana communis) leaf, which

was growing at the base of a wall

in the street near my house. The

whitish blotch mine extended along

the mid-rib with offshoots into the

leaf blade.

I kept the leaf in a plastic bag

until, on 26th June, a fly emerged.

A yellow/brown puparium was

found in the bag afterwards. The

small black fly was compared with

the key by K.A. Spencer (1972.

S o m e o b s e r v a t i o n s o n A g r o m y z i d a e

Fig

. 1. Op

hio

my

ia c

un

cta

ta (H

en

de

l, 192

0).

White Admiral 90 8

Diptera Agromyzidae. Handbooks

for the identification of British

Insects Vol. 10 Part 5g. Royal

Entomological Society of London)

and identified as Ophiomyia

cunctata (Hendel, 1920). The

identification was confirmed by

Miloš Cerny.

The inset close-up in the

photograph (Fig. 1) shows the

orbital setulae of the specimen,

which are a very good match to the

figure given by K.A. Spencer

(1976). The Agromyzidae (Diptera)

of Fennoscandia and Denmark.

Fauna entomologica scandinavica

Vol 5. Part 1. Scandinavian Science

Press Ltd.), which he described as

“unique to Ophiomyia cunctata”.

Spencer (1972) reported a single

previous Suffolk observation of this

species from Newmarket (J.E.

Collin). I suspect that this is a

c a s e o f u n d e r - r e p o r t i n g .

Nipplewort is a very common weed

and, around here at least, many of

the leaves have been mined.

The app le mint (Mentha

suaveolens) in my back garden was

also mined extensively this

summer. I took a few leaves on 5th

La

ter

al

vie

w o

f h

ea

d o

f P

hy

tom

yz

a p

eto

ei

Min

e o

f P

hy

tom

yz

a p

eto

ei

He

rin

g,

192

4

White Admiral 90 9

July and kept them to see what

emerged. On 11th July I found 8

small brown puparia on one of the

leaves. These hatched into small

black flies on 19th July, only 1 of

which was obviously male. I

photographed the leaf, the puparia

and the male adult fly. To my great

frustration I lost the abdomen

when I was detaching it to get a

better look at the genitalia! Using

the keys in Spencer (1972, 1976)

and information provided by

www.ukflymines.co.uk,

www.leafmines.co.uk

and www.bladmineerders.nl, I

identified the fly as Phytomyza

petoei Hering, 1924.

This identification was confirmed

by Miloš Cerny. Spencer (1972)

gave the distribution of this species

as “Probably not uncommon in

south”. There were so many mines

on the leaves of my mint that it

was quite hard to find enough

unspoilt leaves to make the mint

sauce.

I am grateful to Laurence Clemons,

John Coldwell, Tony Irwin, David

Henshaw and Miloš Cerny for

assistance with identification and

other information.

Martin Cooper

This article first appeared in the Dipterists Digest published by the Society

for the study of flies (Diptera).

A R e s e a r c h H o l e i n t h e R e d C r a g a t t h e G r e a t P i t ,

N e w b o u r n e

‘We have a digging machine on

site, clearing wildlife ponds and

refreshing the crag face for sand

martins, come along tomorrow

and we will dig your research

hole.’ The message came from

Andrew Excell of the Suffolk

Wildlife Trust who kindly

facilitated the project. We arrived

excitedly the next day, November

5th 2014, to meet Barry Day and

his giant caterpillar-tracked

digger – who needed fireworks

when we had this! A spot was

chosen in the base of the Great

Pit - how deep was the crag here?

Certainly no one had done this

before. Within centimetres we hit

a hard band of clay-ironstone,

greenish in colour and with a

gentle dip towards the north. For

1.75 metres we dug through pale

yellow crag similar to that seen in

the lower part of the face in the

pit. And then we hit a layer of

large bivalve shells of Glycimeris.

White Admiral 90 10

From here downwards digging was

below the water table for another

1.9 metres until we reached the

London Clay. This lowest crag was

deeply ferruginous, the rich red

colour which gives this crag its

name, with noticeable Neptunea

contraria whelks and with

phosphatic nodules (‘coprolites’)

but not in a defined basement bed.

This all suggests that the site was

never a coprolite pit, indeed it was

already a working pit in the 1830s,

a decade before ‘coprolites’ were

discovered by John Stevens

Henslow. With excavation over we

were able to see the driving energy

of the nearby springs (the sides of

the hole stood vertical in the

coherent crag) as water poured in

with spectacular unstoppable force

until it reached its underground

rest level. With samples and

photographs taken it was time to

fill in this special hole and go to

lunch, happy and satisfied with

new knowledge. This was excellent

geology!

Bob Markham

White Admiral 90 11

R e t u r n t o W a l b e r s w i c k

I first visited the East Suffolk

coastal village of Walberswick on a

rather cold spring day in 1947 –

when I was five. Then, for the

better part of a decade my family

used to spend part of the summer

camping or caravanning at Manor

Farm - the land has long since

been built over. Once or twice we

borrowed a cottage or stayed with

friends, and spent time there at

other times of the year. It was in

and around Walberswick and

amongst the heaths, woods and

marshes of the Sandlings region

that I learnt about natural history

– about how to identify and record

plants, insects, birds and other

creatures, and how the different

parts of nature fitted together.

When I first visited the Suffolk

coast the heather heathland,

broken occasionally by patches of

bracken, extended from the

outskirts of the village of

Walberswick almost all the way to

Blythburgh. Within a year or two,

when the agricultural economics

and subsidy structures encouraged

it, and when the solution of certain

fertiliser and trace-element

problems allowed it, substantial

acreages were being ploughed for

arable. Later I discovered that this

was just an incident in a long-

continued process.

After examining old maps, land

records and leases I understood

that in the Medieval period, and

indeed well into the nineteenth

century, the heathlands were

maintained as open, virtually

treeless, plant communities, as the

result of being intimately linked to

the other land uses around them.

Sheep grazed part of the year on

the heathlands of the Suffolk

Sandlings, part of the year on the

drained marshland pastures close

to the sea, and on farmland

stubble after harvest. Sometimes a

root-crop, such as the turnip, was

included in the cycle. It was even

more complicated than this: some

areas of the Sandlings heaths were

managed as rabbit warrens: sheep

and rabbits sometimes grazed on

the same areas. It was said that

‘there was a certain something

that the sheep ate, and a certain

something that the rabbits ate’

when they grazed together on the

East Anglian heaths. Under the

terms of several eighteenth

century leases of Westwood Lodge

Farm the tenant was bound to

keep a certain number of sheep,

grazing them on the ‘sheepwalks’

for part of the year, fertilising the

arable land with their dung when

White Admiral 90 12

they fed on stubble during the

autumn and winter. Rabbit

warrening had obviously also been

an important economic activity for

centuries: an early sixteenth

century lease ‘for all that woreyne

of coneys in Blyburgh belonging to

the manor of Westwood’ was worth

14s a year – then a goodly sum.

