White-letter Hairstreak in Carmarthenshire (Vice-county 44)

Neil Matthew is a Conservation Officer with The Countryside Council for Wales and has wide-ranging interests in natural history. He is the Mammal Recorder for Carmarthenshire and lives in the village of Cilycwm in the hill country which once served as a refuge for the red kite.

Ian Morgan has lived in Carmarthenshire for much of his life and worked for the Nature Conservancy Council and CCW in that county for over twenty years. He now works as Ecologist-Planner with the City and County of Swansea. Like Neil, he has broad interests in wildlife and was, for some years, Butterfly and Moth Recorder for Carmarthenshire (as well as other invertebrate groups). He lives at Pwll on the western outskirts of Llanelli: ideally placed for migrant moths and even white-letter hairstreaks, with elms near the house and garden!

Link sections on this page . . .

	Survey tips and recording notes index page

Link sections on this page . . .

	White-letter Hairstreaks Satyrium w-album in the Llandeilo area - Neil Matthew
	The return of the elm - Ian Morgan
	Elms - a potential resource for uncommon lepidoptera in Carmarthenshire? - Ian Morgan
	The status of the White-leter Hairstreak in Carmarthenshire, south Wales - Ian Morgan

THIS IS THE STORY SO FAR FROM CARMARTHENSHIRE......

WHITE-LETTER HAIRSTREAKS SATYRIUM W-ALBUM IN THE LLANDEILO AREA - Neil Matthew
[Matthew, N R (2007) - Llanelli Naturalists Newsletter (in press).]
In the naturalist's year, certain sites are visited at certain times on an annual almost ritualistic basis when various, usually hard to find, species can be found. This occurs during the short windows of opportunity presented when they either pass through or when they present themselves in the course of a very brief life-cycle. For my own part, for example, I often look for dotterel on the bare hilltops of the Black Mountain (Mynydd Du) in late April/early May, the black redstart in the environs of Llandeilo Church in early November, the club-tailed dragonfly along the Tywi in late May, and the white-letter hairstreak in July.

I had until recently no success at all with the last species. I had confined my searches to certain wooded 'cwms' where there were still elm trees (the larval food plant) or, where they had been seen by somebody else. Julian Friese had recorded this butterfly in "Penrhiwiau dingle" through which the Afon Araeth carves its steep-sided way to join the Tywi between Llandeilo and Bethlehem (SN 660236 approx). For many years I visited this spot, my hopes were raised on one occasion when hairstreaks were found coming down to the water to drink - but they were purples! I also undertook similar vigils in the valley of the Nant Gurrey-fach, between Penybanc and Salem, north of Llandeilo (SN 619247). Here, luxuriant elms still exist and one had to use a telescope to survey the quite busy activity of hairstreaks in the tree-tops. Even with this aid I wasn't unfortunately able to confirm white-letters: later on in July purple hairstreaks emerge to confuse matters: these can be identified by the silvery undersides (in sunshine) but one is then left to ponder the identity of darker specimens that one had seen. Similarly, isolated elms in Castle Woods had been examined, hairstreaks landing on the leaves revealing themselves to be purples when stretching out their wings to sunbathe.

One sunny day (13 July) in 2005, I was cycling along the lane between Cilsane Mill and Pentrefelin in the valley of the Afon Myddyfi (west of Llandeilo), when I suddenly realised that the hot sunny day was just in the right season for white-letters, that Julian Friese had seen one a little further up the valley the previous year (SN 598238), and that the tree I was passing might just be worth looking at. It was a small round-crowned wych elm of about 25 feet in height and standing on its own (SN 597226). After only a minute or so two, butterflies zoomed up from the top branches, spiralling tightly together, going quite high before returning after a short while. Being a low tree I was able to get good views of the butterflies after they landed, wings held closed and showing the white-letter 'W' above a brown background and the orange lunules near the rear edge of the hind-wings. There was one repeat performance of the spiralling flight by two others but otherwise only very brief darts in the canopy by singletons were observed. Success at last: and so easily come by!

