Hello Everyone, A Happy and Healthy New Year to all the 1760 recipients of this Update – it really does feel like Winter now with a cold north wind and overnight frosts, even here in Derby, and the treat of snow over the hills in the Peak District this weekend. However the bright and sunny weather of Christmas Day 2024 brought out a Red Admiral in Midway much to the delight of Geoff & Elaine Cann who saw it sunning itself on a window frame. Then on Boxing Day, whilst Lowland Derbyshire was shrouded in mist and fog, there was a weather inversion in the Peak District which allowed the sun to appear on high ground whilst the valleys remained cold and foggy (see the attached photo of Cown Edge) – the result was 3 sightings of Peacock butterflies that were seen flying in the sun with records from Buxworth (Holly Arnfield), at Uppertown, near Kelstedge (Peter Kidd et al) and above Glossop near Cown Edge (Colin Ashcroft et al) together with a Small Tortoiseshell seen at Magpie Mine by Wendy Birks and a Red Admiral noted flying above Hathersage (Ken Owen) Prior to the Christmas break, Mick Pollard saw and photographed a Red Admiral on his Ilkeston patio on the 14th of December 2024 whilst Esther Weir took a look inside the coal tunnel at Chatsworth gardens on the 20th of December 2024 but was rewarded with just one sighting of a Herald moth in hibernation
I have now completed all the transect analysis of the 140 sites that were surveyed in the County during 2024 and the results can be seen on the attached excel spreadsheets. Overall it shows that since 2014 over 950,000 butterflies have been recorded by over 350 volunteers who carried out nearly 26,000 transects (what a great achievement and commitment) – looking at last year, basically 5 species did better numerically on transects in 2024 against 2023 ( Peacock; Green Hairstreak; Silver Washed Fritillary: Marbled White: Speckled Wood) – the remainder 27 species did poor against 2023 with the worst performers being Purple Hairstreak; Brown Argus Migrating; Holly Blue; Red Admiral; Comma; Small Copper; Common Blue. However, the good news is that 5 species actually improved in numbers when compared to the 11 year average for transects that have been carried out in the County since 2014 – these being Brimstone (+ 58%); Brown Argus Peak District Race (+ 41%); Orange Tip (+28%); Green Hairstreak (+22%); Peacock (+17%). When it comes down to losses in numbers on sites, the overall situation in 2024 shows that 80% of all transect sites (that is 112 sites) declined during the year, with the remainder sites have a slight increase (10%) some of which were due to increased coverage in 2024, with no comparisons being available for 10% of sites which were new transects in 2024.
We can only hope that we actually get a Summer in 2025 and that many butterfly numbers and species bounce back – so who will be the first Recorder to see a butterfly outside in the New Year – in 2024 it occurred on the 6th of January so it might not be too long?