This tightly knit ecological and

economic system helped to maintain

the open Calluna/Erica heaths. As

the late nineteenth and twentieth

centuries wore on, the number of

sheep in the area decreased, and

the vital links between the different

land uses withered away. Another

important factor was the arrival of

myxomatosis, first reported in East

Suffolk in early December 1953. By

the late summer of 1954 the virus

was widespread in the region. Many

areas of heathland literally stank

because of the abundance of rabbit

carcasses: in the years following the

level of grazing by rabbits was

much reduced: although there has

been some recovery, total grazing

pressures have not built up to the

earlier level.

In my childhood heathland bird

species such as red-backed shrikes

were to be found in many parishes

along the coast. Nightjars churred

on several heaths near Walberswick

and I recall once seeing a flock 15

stone curlew near Westwood.

Yellowhammers were common.

These species are now much rarer

in the Sandlings heathland belt.

One possible reason for the decline

is the reduction in the total area of

heath, and the invasion by scrub

(often birch, oak and holly) of the

fragments that remain, in the

absence of heavy grazing pressure.

As children my brother and I

wandered across the heaths, along

the river and across the marshes

largely unsupervised. Many parents

would regard this as unthinkable

now.

Into the 1950s the pine trees along

the estuary near Blythburgh were

noisy in spring and summer with

breeding herons. I believe the name

‘Heronry’ is still sometimes used

but the old pine trees have been

silent for several decades.

Since moving to Australia in the

1970s, opportunities for bird-

watching and rambling in Suffolk

have been few and far between.

Occasionally a few brief hours have

been snatched during periods of

study-leave, but for a few days in

July 2014 my wife and I took a

room at The Bell, and explored

some of the familiar haunts.

Certain things were much as I

recalled. The general appearance of

the Green was as it was, although

some of the houses and shops

surrounding it had been tarted up:

some were now ‘boutiques’. In the

1940s and 1950s the crumbling

White Admiral 90 13

wood-built Gannon Room was

rather sad: it has been replaced by

a more permanent-looking new

village hall.

There is now very little entirely

open ground. Former heathland

inland from the village is now scrub

– a l m o s t l o w w o o d l a n d :

successional pine and birch has

invaded. For example, it appeared

almost as though Hoist Covert had

increased in area. However,

although heathland bird species

seemed to have declined, the

butterfly species I remembered on

the heaths in earlier times were

present: we noted grayling, meadow

brown, hedge brown, small heath

and large skipper flitting amongst

the wildflowers just as they did

several decades ago. I didn’t see any

of the earth star fungi on the lanes

around the village that I used to

find there, although I came upon a

charm of goldfinches more than

once. A stoat scuttled across

Palmers Lane. Turtle doves that

formerly nested in the hedgerows

close to the village seemed to be

absent. Their place in the

ecosystem and in the soundscape

has been taken by the collared

dove.

In the marshes there seem to have

been fewer changes. Although the

area of open water pools appeared

to be less that I recall from the

1940s and 1950s, bearded tits and

reed warblers were much in

evidence. Some of the paths across

the marshes had been improved,

but others had been gated or

blocked. Piles of carefully stacked

reeds showed the traditional craft

of reed-cutting for thatching was

still practiced.

Along the shore some of the hideous

concrete blocks that were strewn

along the coast in the early 1940s

as protection against Hitler’s

Operation Sealion were still there.

(Couldn’t a now prosperous and

united Germany be requested to

pay for their removal?). The shore

pools between Walberswick and

Dunwich are diminished, and the

glorious spreads of sea lavender I

knew as a child are not what they

w e r e . N e v e r t h e l e s s s o m e

interesting wading birds, such as

the odd ringed plover, were to be

observed. The avocet and egret

were rare species when I first came

to Suffolk, but form a striking

component of the avifauna now.

When I walked along the Blyth as a

young lad, herring gulls greatly

outnumbered black-headed: the

position seemed to be reversed this

last summer.

Active conservation frameworks are

now much more in evidence than in

the days just after the war when all

seemed to be able to wander at will

though the countryside. The

heaths and marshes are now part of

White Admiral 90 14

a National Nature Reserve, a

Shorebirds Special Protection Area

has been designated, and the

establishment of the Suffolk Coast

and Heaths Area of Outstanding

Natural Beauty implies some

conservation and p lanning

protection.

So as is ever the case, some things

had changed, some things had

remained the same; some things

had improved, some deteriorated. I

look back nostalgically to the

Suffolk of over 65 years ago. I

wondered, as I threaded my way

through a group of children

crabbing on one of the bridges over

a tidal creek near the village

whether they would think back with

similar affection to the Walberswick

of their childhood in the 2070s? I

hoped so.

Patrick Armstrong

Patrick is an Adjunct Professor of Geography at both the University of

Western Australia and Edith Cowan University. He wrote his doctoral thesis

on the heaths of the Suffolk Sandlings over 40 years ago and has been a

member of the Suffolk Naturalists’ Society for nearly 50 years. He now lives

in Nedlands, Western Australia.

H i g h B r o w n F r i t i l l a r y a t L a n d g u a r d

During the summer of 2014 an

influx of Scarce Tortoishell Papilo

xanthomelas butterflies into

Northern Europe was being widely

reported on social media regularly

so Landguard observers were on

the alert for one turning up at this

site that is renowned for unusual

bird and moth species. During

conversation with Chris Ryde, the

Landguard Ranger, I informed him

that butterfly recorders were a bit

P h o t o b y W e n d y M a r s h a l l

White Admiral 90 15

draconian when it came to the

vetting of records of rare

butterflies and the best option if

one was suspected was to get a

photograph.

Chris, in the company of Wendy

Marshall, was wardening on a

part of the nature reserve known

amongst local birders as the “icky

ridge” on Saturday 19th July 2014

when they saw an unusual

butterfly on Buddleja with Wendy

managing to get a couple of quick

photographs. When they returned

to the office at the cottage they

looked up the butterfly and

identified it as a Fritillary. Chris

e.mailed me the pictures and it

wasn’t long after this that many

o f t h e L a n d g u a r d B i r d

observatory regulars descended

on the area where it had been

seen. After several hours

searching it became apparent that

the creature had moved on.

Chris & Wendy did not realise the

significance of their sighting and

were surprised to learn that it

was the first Suffolk sighting of

High Brown Fritillary Argynnis

adippe since 1959. Old Suffolk

records and the species’ sad

demise in the county are well

documented by Mendel &

Piotrowski (1986). Suffolk’s

decline is just part of a range

contraction across the United

Kingdom and Northern Europe.