Two days later, during a lunch time walk down to the Afon Tywi at Llandeilo, I subjected a similar looking elm tree (SN 635229) to the same examination and with a very similar result: two butterflies would spiral upwards before splitting and returning to the tree separately, whilst back at the tree, single insects would fly intermittently very rapidly in different parts of the canopy, most of the canopy showing such activity. After this, there were few opportunities to go looking for white-letters but my experience had shown that perhaps I had been looking in not wrong, but more difficult places, and easier results were to be had when looking at isolated or small groups of elms away from woodland. I went on to map where elms were still conspicuous along the railway line (where this last mentioned tree had been) between Llandeilo and Llandovery and along the parallel length of the A40, hoping to visit these trees in summer 2006.

The weather in July 2006 was ideal for white letter hairstreaks, but unfortunately transport difficulties meant I couldn't stick to my original plan and I was mostly reduced to walking or cycling to spots within reach of Llandeilo in my lunch times. Fortunately the time spent was productive enough. Approximately 22 sites (a 'site' representing a tree or group of trees) were looked at over 8 days between 13 and 27 July. White-letter hairstreaks were observed at 7 while they may have been present at two further sites (fleeting glimpses only at Manordeilo and near King's Lodge). The season began with butterflies behaving in a similar way to last year at the 'railway tree' outside Llandeilo on 13 July. Spiralling flights by two butterflies together were again quite often observed, but also more probing flights in amongst twigs as well as one that flew away rapidly from the tree following the line south. Also, what looked very like a chrysalis suspended by a thread and moving quite vigorously in fairly breeze-less conditions was observed through binoculars. Most of the activity was in the top of the canopy but one butterfly did settle low down on a hazel. It seemed that while males were behaving territorially, some females were already laying eggs. A minimum of 4 adults was estimated.

The following day in equally good weather, I walked up to a fine hedgerow of elms roughly 20-25' in height, along the 'B road' from Llandeilo to Talley and where a minor road leads off to Penybanc (SN 635245). After some minutes, white-letters appeared and activity was seen associated with five trees along a 100m length. They were seen perching three times but for the most part, quick darting flights was the predominant behaviour, the spiralling flight of presumably antagonistic males only seen on one occasion. These elms are all wych elms and showed little sign of disease. Along the road to Penybanc were more elms but no butterflies were seen here, possibly because the elms were of a different species (to my eyes at least).

Several sites were examined in the Nant Gurrey-fach valley, close to Llandeilo on the north side. The trees looked suitable (and so was the weather) but no white letters were seen. The old route of the A40 before the bypass was built can still be seen in places, such as the formerly famous bend at "Penrock" (SN 615234). Here, especially as there is no longer any need for highway maintenance, some particularly flourishing elms have grown up. On this occasion (July 21) the weather was more overcast and my impatience led me to adopt a tactic mentioned by Margaret Brooks and Charles Knight in their 'A Complete Guide to British Butterflies' where it is stated "A stick thrown up into the branches may disturb a few, thus betraying their presence." The road was suitably quiet and there was an abundance of sticks, so I had a go. When I eventually got my coordination right and made contact with an elm canopy at the beginning of the road, a hairstreak did exit promptly and flew to the opposite side of the road, from where it was dislodged again by my next throw. However, proceeding further down the road, I had no more success and was quite glad when the sun came out and I had no more need for these rather intrusive methods. A north-south hedgerow to the east of King's Lodge which meets this road has some fine elms, but these and a group at the junction may not be "glabra" but some other hybrid variety. Even so white-letters were again visible, for the most part darting through the canopy. No spiralling flights were observed, but one butterfly at least seemed to be egg-laying: it was flying into the base of twigs, crawling back out over the leaves and then taking off. Other similar exploratory flights were noted. One specimen that seemed to be very attached to a particular ash tree was no doubt feeding off the honey-dew in the canopy and this individual remained active when the sun went in. One hairstreak was seen to fly over or leave the group of larger elms by the roadside and fly off, following the hedgerow eastwards back towards Penrock.

25 July was another hot sunny day and I looked at several sites in the Cilsane area. I was glad to see that the butterflies were again active at the isolated tree where they were seen last year (SN 597226). About two were seen in the top of the tree where some of the leaves were wilting as a result of the recent hot weather. Only very brief flights were seen. Several elms were growing in a small cwm near Birdshill (SN 603228). I had to wait quite a long time before, apart from possible glimpses, I eventually saw one flying quite low in the canopy, laying eggs in the lower branches and affording good views. Purple hairstreaks were also observed in this area flying from the large oaks in some of the hedgerows. One hairstreak in a group of elms by the main road could have been either of the two species.

