Hello Everyone,
With sunshine being in limited amounts this last week, butterfly sightings have been somewhat lacking – despite the temperature remaining relatively high for the time of the year. This situation was typical of the Summer of 2024 when concrete coloured skies meant that there were only 40% of the total transect days when conditions were ideal for carrying out butterfly surveys. However, the surprise was that on the 29th of October 2024 Martin Cobham saw a mint Small Copper on the footpath around the top of Dene Quarry on Cromford Hill – not the latest County record for the species, which is the 18th of November (2018) in nearby Wirksworth.
Other sightings this last week include :-
Red Admiral :- There were records of 18 individuals noted at 14 locations in the County up to and including the 1st of November 2024 when 2 were seen on flowering ivy in the Glapwell garden of David Elliott and another was seen in the Palterton garden of Mike Beck on the same day.
Comma :- Just 4 sightings of this species with the latest noted on the 29th of October 2024 in Barlborough garden of Neil & Lorraine Jones.
Speckled Wood ;- A couple of this species were seen flying in a sunny spot in an open woodland at Wirksworth by Dave Evans on the 29th of October 2024
Finally, following on from the Butterfly Emergency which was declared by Butterfly Conservation recently, the 40,000 signed petition submitted to the Government got an encouraging reply from Defra stating that ‘the Government is committed to changing existing policies to prevent the use of those neonicotinoid pesticides that threaten our vital pollinators’ – let’s hope that they implement this change of policy sooner rather than later!
