White-letter Hairstreak and elm in Staffordshire (VC39) & Shropshire (VC40)

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	Survey tips and recording notes index page

GAVIN WOODMAN'S PICTURE GALLERY FROM AROUND STAFFORDSHIRE & SHROPSHIRE ......

	<<<< SJ6332 Ternhill near Market Drayton, Shropshire Very large small leaved elms, two trees side by side in hedgerow, trunk diameter 1m at head height - too late in session didn't look for adults. These are the largest elms I have seen so far © photo: Gavin Woodman
>>>> SJ7641 Aston, Staffordshire Wych Elm I think? When I examined the trunk of this tree, this is another tree that I think it is much older than its size suggests. No adults recorded, it was towards the end of the adults, flight period when I visited this tree. So far I have not found many elms in this 10km location, these two elms were lone trees with no other elms that I could find for several miles, this may explain why they have escaped Dutch elm disease. I have still not recorded WLH in this 10km location, although it was late in their flight period when I tried to record here. © photo: Gavin Woodman
	<<<< SJ7740 Aston, Staffordshire Wych Elm I think? It didn't show very well on the photo but the tree appeared to have been heavily pruned at some point in its life, I think it is much older than its size suggests. No adults recorded, it was towards the end of the adult's flight period when I visited this tree. © photo: Gavin Woodman
>>>> SJ8318 Shropshire Union Canal near Church Eaton, Staffordshire Five large small leaved elms, canal embankment at SJ8318, on a earlier visit adults were recorded on Wych Elms on other side of canal embankment viewed from a bridge giving a high observation point. I had previously overlooked this group of trees because of the size and there were no leaves in reach to examine, but this spring when passing they were covered in seeds dispelled any doubts I had about their type. © photo: Gavin Woodman
	<<<< SJ9231 Aston-By-Stone, Trent and Mersey Canal, Staffordshire (They are the correct grid references, just a coincidence that the two different locations have "Aston" in the location name) Wych Elm I think? Medium sized elm in hedgerow by canal towpath. Adults recorded on this tree. © photo: Gavin Woodman

SJ7420 Newport, Shropshire Wych Elms I think? Nettles and fence post help give scale to the size of these two trees. They are twice the height Wych Elm usually reaches in my patch before succumbing to Dutch elm disease. I visited this tree several times but the sun didn't break and no adults were recorded, but there was extensive caterpillar damage observed at all heights, I think this tree probably supports a good-sized colony. Sadly on my last visit I noticed that one patch of leaves had died, probably Dutch elm disease. © photo: Gavin Woodman

Other information

In 2006 I managed to record White-letter Hairstreak in 51 x 1km locations covering 5 x 10km squares

With so much bad weather in 2007, I only managed to record White-letter Hairstreak in 25 new 1km locations, but these did cover another 6 new 10km squares.

So with a total of 11 x 10km squares covered I think it was quite successful!

Closer to home, many of the medium size hedgerow elms where I first found adults in 2006 along the country lanes around my village are now all dead, as Dutch elm disease has decimated the areas around Eccleshall and Stafford.

Gavin Woodman
September 2007

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