Hello Everyone, Despite a very changeable week of weather, the first Wall Brown second brood appeared on the 10^th of July 2023 at Curbar Edge (Sid Morris), this being 10 days earlier than when last year’s second brood started. Also a new brood Peacock first appeared on the same day at Creswell Crags (Sarah Smith), this being 3 days later than last year’s new brood of the species. So the big questions are :- will the Wall Brown have a better second brood in the County when compared to 2022 and will the Peacock have a good new brood during July and August 2023 – this is where the Big Butterfly Count will help us understand the situation as well as the 130 transects currently being carried out in Derbyshire every week – what a fantastic effort by everyone concerned.

Pleasingly after a slow start, the Ringlet is now appearing in good numbers especially in the Peak District, and the Meadow Brown numbers appear to have been about on average as to what we usually see in July each year. Again after a slow start the Small Skipper is becoming more frequent now at most sites in the County whilst the Essex Skipper has still yet to reach the Buxton area. (see the attached photos for details of the tips to their antennae). Gatekeeper numbers again are slow to increase – is this a legacy of the heat of 2022? Small Heaths are having a reasonable year in the Peak District but are scarce in Lowland Derbyshire.

At last the summer hairstreaks are now beginning to show with sightings of the White Letter Hairstreak coming from Chee Dale (John Cutter), Tansley Dale (Gordon Rooke), Coombs Dale (Esther Weir), Hay Dale & Peter Dale (Ian & Joy White)  and Buxton (Ian & Joy White) all in the Peak District and  from Mastin Moor (Dave Wood), Holmebrook Valley Park (Andrew Woodhouse & Debbie Giles) and Markham Vale North ( Sid Morris & Mark Radford) in the N E of the County. However Purple Hairstreak sightings have come from only the Lowland parts of the County including Hasland (Roy Riggott), Markham Vale North (Sid Morris & Mark Radford), Radbourne (Colin Bowler), West Hallam Ash Tip ( Pat & Ken Orpe).Kedleston Park (Kevin Morris), Stantons Wood Ticknall (Lesley & Phil Gretton), South Wingfield (Eric Easom) and Long Close Wood Linton (Chris Leverington).

With  buddleias in full bloom at least the Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral and Comma are taking advantage of the nectar available but where are the Peacocks?, with only another one seen in Sawley on the 13^th of July 2023 (Roger Martin) Highest count of the Small Tortoiseshell has come from South Wingfield ( 60 no – Eric Easom), highest count of the Red Admiral has come from Kedleston Park (12 no – Kevin Morris) and the highest count of the Comma has come from Stanton’s Wood, Ticknall ( 57 no – Lesley & Phil Gretton).  Sightings of the summer fritillaries continue to increase with most dales in the Peak District having a colony of the Dark Green Fritillary (52 in Coombs Dale on the 13^th of July 2023 (Andrew Woodhouse))  including records from fringe areas such as the Goyt Valley (Les Gradwell). Similarly the Silver Washed Fritillary is being noted more often in the Peak District but a sighting of 2 along the Cromford Canal between High Peak Junction and Cromford Wharf on the 7^th of July 2023 was notable (Chris Burnett & Gina Siddalls) and as is another in the West Hallam garden of Martin Hall on the 13^th of July 2023. Just a few additional Holly Blue sightings this week with records from Wyver Lane, Belper (Alan Walker & Dave Evans), Heage (Roger Martin), Belper Parks (Adrian & Rebecca Rochford), Lubrizol Estate, Hazelwood (Claire Hollingsworth & Marie Cope) Mickleover (Peter Walley), and at Long Close Wood, Linton (Chris Leverington). Pleasingly there have been a few sightings at new sites of the Marbled White in the County with records received from Foxlow Ponds, Staveley (Mark Radford), the Blackwell Trail South Normanton (Dave Clay) and in Salter Wood, Street Lane (Jane Rogers).

Just a few Painted Lady sightings recently including at the Forge, Ironville (Sally Fisher), Biggin by Hulland ( Ray Walker), Allestree

(John & Jessica Barker), Hulland Ward (Gary Atkins), Salter Wood, Street Lane (Jane Rogers),Toyota Burnaston (Jordan Holmes) Longstone Edge (Sue Walker), Grindleford (Andrew Woodhouse),Holloway (Alison Pritchard) and Mickleover (Colin Bowler). However the migrant Humming Bird Hawk moth appears to be widespread in Derbyshire at the moment with 9 sightings this last week mainly across the Peak District including one in Furness Vale on the 13^th of July 2023 (Jane Woodhead) and John Kirkman saw one in his Sheffield garden on the 9^th of July 2023.

Sadly no confirmed sightings of the Purple Emperor yet in the County although sorties by a number of volunteers suggest that Stanton’s Wood on the road between Ticknall and Ingleby looks promising with lots of oak and sallow along the rides there and not far away in N W Leics, Simon Gudgeon saw and photographed HIM in Cloud Wood on the 13^th of July 2023 – so Iris is not far away from Derbyshire. Unfortunately the weather forecast for the next 12 days is not brilliant but at least we will not have the intense heat of July 2022!