In Britain the species only now

survives in a few areas in the

west.

The habitat at Landguard is

completely wrong for High Brown

Fritillary so it is speculated that

this individual was a migratory

individual that arrived in off the

sea during an onshore breeze from

the continent, fed briefly on

Buddleja, then moved quickly

inland to find a more favorable

location. Unfortunately pretty

butterflies are bred and released

in this country for human

entertainment but this is unlikely

to be the origin of the one at

Landguard so near the sea. This

individual is just a freak

occurrence but whether another

one will turn up in our lifetimes is

not known. What I do know is

that the Buddleja it was seen on

will be well scrutinised in future

years just in case lightening

strikes twice.

Nigel Odin

Reference:

Mendel, H. & Piotrowski, S.H. (1986) The Butterflies of Suffolk An Atlas &

History. Suffolk Naturalists’ Society, Ipswich.

White Admiral 90 16

S a v i n g a b i r d o n t h e b r i n k

We have lost 96% of our turtle

doves since 1970 and numbers are

still in freefall. Their population

decline is so dramatic that the

species could be lost as a breeding

bird in our country within the next

few decades. But all is not lost.

There is still time to save the

gentle purr of singing males from

disappearing from our country-

side’s musical repertoire, but only if

we act now.

The turtle dove, Streptopelia turtur

is ecologically unique in Europe. It

is our only long-distance migratory

dove, travelling over 3,000 miles

from their wintering grounds in

West Africa to arrive here from late

April to breed and raise their

chicks before departing once more

late August – early September.

They are ‘obligate granivores’

which means that they manage to

do all this on a diet made up solely

of small seeds. They have a song

like no other species you’ll hear

during spring and summer and are

easily identifiable to even the

novice birder once you know what

you’re listening for, a low ‘turr

turr’ (roll the ‘r’). Often, they will

be easily visible from dead tree

branches or pylons and wires.

Whilst they are similar to their

more common relatives (wood

pigeons, collared doves and stock

doves), they are significantly more

‘exotic’ looking. Daintier in stature

than their counterparts, they are

the smallest dove species we get

here. With orange eyes, a black and

white striped neck patch, chestnut

and black diamonds on their wings

and a rosy-lilac coloured throat and

chest you would think that they

would stand out a mile but often

you just spot the flash of the white

tail tips as they disappear from

view.

T u r t l e D o v e b y A n d y H a y

White Admiral 90 17

They have long been an iconic

farmland bird, the sound of

summer to many and not that long

ago, been seen in flocks of several

hundred birds either feeding

together or on migration.

Culturally, they are included in

texts and song and used as a

symbol of love and commitment

because of their monogamous

pairings.

Reasons for their decline are

complex and not completely

understood, especially as turtle

doves are a migratory species

which means they face threats

r ight across their f lyway

(migratory route). Research shows

that the main driver of the current

decline in turtle doves is that adult

birds are producing half the

amount of chicks that they were in

the 1970s because of a reduction in

nesting attempts. Turtle doves

once had up to four nesting

attempts during a breeding season,

they are now having half this. A

change in diet from mainly seeds

of arable plants in

the 1960s to

mainly crops by

the late 1990s

has occurred

c o n c u r r e n t l y

with a reduction

i n b r e e d i n g

attempts. The

resultant reduction

in reproductive output across the

breeding season is sufficient to

explain the population decline.

It is possible that the quality (as

well as quantity) of available food

has deteriorated. The natural diet

of turtle doves are the small seeds

of arable plants, including

fumitories, stitchworts, pansies

and knotgrasses. Many of these

plants that were commonly found

in the diet of turtle doves are now

absent or scarce themselves. It is

therefore possible that shortages

in seed food may now be

detrimental to turtle doves at

critical stages of the breeding

season.

So what can be done?

To meet the challenge of saving a

bird on the brink of extinction in

the UK, Operation Turtle Dove, a

partnership project between the

RSPB, Conservation Grade,

Pensthorpe Conservation Trust

and Natural England, was

launched in May 2012 with the

T u r t l e D o v e s b y T o n y M o r r i s White Admiral 90 17

White Admiral 90 18

aim to reverse the species declines.

To do this, project partners are

leading on research into turtle

dove ecology on breeding grounds

in England and into factors

operating during their migration

and wintering areas. Dedicated

advisers are working with

landowners and farmers to

establish foraging habitat across

their core breeding range and

maintain suitable nesting habitat.

With the new agri-environment

scheme opening in 2016, advisers

will play a critical role in

supporting farmers applying for

the new scheme and including

turtle dove habitat management as

part of their applications.

Suffolk supports almost 17% of

breeding turtle doves in the UK

(data provided by BTO), therefore

establishing suitable habitat here

will be crucial to securing the

future of turtle doves. But don’t sit

back thinking that all the work is

down to our farmers, they are

doing great stuff and many have

voluntarily created habitat for

turtle doves, but they need our

support too. Every one of us can

support this species by shopping

‘Fair to Nature’. Products with the

‘Fair to Nature’ logo mean they

have been produced from farms

that have created at least 10% of

wildlife habitat on their land, we

need to tell our suppliers and

retailers that this is important to

us and that we are prepared to put

our money where our mouth is,

which hopefully over time will

mean that ‘Fair to Nature’

products will be as common to

come by as Fair Trade.

Last but not least, the easiest and

most enjoyable way to help support

turtle doves is to report your

sightings. Your accurate records of

sightings help us to focus our

conservation work and ensure that

we have the most up-to-date

spec ie s d i st r ibut ion data .

Operation Turtle Dove has been

working with the Suffolk Biological

Records Centre to create a Suffolk

Turtle Dove Survey where records

can be uploaded online. This page

can be accessed at the following

link:

www.suffolkbrc.org.uk/turtledove

and is live now!

Samantha Lee

For more information visit www.operationturtledove.org and follow

@SaveTurtleDoves

To find out more about Fair to Nature visit www.conservationgrade.org

For habitat advice contact your local advisor, Samantha Lee on:

Samantha.lee@rspb.uk.uk or 07894 802267.

White Admiral 90 19

U p d a t i n g t h e F l o r a o f S u f f o l k ( a n d G r e a t B r i t a i n )

The next Atlas of British Flora is

planned for 2020 with the ‘recent’

date class covering the period 2000

-2020. For details of the national

project being run by the Botanical

Society of Britain & Ireland (BSBI)

see http : / /www.bsbi .org .uk/

atlas_2020.html. The data will not

only provide new distribution maps

for all native and introduced taxa,

but will also enable further

analysis of change when compared

to datasets collected for the

previous two Atlases (1962 &

2002).