The following day there was a possible sighting, a brief glimpse only, in roadside elms at Manordeilo, and the day after that equally brief flights were noted at the Penrock site. It appeared that the butterflies were getting much harder to spot as the end of their adult existence was reached. Over a period of only two weeks, I had observed changing behaviours, starting with territorial males (deduced from the spiralling flights), then egg-laying females and finally individuals of either sex loafing around in the canopy.

This brief survey of the Llandeilo area suggests that the white-letter hairstreak may be a lot commoner than we had realised. As far as I know there have been few records made in the county: apart from those sightings mentioned at Penrhiwiau Wood and Pont Pentrefelin and the ones seen at Pontynyswen near Brechfa in the 1980s, there were records from coastal areas in the mid-1970s at Pwll and Stradey Woods, and many years before that and long before the outbreak of Dutch elm disease they were seen at Ferryside ("in numbers", 1947) and at Cynwyl Elfed (1950s), (records per Ian Morgan). Elms are a fairly common component in hedgerows, at least locally (especially in the Tywi Valley and along the coast) and there appears to have been some resurgence, though a few trees still show signs of die-back in the canopy, alerting us to the ever present threat of a fresh outbreak of Dutch elm disease. Should we have any concerns about the future of the white-letter hairstreak in Carmarthenshire? As the elms that white-letters like (we don't know much about the importance of woodland elms) are found along linear features some impacts can be expected from management activities on the part of the highway and railway authorities as well as from regular hedgerow maintenance on farmland. The butterfly is afforded minimal legal protection and is not listed as a UK BAP species. It could be put on Carmarthenshire's LBAP list if it was considered that the habitat was under threat. While it may not be under threat there remains no mechanism whereby its conservation can be promoted other than by a general appreciation of the elms on which it survives.

References:
Brooks, M & Knight, C (1982) - A Complete Guide to British Butterflies. Jonathan Cape.
Morgan, I K (1989) - A Provisional Review of the Butterflies of Carmarthenshire. Unpublished Report, Nature Conservancy Council, Dyfed-Powys Region: 34-35.

White-letter hairstreak records in the Llandeilo area 2004-6

Location	Grid Reference	Dates	Recorder
Cilsane	SN597226	13.07.05, 25.07.06	N Matthew
Pont Pentrefelin	SN598238	07.04	J Friese
Birdshill Farm	SN603228	25.07.06	N Matthew
King's Lodge	SN612236 & SN613237	21.07.06 & 27.07.06	N Matthew
Penrock	SN615234	21.07.06	N Matthew
Rhosmaen-New Inn	SN635245	14.07.06	N Matthew
Llandeilo	SN635229	15.07.05 & 13.07.06	N Matthew

White-letter Hairstreak distribution (1km squares) around Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire (VC44) for 2004 - 2006 Reference: Neil Matthew

Neil Matthew
December 2006

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THE RETURN OF THE ELM - Ian Morgan
[Morgan, I K (2006) - Carmarthenshire Biodiversity News.]
Older Carmarthenshire residents will remember the pestilential outbreak of Dutch Elm Disease that ravaged the county at the end of the 1970s. I recall the gaunt skeletons at Stradey Woods and below Dinefwr Castle and I wondered whether I would again see the towering elms of my childhood. However, it now seems there has been a resurgence in the fortunes of elms, with the English Elms along the flat coastal levels near Trostre, Llwynhendy and Bynea and along the 'Kidwelly Flats' again forming a distinctive landscape feature (with various willows and the rare Black Poplar) and now the elms soar to 50 feet or more.

In fact, more than three types of elm occur in the county. There are the straight-trunked and upright English Elms of the south-eastern coastal belt and there are the more rounded-in-outline Wych Elms of the more fertile 'cwms' of the Tywi Valley and elsewhere; thirdly there is the Dutch Elm, an elm of more spreading branches and distinctive corky growths on its twigs and which has a stronghold on the larger estates, occurring, like the English Elm does on the coast, in hedgerow plantings. There are also some very confusing elms, of uncertain parentage, scattered along the coast, with a puzzling concentration around Llansteffan.

