Thanks very much to those recorders who responded to my request in the last Update regarding information on the distribution of the Monarch butterfly in Europe – individuals have been noted in November 2022 in Madeira (Jane Rogers), on the Algarve in Portugal (Ben Keywood) and last week in Tenerife in the Canary Islands (Terry Evans). The species apparently resides within the Islands of the Azores (nearly 1,000 miles from mainland Portugal) as well but It is thought that a lack of the larval foodplant (toxic milkweed) restricts its distribution on mainland Europe. Presumably the original colony in the Canary Islands came about as a result of winds bringing the species over the Atlantic from the USA, as sometimes happens in the UK, especially on the Isles of Scilly in the Autumn, although the species has not got established here in the British Isles.
Interesting that whilst Ben Keywood was in Portugal he managed to photograph the Southern Brown Argus on his travels – it has a larger black crescent on its upper wings when compared to our 2 species of Brown Argus (Migrating & Peak District Race) – the upperside has a full set of orange lunules – have a look at the attached photos. Ben also saw and photographed the African Grass Blue as well as the Geranium Bronze, this latter species being regarded as a pest in mainland Europe. Meanwhile Terry saw and photographed the Bath White, African Grass Blue and the Crimson Speckled moth (photos to appear in a future Update). It was also interesting to note that Jane Rogers photographed a Monarch on poinsettia in Madeira, something that we are very unlikely to see in our local Garden Centres this coming Christmas!
The inputting of the 2022 Derbyshire transect data on to the UKBMS web site is nearing completion – many thanks to the recorders who have entered their teams data direct on line – at least 40 sites out of 130 Derbyshire sites have been entered this way and in 2023 I am hoping to double this number with your continued support – please let me know if you are able to help with this important work. Early indications are that the 2022 results are going to be less than those in 2021 despite the warm & sunny summer – it was in fact the intense heat that probably did the damage to both larval foodplants as well as larvae and pupae. Here in Derby we had 6 periods of heatwaves (3 consecutive days of 26c and over) in summer 2022, compared to 3 periods in 2021, with the highest ever temperature of 39c on the 19th of July 2022. As is normally the case, temperatures in the Peak District were slightly lower overall and consequently some, but not all, sites did slightly better with transect numbers in 2022 rather than 2021 – I will be producing the full details and the species comparisons in the New Year.
In the meantime, Alf Bousie was very surprised to see a Red Admiral flying around his sunny Darley Garden on the 7th of December 2022 despite the temperature being about only 4c after a sharp frost so hopefully it will find some shelter during this spell of Arctic weather courtesy of the Troll from Trondheim, so keep warm but don’t let those heating bills mount up too high!