In Suffolk, with the production of

the Flora in 2010, we already have

plenty of records in the post-2000

date class for most 10-km squares.

However, the analysis below, done

at the end of 2014, shows that

there are still many areas where

more than a third of the species

recorded in a square have not been

seen (recorded) since 2000. We

have five years to gather new

records and I would like to set a

target of all Suffolk 10-km squares

with at least 85% of taxa recorded

post-2000.

The challenge is to target

surveying to improve post-2000

coverage without having to re-

survey the whole area. With this in

mind I have produced a series of

Excel spreadsheets with the data

for each 10-km square in the

county. Each list is split into five

worksheets named:

All – an alphabetic list of all

species ever recorded in that

square

Post 2000 – an alphabetic list of all

species recorded in that square

since 2000

Not recorded post 2000 – an

alphabetic list of species not

recorded in that square since 2000

Records needing updating – a table

showing all records of the species

not recorded in that square since

2000. This is the most useful

worksheet. The species have been

sorted by their frequency in

Suffolk; Column A ‘Total of taxon

group’ has a figure (1–58) showing

how many 10km squares the

species has been recorded from in

the county. This should mean the

species you are most likely to re-

find will be at the top of the sheet.

Rare garden escapes and ancient

records from the 18th and 19th

centuries will be found towards the

bottom of the sheet – these are

probably not worth the effort of

chasing up unless you think there

is still suitable habitat present.

If you want to see everything from

a particular site you can set a filter

on column D ‘sample location’

untick the ‘select all’ box in the

filter dropdown and then tick just

the site you’re interested in.

White Admiral 90 20

10 km

Square

Total

plant

taxa

pre-

2000

only

post-

2000

No. Common

species

missing

2000+ as % of

total

TG40 825 362 463 79 56

TG50 781 420 361 126 46

TL64 578 183 395 66 68

TL65 385 132 253 132 66

TL66 616 194 422 71 69

TL67 690 207 483 51 70

TL68 572 144 428 86 75

TL74 660 138 522 29 79

TL75 705 172 533 24 76

TL76 862 313 549 27 64

TL77 1089 366 723 10 66

TL78 1018 301 717 22 70

TL83 614 207 407 62 66

TL84 981 237 744 5 76

TL85 668 132 536 16 80

TL86 1048 329 719 1 69

TL87 964 300 664 17 69

TL88 823 264 559 41 68

TL93 847 219 628 7 74

TL94 872 204 668 8 77

TL95 823 225 598 13 73

TL96 936 207 729 2 78

TL97 946 244 702 6 74

TL98 660 321 339 123 51

TM03 815 309 506 31 62

TM04 865 302 563 14 65

TM05 922 318 604 13 66

TM06 735 421 314 107 43

TM07 987 258 729 12 74

TM13 962 560 402 78 42

TM14 1199 625 574 24 48

TM15 901 327 574 11 64

TM16 835 175 660 9 79

TM17 837 234 603 4 72

White Admiral 90 21

Using this data you can quickly

identify a few sites in your 10-km

square that contain good numbers

of records that need updating.

Many of the records will have 6-

figure grid refs which should make

re-finding the plants a bit easier.

Common species not in TXXX pst

2000 – this sheet uses the same

10km frequency data to list

particularly common plants (found

in 40+ 10km squares in Suffolk)

that have not been recorded

recently in that square. You should

be able to find most, but probably

not all, of these species in any 10-

km square.

If you are able to use Excel

spreadsheets and would like to see

the data for a particular square (or

squares) please e-mail your request

to me.

Martin Sanford

email:

Martin.Sanford@suffolk.gov.uk

TM23 1082 357 725 12 67

TM24 1151 461 690 13 60

TM25 979 543 436 77 45

TM26 764 167 597 21 78

TM27 724 144 580 11 80

TM28 652 234 418 53 64

TM33 857 271 586 29 68

TM34 972 294 678 26 70

TM35 1100 353 747 6 68

TM36 939 262 677 6 72

TM37 877 108 769 2 88

TM38 931 307 624 17 67

TM39 716 321 395 77 55

TM44 557 243 314 154 56

TM45 1019 323 696 22 68

TM46 1189 335 854 3 72

TM47 1313 242 1071 1 82

TM48 1038 239 799 5 77

TM49 1062 265 797 11 75

TM57 855 480 375 173 44

TM58 950 197 753 19 79

TM59 1158 300 858 5 74

Average 858 277 580 36 67

White Admiral 90 22

O b s e r v a t i o n o f a W a t e r S h r e w ( N e o m y s f o d i e n s ) i n C a p e l S t M a r y

- a c a u t i o n a r y t a l e o f t o o m u c h h a s t e a n d d i s b e l i e f

During 2014 I have had the

unwelcome attention of a large

number of Wood Mice and Bank

Voles in my greenhouse ,

strawberry patch and even the

cupboard under my stairs (mice

only). This resulted in the ‘last

straw’ deployment of a ‘break back’

trap in my greenhouse (actually

more of a lean-to with a plastic roof

at the end of my house). This trap

was baited with peanut butter and

was left out all winter.

On 4th February 2015 I had my

first catch for some months, which

I hastily dismissed as a curious

record of a rather dark Common

Shrew. However, after mentioning

this catch to Simone Bullion, our

Mammal Recorder, she ventured to

question whether it might have

been a Water Shrew. Despite the

dark fur, which should have

alerted my suspicion, this

potential identification just did

not occur to me on account of

the location of the beast.

Mine is one of five houses

in a triangular formation,

surrounded by busy roads

on all three sides, on the

old A12 (London Road), so I

have a rather isolated and

distinctly suburban garden, a

long way from water.

My assumption that Water Shrews

are strictly tied to water is, of

course, unfounded. In ‘The

Mammals of Suffolk’, Simone notes

that Water Shrews do sometimes

occur a long way from water in

d e c i d u o u s w o o d l a n d ,

hedgerows and rough

grassland. Larger wooded

g a r d e n s a n d r o u g h

grassland lies only a short

distance away, but I’m still

wondering if its arrival in our

island of houses was ‘cat

assisted’ – a prize brought home

alive by our neighbour’s pet.

Fortunately, I have the habit of

giving any such captures a decent

burial, so I managed to exhume the

body and look more closely for the

tel l- tale

S h r e w f o o t d e t a i l

White Admiral 90 23

signs of a Water Shrew.

Other than the dark fur colour, it

has a distinct keel of long bristles

on the underside of its tail and a

short fringe of hairs under its feet

– both adaptations for more

efficient swimming (see pictures).

It was most likely a juvenile, so

falling into the general body size

of Common Shrews (5-8cm)

rather than the larger adult

body size of the Water

Shrew (6.5-9.5cm).