Archival records exist of the burgesses of Llanelli purchasing English Elms in 1821 for use in planting up the newly reclaimed saltmarsh, then known as 'Morfa Mawr' (the flat land from Loughor to Morfa and up to Halfway, Llanelli). This tree - which is so characteristic of the English lowlands - was often used in new enclosure plantings. Motorists can pass a row, direct descendents of the original plantings, near the Council offices in Lower Trostre Road. That the English Elm was unfamiliar to the then inhabitants of Llanelli is suggested by the delightful, hybrid name 'Cae'r Elms', located on the south-eastern edge of Stradey Park.

In Welsh, the native Wych Elm was called 'llwyfen' and its wood was used for a variety of uses, such as spoons and floorboards (hence the Welsh for spoon: llwy and stage: llwyfan). Because elm wood is slow to rot in wet conditions, it was used to make underground water pipes, the keels of boats and even coffins!

Whilst only the English Elms of the coast locally dominate lengths of hedgerow, all the elms contribute to the landscape and support wildlife. There are species such as the White-letter Hairstreak, a shy and retiring butterfly that has been recorded from a few sites around Llandeilo and from Ffordd-y-Wagen, Pwll and scarce moths such as the attractive Clouded Magpie that depend on the elm. Elms then, form an integral and valuable part of the landscape history and biodiversity of Carmarthenshire.

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ELMS - A POTENTIAL RESOURCE FOR UNCOMMON LEPIDOPTERA IN CARMARTHENSHIRE? - Ian Morgan.
[Morgan, I K (2006) - Carmarthenshire Moth and Butterfly Recording Group Newsletter, No 5, Sept. 2006.]

I have been very encouraged in the last ten years or so to see a massive recovery of elm trees in the county. As all will recall, Dutch elm disease ravaged the clonal populations of English and Dutch elms (and, to a far lesser extent, wych elms) in the late 1970s, with the gaunt dead trees forming a memorable landscape feature in hedgerows and spinnies in the early years of the next decade. Of course, the trees continued to send forth suckering growths, which sometimes grew to 20ft or so, but usually DED would strike again and kill these nascent trees. However, more recently, this has not happened and the English elms Ulmus procera, that are so characteristic of the coastal flats of SE Carmarthenshire, now reach 50ft; likewise the hybrid elms U. x hollandica (again in coastal flatlands, but also in inland hedgerows in the Tywi Valley etc) are doing well. The wych elms U. glabra too, continue to quietly thrive in their habitat of 'cwm', copse and hedgerow.

We have perhaps tended - because of the gloomy prognosis for elms - to subconsciously forget about the butterfly and moth assemblage associated with these trees. It was some casual but focussed recent recording by Neil Matthew that reminded me of this point. Neil, in some very useful lunchtime recording in the Llandeilo area of mid-Carmarthenshire, has turned up a fair crop of white-letter hairstreak Strymondia w-album records, from elms near Cilsan SN597226, Birdshill SN603228, New Inn SN635246 and Penrock SN615233 and 613236. Neil will be publishing a full account of his discoveries in a forthcoming Llanelli Naturalists Newsletter, but he has kindly offered the following hints for those who wish to search for this species next season:

"All observations were made between 13 and 25 July 2006. Territorial and honeydew-drinking males and egg-laying females were noted, mostly at the top of the canopy, but sometimes low down and occasionally in transit. They became progressively more difficult to see as season went on. I deliberately didn't look in woodland situations to avoid confusion with Purple Hairstreaks..."

There are older vc44 records from Ferryside (where it was seen 'in considerable numbers' in 1947); Cynwyl Elfed (1952) and more recent ones by Mark Williams (1975-6) from the western outskirts of Llanelli - at Pwll and Stradey Woods. Rather embarrassingly, one of the Pwll records is from Ffordd-y-Wagen, which lies at the bottom of my garden (I have elms in nearby hedges too!)...so, no excuse for me next summer! The species is also known from the Pont Ynyswen near Brechfa, but recent records from this area are needed. Neil Matthew was also the finder of white-letter hairstreaks at a lovely, base-enriched 'cwm' (also home to clouded magpies) at Coed Penrhiwiau NE of Ffairfach, Llandeilo SN660237 on 24 July 1990, where the host trees are wych elms. Julian Friese also had one at this locality in 1992.

