Welcome to the Hertfordshire & Middlesex branch of Butterfly Conservation Butterfly Conservation is a registered charity dedicated to the conservation of butterflies and moths Forthcoming events Saturday 28 March - Members' Day and AGM at Welwyn Civic Centre. Click here for details. Also last year's AGM minutes and the Annual Review Please go to the Events page on the national Butterfly Conservation's website for more details Millhopper's Reserve : next work party day - Sunday 2 February   Latest news and information Footage of Malcolm Hull and the hibernating Small Tortoiseshells is available on BBC iPlayer - Winterwatch Friday 31 January (about 15 mins in). Also see Malcolm's article here Shedding new light on hibernating tactics. See Malcolm Hull's piece in the Guardian on hibernating Small Tortoiseshells 6 species already reported in the first 10 days of January Minor design changes on website including 'Home' page, e.g. links to external sites now accessible in horizontal menu bar above   2019 Brimstone flying at Berkhamsted Common on 30 December. Latest ever? 17 December - Butterfly Conservation still receiving reports of Large White caterpillars in gardens from the south coast of England - have you seen any in your garden? Small White seen in Lewisham on 25 November Two projects on BC website - Big City Butterflies and Brilliant Butterflies Latest report from the UKBMS for 2018 - please read here Small Blue project at Greenwood Park - construction completed - please read progress report (latest update 28 Sep). Have a look at the display boards at the park Second brood White Admirals seen on 22 Sep in Suffolk. Maybe worth having a look in established sites in the next week or two Results from the year's Big Butterfly Count. Breakdown count for each county including the top 5 butterflies Long-tailed Blues seen in southern coastal counties between Cornwall and Suffolk - please read Press Release from Butterfly Conservation. One seen in Wanstead, E London on 16 September Adonis Blue at Therfield Heath and Queen of Spain Fritillary at Patmore Heath on 20 August - significant finds. The Adonis Blue might be found at other 'Chalkhill Blue' sites in our branch area, for example, Hexton Chalk Pit so worth visiting these if you can. It is probable that an unauthorised release of Adonis Blue took place at Therfield Heath so if anyone knows how they might have got there please give Andrew Wood or Malcolm Hull a call - all calls treated in strict confidence Painted Lady influx this year. For sightings already reported in 2019 go to the Migrant Watch page on the Butterfly Conservation website Brown Hairstreak reported from Surrey (12 July?), so we should find it in our area very soon. Start looking on hedgerows with plenty of blackthorn and nearby ash/oak trees, preferably near woodland. Contact Andrew Wood for best sites. For species account click here. Several seen on 28 July at the Stafford Open Space in Hillingdon - see sightings page Advice on controlling infestation of Box Tree caterpillars, please read UPDATED BC note here The Living Churchyards project aims to encourage wildlife in their churchyards. For more details please read here. A workshop day on 13 July at Potton where Andrew Wood will be present. Booking is required for this event Reports of Green Hairstreak and Small Blue on unexpected sites this year so continue looking out for them in grassland areas even where there is no Kidney Vetch (for Small Blue) Can you help record hibernating Small Tortoiseshells? Read Malcolm's article. There is a link to this article in the current newsletter. If you encounter connection problems let us know Are there any sites in our branch area you have never been to? Check out the map on the sites page. Many new sites have been added. The map itself can be expanded or loaded under a new tab in your browser Butterflies bounced back in 2018 according to a study by the UKBMS Large Tortoiseshell reported in Kent and Lincolnshire in last week of March and one seen in central Essex on 1 April. One seen at Incombe Hole, Ivinghoe Beacon on 23 April. At least 600 in the Netherlands this spring - unprecedented, at least in the last 50 years or so and first proof of reproduction since 1995 - see Chris van Swaay's tweet. At least 85 people attended the branch AGM and members' meeting on 23 March - photos below © John Murray Third Camberwell Beauty sighting in north London this year - at Muswell Hill on 24 March Over the next 12 months Butterfly Conservation are launching a 'Moths Matter' campaign to encourage people to become more interested in moths - see the web page here The Garden Butterfly Survey 2018 Results summary are out. Click here for details Which butterfly was top in 2018 according to the Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey? Find out more in the latest WCBS newsletter Brown Hairstreak eggs found further north in Middlesex Help the new team at Millhoppers - work parties will normally be held every first Sunday of the month - next date 5 January   2018 Holly Blue seen in Islington on 23 December- see Katherine Pogson's tweet More Brown Hairstreak egg finds in Middlesex - see sightings page A very successful Brown Hairstreak egg-hunting day on 9 Dec - see sightings page © John Dobson Advice on two moth species: for controlling infestation of Box Tree caterpillars, please read BC note here. Health warnings on toxic Oak Processionary Moth caterpillars - please read. Initial National Lottery support for London-based project Big City Butterflies. Please read more here including a job vacancy 9 Herdwick sheep now at the Millhoppers Reserve Big Butterfly Count 2018 results - Small Tortoiseshell crashes - details Brown Hairstreak reported from the Borough of Hillingdon on 2 September - see sightings page and Andrew Middleton's video clips of the butterfly in the area on 6 September Which butterfly was the most abundant in our gardens in 2017? Find out from Butterfly Conservation's Garden Butterfly Survey Generally in the UK, it was the warmest May on record. UK maps for climate change anomalies shown here Chequered Skippers flying at Rockingham Forest. Also see tweet on Back From the Brink Can you prepare a square metre in your garden to provide a refuge for our butterflies and other insects? Please read Alan Titchmarch's Press Release Butterfly Conservation report a below average year for butterflies in 2017. See here for details and summary of results About 80 people turned up at the branch meeting at Welwyn on 24 March. More photos can be found on   © John Murray © Liz Goodyear Read about the 50th anniversary Conservation Day at Millhoppers NR here. For Press Release from Butterfly Conservation click here. Congratulations to Andrew Steele on his Woodlands Trust Award - Acorn Award

Species so far this year Peacock Comma Holly Blue Small Tortoiseshell Red Admiral Large White Brimstone More on sightings page

The Hertfordshire & Middlesex Branch has over 1000 members and covers the administrative county of Hertfordshire and the Watsonian Vice-county of Middlesex (VC21).

The London Boroughs included within the Branch area are Barnet, Brent, Camden, City of London, City of Westminster, Ealing, Enfield, Hackney, Hammersmith & Fulham, Haringey, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Islington, Kensington & Chelsea, Richmond (north of the Thames), Tower Hamlets and the Surrey District Council of Spelthorne.

Download a copy of our 'Welcome to the Hertfordshire & Middlesex Branch of Butterfly Conservation' leaflet for more information

For Branch enquiries please email: elizabethgoodyear@talk21.com; for website enquiries please email peter.clarke4@ntlworld.com