So, the moral of the story

is: don’t jump to

conclusions and don’t

dismiss a provisional

identification on the basis

of habitat and location!

Adrian Knowles

Since I was a child, if I had two of

anything, it started a collection. So

after seeing a few different shield

bugs, I started looking a little

harder for more and to identify

these unusual insects.

The main challenge to begin

with was understanding

‘instars’ (stages of growth)

as these canny bugs have

various stages of growth

which often do not resemble

the adult at all.

I collected many photos of shield

bugs as time passed and with the

help of books, internet and of

course the resident SNS experts, I

identified most of them.

They appear on all sorts of plants

and most are especially easy to

spot on leaves of their host plants

and bushes in the full sun,

although I also often find one or

two rogue ones in my moth trap in

the summer. I have found that

hawthorn, yew, privet, dock are

the most likely plants to see them

on, although early instars can be

small and often elusive. On

occasions I have spotted them

S h i e l d b u g o b s e s s i o n ?

s h r e w t a i l d e t a i l

White Admiral 90 24

C l o c k w i s e f r o m t o p l e f t : T r o i l u s l u r i d u s 2 n d i n s t a r ; G r e e n S h i e l d b u g p a i r ; h a w t h o r n s h i e l d

b u g ; b r o n z e s h i e l d b u g ; d o c k b u g ; g r e e n s h i e l d b u g s u m m e r ; f o r e s t b u g ; d o c k b u g - C o r e u s

m a r g i n a t u s m i d i n s t a r ; b o x b u g l a t e i n s t a r ; j u n i p e r s h i e l d b u g ; r e d l e g g e d s h i e l d b u g p a i r ;

w o u n d w o r t s h i e l d b u g ; P i e d s h i e l d b u g ; h a i r y s h i e l d b u g

White Admiral 90 25

sucking the ‘juice’ from small

caterpillars and grubs with their

extended mouthparts.

Dock, box, and forest bugs along

with green, bronze, hairy, red-

legged , p ied , wound -wort ,

hawthorn, birch and juniper shield

bugs have all been recorded at

home in Thurston.

I would recommend that you check

out these interesting bugs and

marvel at their diversity and

intriguing life cycle.

Trevor Goodfellow

White Admiral 90 26

Bob Mawkes, took these photos of a

stoat (Mustela erminea) on his bird

table at his home in Bentley (TM

113373). It has probably visited the

bird table quite often but as yet

has only been seen on three

occasions: the first was 18/01/15

b e t w e e n 8 a n d 9 a . m . ;

second 19/01/15 between 3 and 4

p.m.; and third 25/01/15 around

mid-day. The bird table is in his

small front garden (which is

partially screened by a laurel

hedge) and is close to the road. The

stoat is attracted by and feeds on

the nuts and fat in a fat ‘cake’

made by Bob. Some of the shots

show the distinctive black fur at

the distal end of its tail.

Colin Hawes

S h o r t N o t e – S t o a t i n m y N e i g h b o u r ’ s G a r d e n

N e w B u r s a r y a v a i l a b l e

Thanks to the generosity of the late David Ridley Nash we are now able to

offer another bursary to encourage the study of Suffolk’s Coleoptera

(beetles). David very kindly left the Society £5000 in his will to set up the

new bursary which will be run using the same criteria as the other SNS

bursaries (see inside back cover).

S t o a t b y B o b M a w k e s

White Admiral 90 27

On 23rd December 2014 my wife

Ann-Marie saw a red admiral

sunning itself on the wall of

Christchurch Park’s Visitor

Centre. Subsequent sightings

occurred on the 24th and 25th,

both on sunlit bricks at the front of

Christchurch Mansion. Further

searches in the next week

produced no more sightings. These

now add to the two red admirals

coming out of our garden pine on

1st January 2000 and a red

admiral rescued from a pavement

outside Sainsbury’s in the middle

of Ipswich, on 20th December

2008. When I was the Suffolk

Butterfly Recorder such sightings

in the winter months between

December and February were rare

enough to be mentioned in the

annual report.

However, the status of these

winter red admirals is still unclear.

As far back as 1945, in Ford’s

butterfly book, which was part of

the ‘New Naturalist’ series, he was

already commenting that a few red

admirals survive our winter but

most perish. In ‘The Butterflies of

Great Britain and Ireland’, vol. 7

part 1, 1990, Maitland Emmett

and Heath, the authors comment

o n t h e i m p o s s i b i l i t y o f

differentiating between local

hibernation and early immigration.

This is expanded in the 2001

‘Millennium Atlas of Butterflies in

Britain and Ireland’, Asher et al,

which comments: There is no well-

defined overwintering strategy in

Britain and Ireland. The variable

waves of adult migration patterns,

post-winter and summer emer-

gences and autumn reverse migra-

tions make the interpretation of

records complex. Thomas and

Lewington, 1991, in ‘The

Butterflies of Britain and Ireland’

point out that red admirals

apparently ‘overwintered in quite

cold localities in Central Europe’

adding that the red admiral ‘is a

resident species mainly in the

Pyrenees, where winters are every

bit as cold as in Britain’.

My own impression is that

overwintering is on the increase

and I wonder if this is connected to

the series of warm years we have

L a t e R e d A d m i r a l s

R e d A d m i r a l 2 4 . 1 2 . 1 4

White Admiral 90 28

experienced in the last few

decades, with 2014 the warmest on

record. However, that may not

necessarily benefit hibernating

species since obviously it increases

the survival rates of parasites and

hunting birds or mammals.

Perhaps the answer lies in actually

finding red admirals in hibernation

quarters, something I have never

discovered in my many years of

studying butterflies. Has anyone

e l se s e e n t h e m a c t u a l l y

hibernating?

Richard Stewart.

As part of the Bioblitz on August

9th 2014, at Foxburrow Farm,

Melton, an SWT Reserve on the

Foxboro Hall estate, I (CJBH)

accompanied by interested visitors

and Leonie Washington of SWT,

who knows the site well, looked at

the lichens on various substrates

around the education centre.

During this first visit, it was felt

that a more detailed survey would

be advantageous and again with

Leonie’s help, this was arranged

for 30th October, when a greater

number of habitats were looked at.

At the end of the second day in the

orchard area, our eyes were caught

by a ring of thick slices, of a birch

bole, approximately 15–18 inches

diameter and 9–12 inches thick,

set in a 12-15 foot circle and acting

as seats around a campfire.

Looking at these blocks of lignum

closely, we saw that several were

colonized by a wood rotting fungus.

Material was collected and sent to

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew,

where there is a strong contingent

of mycologists, and Paul Cannon,

was able to tell us what it was and

also that it was not uncommon. It

turned out to be Schizophyllum

commune.