Another species - this time a moth - to look out for is the lunar-spotted pinion Cosmia pyraline, for which there a few recent records from the Vale of Glamorgan and older ones from Swansea-Neath; the other species of pinion must offer lesser hopes of discovery. The clouded magpie Abraxas sylvata is always a pleasure to find, and I was pleased to stumble across a daytime individual in herbage north of Gelli Aur this July; unsurprisingly, there was a wych elm nearby. As this latter tree occurs, albeit rather sparingly, throughout the county in the more base-rich parts of 'cwms', it is likely that the clouded magpie is equally widespread, if scarce; the current known distribution is probably just an artefact of recording effort.

I append below a rough guide to elms, with localities/districts that may be of use to those recording butterflies or moths.

A Guide to Carmarthenshire Elms
Wych elm Ulmus glabra - the only undoubtably native elm. Tends to grow in the less acidic wooded valleys, as hedgerow or copse trees. Quite a rounded tree, with largish leaves with pointed tips. No suckers and no corky growths on twigs.

English elm Ulmus procera. The characteristic hedgerow elm of the coastal flats: around Bynea-Llanelli-Kidwelly; more scattered elsewhere. Good stands near the entrance to Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Penclacwydd. Upright ('procera' means 'lofty'), and with a dominant trunk, at least initially. Smallish rough leaves that turn a muddy yellow in autumn. Prolific suckerer.

Dutch elm Ulmus x hollandica. Again coastal flats, but also old estate hedgerows inland. Fan-shaped in outline, with corky growths on twigs. Colours yellow in autumn. Ulmus x vegeta (glabra x minor) is similar in outline, but lacks corky growths - scattered but especially near the coast.

Other elms more rarely occur or are planted eg along the dual carriageway just west of Carmarthen; also, some peculiar elms of uncertain taxonomy are found around Llansteffan.

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THE STATUS OF THE WHITE-LETER HAIRSTREAK IN CARMARTHENSHIRE, SOUTH WALES - Ian Morgan
The white-letter hairstreak is a local species in Carmarthenshire, this reflecting the distribution of elms in the county. The Millennium Atlas shows no records, but this is because they were not entered by the then county coordinator, as sadly were other important and valid records of scarce species.

The probable first record of white-letter hairstreaks in Carmarthenshire hail from 1947, when Davies (1954) noted it in 'considerable numbers' near Ferryside SN30, whilst in July 1952 Thomas (1952) took a specimen near Carmarthen SN 42 and he also stated that 'others' were seen in the woods near Cynwyl Elfed (SN 37-27-).

Mark G Williams observed an adult on bramble blossom beside the road SN 488015 going through Stradey Woods, just west of Llanelli, on 3.8.1975; he saw another at the same site in August 1976. Also, on 4.7.1976, MGW noted an individual at his home at Pwll SN474011, feeding on 'honey dew' on a garden apple tree. Later, (Aug. 1976) yet another was seen by the same recorder at the nearby 'Ffordd y Wagen', Pwll SN 468013. At the Stradey Woods, Pwll and the 1947 Ferryside localities, the elms are once more thriving, as indeed they are in other parts of the county and they do not seem to be suffering again from periodic DED.

The 1950's records of Thomas and two more recent records by Tom and Gwen Heal at Pont Ynyswen, Brechfa SN 533275, probably refer to populations of white-letter hairstreaks that are dependent on trees of the native wych elms, which is a regular component of the more base-enriched wooded dingles. More recently, Neil Matthew has been recording white-letters in the mid Tywi Valley.

Given that the English elms of the flat coastal belt, the scattered wych elms of the woodlands and the hedgerow elms of the Tywi and Teifi valleys are once more doing well, we can perhaps expect the same to apply to the white-letter hairstreak. We now need to resurvey old sites and check potential new ones!

References:
Davies, D.A.L. (1954) - Some records of Odonata and Lepidoptera in Wales. Entomologists Gazette, 5:103-4.
Morgan, I.K. (1989) - A Provisional review of the Butterflies of Carmarthenshire. Unpublished report, Nature Conservancy Council: 34-5.
Thomas, D.L. (1952) - Notes on Carmarthenshire Butterflies. Entomologist, 85: 143-4.

Ian Morgan
February 2007

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