Welcome to the Suffolk Branch of Butterfly Conservation
Butterfly Conservation is a
registered charity dedicated to the conservation of butterflies and
moths
Distribution Maps for Suffolk Butterflies
The Suffolk Butterfly Recorder, Bill Stone, has prepared
distribution maps for 2011 - 2015 for all the butterflies that can be
found in Suffolk. For anyone who has the maps produced 15 years
ago* they show significant differences for some species. For
example the Wall is now almost entirely restricted to the coast and
the Silver-washed Fritillary was not present in Suffolk.
Click here for the
new Distribution Maps
*The Millennium Atlas of Suffolk Butterflies, 2001, by Richard
Stewart. Published by Suffolk Naturalists'Society. £5 from SNS [You
can order from the Museum by phone, 01473 433547].
Membership Secretary
Required For Suffolk Branch BC
Membership Secretary
We also have a vacancy for the
position of Membership Secretary. Sue Sidle has most ably held this
post for the last 9 years and we thank her very much for her hard
work. She has offered to help anyone who comes forward to take
on the role. The key tasks are keeping an up do date list of the
membership (the details of which are forwarded to the Membership
Secretary each month by Head Office) and sending a welcome pack and
information to new members. Anyone who is interested in taking on this role please contact
the Chair Peter Maddison.
Note that the Suffolk Branch of Butterfly Conservation is
entirely run by volunteers. This means that the money we receive
for membership subscriptions can all be used to help in conservation
in Suffolk e.g. the work on Purdis Heath to increase the numbers of
Silver-studded Blue. If you enjoy the sight of butterflies each
summer then a few hours of your time fulfilling one of the above roles
will help to ensure their survival.
Next Local Events -
Saturday 15th October
A.G.M & Members Evening
Venue: Waldringfield Village
Hall
Map Ref: TM277444.
Time: 15.00 pm.
Please note the
change in location and the afternoon start.
The
AGM will be followed by light refreshments, then members' slides and
the annual photo competition.
.
Enter
our photographic competition - details here
The Events page has a full list and details of the 2016
events
Not SBBC Events but two
opportunities to see Late Summer Butterflies. As part of the [Free]
Heritage Open Days in West Suffolk:
In an attractive walled
garden – Friday 9th September (10:00 to 16:00).
Langham Hall Gardens have shelter within the walled
garden complex that houses the Bellflower Nursery, with masses of good
nectar sources and over-ripe fruit to attract the Vanessids. For
directions, go to:
http://www.bellflowernursery.co.uk/ IP31 3EE
In a
delightful waterside garden – Sat/Sun 10/11th September
(11:00 to 17:00). Fullers Mill Garden also
holds its butterflies with late season nectar. Off the
Icklingham Road from West Stow, turn in to the forest track for IP28
6HD. see
http://www.fullersmillgarden.org.uk/
Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey
(WCBS)
The WCBS is a national scheme which complements the
transects of the UK BMS with mini transects walked in squares randomly
selected by the BTO computer. Volunteers from Butterfly
Conservation and the BTO need to walk just twice per year in July and
August (with an optional spring walk if you wish). This means
that the commitment is not heavy.
We have eight squares
in need of a volunteer
OS Grid Reference,
Town/Parish, Post Code
TL8271 Culford IP26 6UD
TL9462 Beyton IP30 9AH
TL9479 Coney Weston
IP31 1HL
TL9577 Coney Weston IP31 1DL
TM0969
Wickham Skeith IP23 8LX
TM4069 Darsham IP17 3PH
Email our WCBS co-ordinator,
Twm Wade
to volunteer for one of these squares
Download the 2015 report
BMS - Butterfly Monitoring Scheme
BTO
- British Trust for Ornithology
40 year slump for UK Butterflies
More than three-quarters of the UK’s butterflies
have declined in the last 40 years with some common species suffering
significant slumps, a major scientific study has revealed. A
number of widespread species such as the
Wall,
Essex Skipper and
Small Heath now rank amongst the most severely declining
butterflies in the UK.
The findings also reveal that
intensive conservation efforts have started to turn around the
fortunes of some of the UK’s most endangered butterflies. During the
last 10 years the numbers of the threatened
Duke of Burgundy have increased by 67% and the
Pearl-bordered Fritillary has experienced a 45% rise in abundance.
Dingy Skipper and
Silver-studded Blue have shown 21% and 19% increases in occurrence
respectively and even the UK’s most endangered butterfly, the High
Brown Fritillary, has been relatively stable in the last decade.
But despite breakthroughs with some threatened butterflies the
report revealed that other species continue to struggle. The long-term
decline of the
Wood White,
White Admiral and
Marsh Fritillary show few signs of stopping.
Read the full report here
Join Butterfly Conservation -
click here to
go to the National Butterfly Conservation website to join.
2016 Photographic Competition
At the 2016 AGM there will be a photo competition for photos and
videos taken in the UK or abroad by a member of SBBC.
There are
three classes
1. Still photo taken in the UK
2. Still photo
taken outside the UK
3. A video or digital slide show.
More
details here
Do we have your email address?
It will help us to communicate changes to events (as above) if
we have your email address.
Please email your name to
using your normal email address
and email address as the subject. This can then be added to our
membership list.
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 Follow
us on Twitter.
But still send your sightings to
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When to See Butterflies.
The
Suffolk
Butterflies page lists the butterflies that can be seen in Suffolk,
shows when you can expect to see them and the foodplants upon which their caterpillars feed.
We can also
help if you would like advice about making your garden more attractive
to butterflies
See the
News page for dates of First Sightings
Like much of the UK, Suffolk's countryside
and wildlife are under increasing pressure. It's a situation that is
unlikely to improve in the forseeable future and there's never been a
more urgent need to understand and conserve our butterfly fauna. The
county has a gently undulating landscape of surprising contrasts,
defying the stereotype of "flat East Anglia and its arable prairies". The unspoilt coast, intimate river valleys and, especially, the
Sandlings heaths and Brecks ensure that Suffolk retains a more varied
butterfly fauna than might be expected.
Some recommended books are listed here
Butterfly
Records.
The Branch is always grateful for butterfly records and a
recording form can be downloaded from the recording
page of this
website.
We would be particularly grateful for records away from the
coast and information on the following species:
Dingy Skipper,
Green Hairstreak, Purple Hairstreak, White Letter Hairstreak,
Silver-studded Blue, Wall Brown, White Admiral, Silver-washed Fritillary, Grayling and Small
Heath.
email your sightings to us at
Recent Sightings can be viewed here
Conservation and Recording
Brimstone
- about the Brimstone and Buckthorn project
Help us to record Brimstone
butterflies in Suffolk
Silver-studded Blue
- links to more
information
Translocation to Blaxhall Common -
2012 Update
Ecological Survey of Selected
Silver-studded Blue Sites in 2009
Silver-Washed Fritillary - link
for more information
Silver-washed
Fritillary returns to Suffolk
Purple Emperor -
link for more information
Ipswich Heaths
Project -
a new project, aimed at restoring lowland heathland habitat of 300
hectares on 14 sites in Ipswich, has been awarded a Wren Biodiversity
Action Fund grant of over £100,000.
More details here