Tapping into the Internet and

consulting Wikipedia etc. we were

able to learn a great many

fascinating facts

about this

f u n g u s ,

such as

S c h i z o p h y l l u m c o m m u n e - S p l i t G i l l f u n g u s , i n S u f f o l k

White Admiral 90 29

(i) having a worldwide distribution,

on all continents except the

Antarctic due to a lack of a suitable

substrate there; (ii) despite the

small size of our material, it is a

species where the caps grow can up

to 4 cm diameter; (iii) it was

thought to be uneatable, but is in

fact edible, though very tough,

which makes it a favourite in more

tropical countries where the caps

do not decay so fast; (iv) it has

proved to be a species complex with

over 28,000 sexes involved! (I will

leave the geneticists to appreciate

the significance of that remark); (v)

it can be also pathogenic in man

and anybody with a weakened

immune system may be at risk - in

h u m a n s t h e f u n g u s h a s

occasionally been shown to actually

produce caps in the nasal cavity.

I wrote to Neil

Mahler, the

f u n g a l

recorder

for

Suffolk, to give him the details of

our find and although he knew it,

see photo, he was very pleased, as

he had not seen it in the county

himself.

The 4 following paragraphs are by

Neil Mahler (pers. comm.)

Brilliant! I have never recorded

this in Suffolk. As soon as I saw

the first photo, I knew it to be

S.commune and hoped the

following text (an email) would say

it was found in Suffolk. It certainly

is not common in Suffolk (or

Norfolk) and according to their

booklet on Suffolk Fungi, the

Ellis’s only have 3 records of it.

However, doing a spot of searching,

I have now managed to find a total

of 4 records of S.commune from

Suffolk - Assington Thicks,

Flatford (FSC), Bury, and

Walberswick.

It would also appear to be scarce in

the UK generally, but there was an

apparent increase in sightings

after the storms of 1987 (it was

always assumed this fungus was a

wood saprotroph species), though

by 2000, most of the sightings on

storm damaged trees began to dry

up - probably because all the

cellulose and lignin had become

depleted.

From 1991 in Devon, came the first

of many sightings on silage bales

wrapped in black plastic where the

fungus could emerge through any P h o t o b y N e i l M a h l e r

White Admiral 90 30

tears. Then a well known

mycologist recalled seeing similar

habitats being colonized in

Scotland in 1988 and 1990 and a

survey in 2000 revealed 53% of

farms visited in Ireland had this

growing on silage bales.

“I guess if I were to stop my

motorcycle every time I see black

plastic wrapped silage bales

stacked in a muddy farmyard, I

may be able to increase the Suffolk

sightings 3 times over, but farmers

don’t take too kindly to strangers

acting in a strange way!”

Neil has also pointed out, that

unfortunately a lot of new UK

publications give the wrong

common name to this fungus and

this extract from the BMS web site

explains how the error came about.

“Liz Holden is the Scottish

mycologist who was given the job

of coming up with the new list of

English common names for fungi,

in an attempt to standardize

things before they got out of hand.

The error with Split Gill was

spotted too late though and

already on iSpot, people have

written in identifying the fungus

a s “ C o m m o n Po r ec r u s t ” ” .

Naturally Split Gill fungus has

gills, which are pale reddish or

grey and very narrow with a

longitudinal split edge which

becomes in rolled when wetted by

rain. It is the only known fungus

with split gills that is capable of

retracting by movement and the

cap which is much more resilient,

allows spores to be liberated over a

long period of time.

C. J. B. Hitch & L. Washington

T h r e e s e a s o n s o f l o o k i n g f o r l e a f h o p p e r s

In the last 3 summers, we have

surveyed for leafhoppers across

Suffolk and this article sets out the

outcomes of our work and outlines

the current distributions of

leafhoppers in Suffolk.

We have collated records from the

NBN gateway, Suffolk Biological

Records Centre and the National

Leafhopper recording scheme.

Apart from Claude Morley’s

incredible contribution, little

recording of leafhoppers took place

until the 1980s when professional

entomologists started to visit the

well-known sites. Since then

s e v e r a l n a t u r a l i s t s h a v e

contributed relatively small

numbers of records. In the last 3

years, we have surveyed 49 sites

across the county. The area

bordering Essex in the south is

noticeably under-recorded. The

paucity of historical records does

mean that all occurrences of

common or scarcer species are a

cause of much excitement!

We have now recorded 153 species

White Admiral 90 31

of leafhoppers, of which 29 species

appear to be new for the county. Of

course, some of these may have

been collected before and are sitting

in someone’s notebook awaiting

publication!

178 species have been recorded

here in the last decade so we have a

good account of the contemporary

distribution of leafhoppers in the

county. There are currently 408

hoppers on the national list so we

now know that we have well over a

third of the national fauna here in

Suffolk. This total will hopefully

increase over the next few years as

we target different areas to search.

Last summer, we tried to locate

some of the rarer species that we

suspected could be present or that

have been found early in the last

century, sadly without success.

There are 7 BAP species of

leafhopper in Britain but none have

been recorded in Suffolk. The most

likely candidate would be Doratura

impudica. It is present in Essex and

Norfolk. Its foodplant is Sand

Couch, Elytrigia juncea. This is

found at the front edge of sand

dunes. Along our coast this plant

does not appear to be present in

sufficient quantity to support the

leafhopper. We also tried to locate

the very beautiful Metalimnus

formosus which lives on Tufted

Sedge, Carex acuta. This sedge is

present in many locations in

Suffolk so we have not given up

hope yet.

Last year, we were thrilled to find

some stunning species. For

example, Opsius stachtogalus, from

the Tamarisk below the Coastguard

Cottages at Dunwich Heath. We

suspect it is found throughout the

length of the coast wherever this

plant is present.

We also found the leafhopper

Acericerus vittifrons on Sycamore

at Captains Wood. A common

species which appears to be

unrecorded in East Anglia. It is

from the sub-family idiocerinae

which are relatively large and often

well-marked leafhoppers.

For anyone thinking of looking at a

new family of insects the

leafhoppers are a nice group. There

are modern keys to all British

species and a very good photo guide

to accompany them. Many species

do not need a microscope although

this is essential for the tricky

species. Some common species are

yet to be discovered in Suffolk and

all records are gratefully received.

Colin Lucas and Tricia Taylor

A c e r i c e r u s v i t t i f r o n s

White Admiral 90 32

The Scarce Tortoiseshell is a

species of butterfly, similar in size

to the Peacock Inachis io which is

local and uncommon within its

range in eastern and central

Europe. It is a species which

favours damp woodlands and river

valleys especially those containing

willows and sallows. The flight

period is normally from July

through to September. The

butterfly then goes into hibernation

normally emerging again in April

and May. It is univoltine. The only

previously accepted record was at

Shipbourne, near Sevenoaks, Kent

in July 1953.

