With the warm November weather just about to change, it has been yet another interesting week on the lepidoptera scene locally with sightings of 6 butterfly species seen flying in the County, the summary of which is as follows:-
Brimstone :- A late sighting of this species on the 8th of November 2022 when Marilyn Horner noted one in her Aston On Trent garden.
Common Blue :- It is not surprising that a County record has been broken recently when a mint individual was seen by Kev Nadin (per Sid Morris) on the 9th of November 2022 at Markham Vale North, this beating the previous record of the 29th of October ( 2017)
Red Admiral :- Once again this species was still showing well last week with sightings of 21 individuals from 19 sites across the County up to and including the 13th of November 2022 with 2 seen at both Glapwell (per David Elliott) and at Wyver Lane, Belper
(Dave Evans) whilst one was attracted to a strawberry tree in the Barlborough garden of Neil & Lorraine Jones) .
Small Tortoiseshell :- A couple of sightings of this species in the County from Milford (Debbie Bilss per Sally Fisher) and Belper (Dave Evans) and one seen just over the Leics border at Moira on the 12th of November 2022 (Iain McGowan)
Peacock :- There have been a couple of sightings of this species recently with records from gardens at Wirksworth (Jonathan Page) and also at Bradwell (Sally Pereira) on the 12th of November 2022.
Speckled Wood :- A walk in the Crich area on the 8th of November 2022 by Jenny Emerson resulted in the sighting of this species
Looking for hibernating butterflies and moths can sometimes be rewarding at this time of the year – Jane Rogers looked into the bell tower at Denby Church on Friday the 11th of November 2022 when she saw at least 27 Small Tortoiseshells and just 2 Peacocks in full hibernation mode, whilst on the 10th of November 2022 Melanie Penson and Rhona Goddard checked out the tunnels in Ticknall Limeyards and found 46 Herald Moths and again just 2 Peacocks in hibernation there. Garden sheds and bird hides are also good places to check out for these species together with additional species that could be in hibernation mode.
This week’s great photos include a selection of moths that have been seen in the County recently including a rare migrant species, the Crimson Speckled moth, which was seen and photographed on the 5th of November 2022 by Derek Brownlee on fields owned by Graham Prince in Mayfield, Staffs, just half a mile from the border with Derbyshire!
Finally just a quick reminder that the AGM and Members Day of Butterfly Conservation East Midlands will take place on Sunday the 20th of November 2022 in the Allestree Club, Cornhill, Allestree, Derby DE22 2FS from 10 am till 3.30 pm – after the short formal proceedings, I will give an illustrated talk on the latest information and sightings at Hoe Grange Quarry NR this year and after lunch Max & Christine Maughan will give an illustrated talk on Gardening for Pollinators. The event is open to non-members of B C but a donation towards the lunch time buffet will be required. We hope to see many of you there – please bring along a memory stick with some of your own photos to show the attendees as well.
