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Welcome to the Hertfordshire & Middlesex branch of Butterfly Conservation
Butterfly Conservation is a registered charity dedicated to the conservation of butterflies and moths
Click on the above image for information on which moths are present including their abundance & distribution For the latest moth
sightings also see the Herts & Middx Moth facebook page
To get us through the lockdown we have a series of winter online evening talks. Go to the
online events page for details. To learn how to
join a Zoom meeting click here
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Forthcoming events |
Wednesday 3 February 8:00-9:30 pm approx - An Introduction to Moth Recording - Andrew Wood. More details
including Zoom link can be found here
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Latest news and information |
Please check the Can you help? table for the latest updates,
including transects to be walked in 2021
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2020 |
An excellent film of the Brown Hairstreaks in Surrey produced in December 2020 - click on the image below
Information on the Big City Butterflies project can be found
here
A summary of Malcolm Hull's article on hibernating butterflies appears in the
Butterfly Magazine
Unless you have already done so, please do not forget to send in your records for the year to
Andrew Wood
Please listen to Malcolm Hull's interview with BBC Radio Jersey (30 October) on hibernating butterflies
here
IMPORTANT - Please read the latest coronavirus update from Butterfly Conservation
here
The results of the Big Butterfly Count 2020 can be found
here
See Andrew Wood's latest Question and Answer session at Holland Park
here
Read the latest blog from Butterfly Conservation on Malcolm Hull's
'Where have all the Small Tortoiseshells gone'
Listen to Malcolm Hull on Radio Verulam's
podcast on the Big Butterfly Count
Attractive 44-page full colour booklet on the butterflies of Heartwood is available for purchase (cash only).
Details on the image below. Click to expand
Millhoppers Pasture - the branch's only specialist butterfly reserve - new
leaflet published to mark the relaunch of Butterfly
Conservations local reserve: open to visitors now all welcome 24/7
David Howdon's virtual events on 27 June have been filmed and can be watched on his
Periscope page: Butterfly walk at Horsenden Hill and
moths from moth-trap ran nearby the previous night
Many Four-spotted moths reported in Cambridgeshire last week (as of 6 June)
so look out for it in grassy places where Field Bindweed is present
Good news for UKBMS recorders - please read the latest from Butterfly Conservation
here
Some splendid video clips of life-cycles and behaviour of some of our butterflies have been filmed - well worth watching.
View the Videos webpage. Enjoy!
Members' Day. To see photos and vote in the photo competition click
here and for presentations and members' slides click
here.
Photo Competition winners announced - see who won in each category here. Well done to the winners and thank you to all who took part. Meanwhile you can read our
Annual Review
and Minutes of last years meeting.
Small Blue project at Greenwood Park - please read
latest report (as of April 2020).
Large Tortoiseshell reported in Cambridgeshire on 15 April
Read the latest WCBS newsletter here.
It may now be the transect season and due to the current restrictions why not take part in the Garden Butterfly Survey
2019 UKBMS Results: 2019 was the best year since 1997 for butterflies according to the UKBMS. The results
can be found here. Click
here for summary of the changes.
The latest Small Blue report for our branch can be read
here
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
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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
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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
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© 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
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
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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
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