On 14 July, Chris van Swaay of the

Dutch Butterfly Conservation

posted on the UK Butterflies

website forum that good numbers of

Scarce Tortoiseshell were being

seen in the Netherlands. Other

reports indicated that it was also

appearing in Denmark, Sweden,

Germany and Belgium. This is a

butterfly, which like the other

tortoiseshell species shows a strong

migratory tendency and it seemed

that a particularly good emergence

across its home range had coincided

with an unusual weather pattern.

This had caused a strong flow of

warm air from over Russia to push

through central Europe and carry

the butterflies north-west towards

Scandinavia and the Low

Countries. It, therefore, became

apparent that this butterfly species

could reach UK shores and in

particular the south-east of

England.

However, at the time of Chris van

Swaay’s post it appeared that the

butterfly had already made it

across the North Sea as during the

evening of 14 July a number of

Scarce Tortoiseshell butterflies

were being reported along coastal

locations in East Anglia.

Thankfully, Suffolk was lucky to

share in this European butterfly

event and we have had two

confirmed records. Both butterflies

were observed nectaring on

buddleja and were identified as

Scarce Tortoiseshells from the

photographs and videos taken. One

was found in the warden’s garden

at RSPB Minsmere by Adam

Rowlands on 14 July 2014. It was

also present again during 15 July.

The second record was also found

on 14 July by Perry Fairman at

Marina Park, Burgh Castle. It was

also observed during the 15 July.

For those of us that were not

fortunate to see this vagrant in

July then do not despair. There is a

chance that others went undetected

and that they may now be

hibernating in the UK. Reports

from Holland and Scandinavia in

early August have revealed that

S c a r c e ( Y e l l o w - l e g g e d ) T o r t o i s e s h e l l N y m p h a l i s x a n t h o m e l a s

White Admiral 90 33

several Scarce Tortoiseshells have

been found hibernating alongside

Peacocks and Small Tortoiseshells.

Assuming they follow a similar

pattern to hibernation emergence

times in central Europe then early

April 2015 may be a good time to

look for another Suffolk Scarce

Tortoiseshell!

Scarce and Large Tortoiseshell

(Nymphalis polychlorus) are very

similar and it is feasible that

xanthomelas has been overlooked in

the past. The following photographs

have been annotated to highlight

key features.

Bill Stone

T h e k e y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n f e a t u r e , a s

t h e s p e c i e s ’ o t h e r n a m e o f “ Y e l l o w

- l e g g e d T o r t o i s e s h e l l ” s u g g e s t s , i s

t h e c o l o u r o f t h e l e g s . O n

p o l y c h l o r u s t h e y a r e d a r k b r o w n /

b l a c k i s h a n d h e r e o n x a n t h o m e l a s

t h e y a r e l i g h t b r o w n t h r o u g h t o

y e l l o w .

I n x a n t h o m e l a s t h e s h a p e o f t h e b l a c k

m a r k i n g i n t h e h i n d w i n g i s s q u a r e a n d

s t a n d s o u t a s i t i s s u r r o u n d e d b y t h e r e d d i s h

- o r a n g e g r o u n d c o l o u r . I n p o l y c h l o r o s t h e

b l a c k m a r k i s t r i a n g u l a r a n d l e s s o b v i o u s a s

i t s i t s i n a d i f f u s e l y d a r k a r e a

T h e g r o u n d c o l o u r o f

t h e u p p e r w i n g s i s a

m u c h b r i g h t e r

r e d d i s h - o r a n g e i n

x a n t h o m e l a s ,

p o l y c h l o r u s i s a p a l e r

y e l l o w i s h - o r a n g e

x a n t h o m e l a s s h o w s

a w h i t e s p o t n e a r

t h e a p e x o n t h e

u p p e r s i d e f o r e -

w i n g w h e r e a s t h i s

a p e x m a r k i s y e l l o w

o n p o l y c h l o r u s

T h e b l a c k m a r g i n a l

b o r d e r s o n t h e

u p p e r w i n g s o f

x a n t h o m e l a s a r e

b r o a d e r t h a n t h o s e

f o u n d o n

p o l y c h l o r u s .

P h o t o s w i t h k i n d p e r m i s s i o n o f P e r r y F a i r m a n

White Admiral 90 34

T h e B r e c k l a n d B a t P r o j e c t

H e l p i n g t o f i l l g a p s i n o u r k n o w l e d g e o f S u f f o l k ’ s b a t s

The Breckland Bat Project was

inaugurated in April 2014 by the

Breckland Society, a local history

and conservation group established

in 2003 (www.brecsoc.org.uk), in

association with the Norfolk Bat

Survey. Run by the British Trust

f or Orn i tho logy f rom i ts

headquarters in Thetford.

Th e Nor fo l k B at Survey

(www.batsurvey.org) was set up in

2013 to enable anyone to have

access to passive real-time bat

detectors, which are left outside to

automatically trigger and record

every time a bat passes close by.

This was done by collaborating

with a range of other organisations

and local libraries across Norfolk,

to set up 21 “Bat Monitoring

Centres” at existing public venues

from which anyone could borrow

the equipment for a few days

(Newson et al. 2014). The aim of

both projects is to complement

existing work on bats by

providing additional large-scale

standardised data on bat

distribution and activity, as well

as encouraging greater public

awareness of bats and their

ecology. Resulting in a dataset of

over half a million bat recordings

over two seasons, the data collected

through these projects now provides

one of the most extensive high

quality datasets for bats. In return

for collecting data, within a few

days of taking part participants are

sent a summary of the bat species

t h e y recorded. Using this

method, members of the public are

given an opportunity to participate

in bat surveys and take advantage

of bat recording technology that

would not normally be available to

them.

Initial results from the Norfolk Bat

Survey indicated that the Norfolk

Brecks were likely to be a regional

hotspot for several species of bat,

but that greater

r e c o r d e r

coverage was

required to help establish

a more detailed picture of their

d i s t r i b u t i o n a n d s t a t u s .

Discussions with the Breckland

White Admiral 90 35

Society, whose activities extend

across both sides of the Norfolk/

Suffolk county line, led to the

purchase by the Society of a

passive detector kit and the

creation of the three-year

Breckland Bat Project.

From mid-April until the end of

September 2014, the bat detector

was available for Society members

to set up overnight at sites across

the Brecks. It was used at 159

different locations across 64 x 1-km

squares in the Norfolk and Suffolk

Brecks during this period and a

total of 44,945 individual bat

recordings were collected and

analysed, revealing evidence of at

least 11 species. Because bats in

the genus Myotis are particularly

difficult to distinguish acoustically,

only 21% of Myotis recordings

were assigned to species/

species pair. See Table 1 for a

summary of the results by species.

