Experts excited as rare butterfly is found (From Worcester News)

Experts excited as rare butterfly is found

1:20pm Sunday 29th August 2010 in News By Claire Fry, @clairefryWN #WENews

A RARE brown butterfly has been discovered on fields near a Worcestershire nature reserve.

The brown hairstreak butterflies have been spotted on Naunton Court Fields, near Pershore, a nature reserve owned by Worcestershire Wildlife Trust since 2006.

The fields are next to Piddle Brook Meadows, acquired by Worcestershire Wildlife Trust last November following a public appeal and a donation from Severn Waste Services.

The reserves, near Naunton Beauchamp, form a mosaic of flower-rich meadows and arable fields that are important for rare plants. They provide a vital link through the landscape for many species.

People in the Forest of Feckenham area have recently been asked to keep a lookout for ash trees that are being used by brown hairstreak butterflies to help Butterfly Conservation and Worcestershire Wildlife Trust discover more about their distribution in the county.

James Hitchcock, conservation officer for the trust, said “The work we’re doing with Butterfly Conservation to help brown hairstreaks expand their range is one of the biggest conservation projects in the county.

“Grafton Wood is the centre of the only Midlands colony of this butterfly that is a priority species for conservation in the UK. We’re working hard to ensure that suitable habitat is maintained and that there are corridors of habitat running throughout our landscape that enable butterfly populations to move into new locations.

“There was good news last year when butterfly eggs were found on blackthorn at our Feckenham Wylde Moor reserve as well as other new sites. For the adults to be found on an ash tree on a relatively recent nature reserve is really great. Hopefully, our acquisition of the adjacent meadows will help the butterflies expand their range even further.”

The butterflies were discovered during a routine survey of the area by volunteers Hugh Glennie, Trevor Trueman and Peter Seal. Adult butterflies are now on the wing until late September. At the moment, they’re flying and feeding in the tops of trees but towards the end of the month, females will begin to skim the tops of hedges as they search for places to lay their eggs.

People can call 07802 274552 if they know of any locations where brown hairstreak butterflies can be seen.