Of the 64 1-km squares surveyed

during 2014 across the Brecks, the

majority (55, or 86% of total

squares surveyed) were in Norfolk.

E n d - o f - s e a so n d i s c u s s i o n s

concluded that greater effort was

required in the Suffolk Brecks over

the next two recording seasons of

the project, not least to establish

the relative importance of the

Suffolk Brecks for species like the

Serotine, which appears at the

moment to have its stronghold on

the Norfolk side (see Fig. 1).

The Breckland Bat Project

recording season for 2015 will start

in April. To take part, you need to

first reserve a 1-km square to

record in. This can be done by

following this link http:/ /

blx1.bto.org/batmap/index.jsp?

reg=Breckland.

The Breckland Society has its own

detector, which can be booked by

emailing James Parry

info@brecsoc.org.uk, but a detector

can also be borrowed from any

Norfo lk Bat Survey “Bat

Monitoring Centre” (see website).

From this year the list of centres

includes Suffolk’s Brandon

Country Park, which it is intended

will form the focus of wider

community engagement in the

project. Discussions are also

ongoing with the Suffolk Bat

Group and the Suffolk Biological

S e r o t i n e - p h o t o b y C h a r l o t t e P a c k m a n

White Admiral 90 36

Species No. of recordings % of total

Common pipistrelle 18,855 42.0%

Soprano pipistrelle 15,867 35.3%

Serotine 515 1.5%

Brown long-eared 559 1.2%

Noctule 337 0.8%

Barbastelle 303 0.7%

Leisler’s 173 0.4%

Daubenton’s 132 0.3%

Nathusius’ pipistrelle 122 0.3%

Natterer’s 93 0.2%

Whiskered/Brandt’s 10 <0.1%

Unidentified bat species 3,981 8.9%

Pipistrelle species 2,176 4.8%

Myotis species 1,350 3.0%

Noctule, Serotine and Leisler’s 472 1.1%

References:

Newson, S.E., Ross-Smith, V., Evans, I., Harold, R., Miller, R. & Barlow, K. (2014). Bat-

monitoring: a novel approach. British Wildlife 25, 264-269.

Records Centre to encourage

greater participation within

the Suffolk Brecks, as well as

the sharing of data to

complement existing work by

the SBG in the Brecks and

to help produce a more

complete and up-to-date

picture of bats within that part

of the county. This information

will be reflected in the report

and distribution maps that will

be published at the conclusion

of the Breckland Bat Project in

late 2016.

Dr Stuart Newson & James

Parry

F i g u r e 1 . M a p o f S e r o t i n e E p t e s i c u s s e r o t i n u s a c t i v i t y

d u r i n g 2 0 1 4 r e c o r d i n g s e a s o n

T a b l e 1 . B a t r e c o r d i n g s m a d e b y t h e B r e c k l a n d B a t P r o j e c t d u r i n g t h e 2 0 1 4 s e a s o n .

S u f f o l k N a t u r a l i s t s ’ S o c i e t y B u r s a r i e s

The Suffolk Naturalists’ Society offers six bursaries, of up to £500 each,

annually. Larger projects may be eligible for grants of over £500 – please

contact SNS for further information.

Activities eligible for funding include: travel and subsistence for field

work, visits to scientific institutions, scientific equipment, identification

guide books or other items relevant to the study.

Morley Bursary - Studies involving insects (or other invertebrates) other

than butterflies and moths.

Chipperfield Bursary - Studies involving butterflies or moths.

Cranbrook Bursary - Studies involving mammals or birds.

Rivis Bursary - Studies of the county's flora.

Simpson Bursary - In memory of Francis Simpson. The bursary will be

awarded for a botanical study where possible.

Nash Bursary - Studies involving beetles.

Applications should be set in the context of a research question i.e. a clear

statement of what the problem is and how the applicant plans to tackle it.

Criteria:

1. Projects should include a large element of original work and further

knowledge of Suffolk’s flora, fauna or geology.

2. A written account of the project is required within 12 months of

receipt of a bursary. This should be in a form suitable for publication

in one of the Society's journals: Suffolk Natural History, Suffolk Birds

or White Admiral.

3. Suffolk Naturalists' Society should be acknowledged in all publicity

associated with the project and in any publications emanating from

the project.

Applications may be made at any time. Please apply to SNS for an

application form or visit our website for more details www.sns.org.uk/

pages/bursary.shtml.

The Suffolk Naturalists’ Society, founded in 1929 by Claude Morley (1874 -1951),

pioneered the study and recording of the County’s flora, fauna and geology. It is the seed

bed from which have grown other important wildlife organisations in Suffolk, such as

Suffolk Wildlife Trust (SWT) and Suffolk Ornithologists’ Group (SOG).

Recording the natural history of Suffolk is still the Society’s primary objective. Members’

observations go to specialist recorders and then on to the Suffolk Biological Records

Centre at Ipswich Museum to provide a basis for detailed distribution maps and

subsequent analysis with benefits to environmental protection.

Funds held by the Society allow it to offer substantial grants for wildlife studies.

Annually, SNS publishes its transactions Suffolk Natural History, containing studies on

the County’s wildlife, and the County bird report, Suffolk Birds (compiled by SOG). The

newsletter White Admiral, with comment and observations, appears three times a year.

SNS organises two members’ evenings a year and a conference every two years. Field

meetings are held throughout the year often in conjunction with other specialist

organisations.

Subscriptions: Individual members £15.00; Family membership £17.00; Student

Membership £10.00; Corporate membership £17.00.

Members receive the three publications above.

Joint membership with the Suffolk Ornithologists’ Group: Individual members £28.00;

Family membership £32.00. Joint members receive, in addition to the above, the SOG

newsletter The Harrier.

As defined by the Constitution of this Society its objectives shall be:

2.1 To study and record the fauna, flora and geology of the County

2.2 To publish a Transactions and Proceedings and a Bird Report. These shall be free to

members except those whose annual subscriptions are in arrears contact:

2.3 To liaise with other natural history societies and conservation bodies in the County

2.4 To promote interest in natural history and the activities of the Society.

For more details about the Suffolk Naturalists’ Society contact:

Hon. Secretary, Suffolk Naturalists’ Society, c/o Ipswich Museum,

High Street, Ipswich, IP1 3QH. Telephone 01473 400251 enquires@sns.org.uk

H a z e l F l ow e r b y B e n He a t h e r

SuffolkSuffolkSuffolk

w w w. s n s . o r g . u k w w w. s n s . o r g . u k w w w. s n s . o r g . u k

TheTheThe

Naturalists’ SocietyNaturalists’ SocietyNaturalists’ Society