Hello Everyone, After the warm and sunny weather of last weekend, it has become quite a shock this week as the temperature has yet to reach double figures and with a cold north east wind blowing both recorders and butterflies have kept a low profile!
It came as no surprise to get lots of sightings over the 2 days of the 8th & 9th of March 2025 when the temperature here in Derby reached 17c complete with blue skies and a yellow ball in the sky visible for most of day light hours!
New species appearing on the 9th of March 2025 were individuals of the Large White seen at Bradwell by Joanna Mackey and Sally Pereira and the Small White seen in Allenton, Derby (Sam Goddard) – there were also 164 sightings of the following species over the same period :-
Brimstone:- A total of 68 individuals were noted at 39 sites across Derbyshire with the highest counts being 6 in Sunnydale Park, Littleover (Maurice Ireland), 5 in Cressbrookdale (Dave & Clare Gamble) and 5 at Drakelow NR (Michael Williams)
Comma :- A total of 47 individuals were noted at 32 sites across the County, mainly in ones and twos, but 7 were noted at Loundsley Green, Chesterfield by Andrew Woodhouse, and one individual decided to avail itself of the minerals contained within dog faeces at a site in Chesterfield ( Tony Hudson) – this disgusting habit is also a favourite source of minerals for the Purple Emperor!
Small Tortoiseshell :- A total of 19 individuals were noted at 14 sites across the County mainly in ones and twos but considering the poor performance of this species in 2024, it is not a bad result!
Peacock :- A total of 25 individuals were noted at 21 sites across the County mainly as singletons which is a bit disappointing given the fact that this species had a somewhat recovery brood in July/August 2024, although 4 were seen by Andrew Woodhouse at Loundsley Green, Chesterfield.
Red Admiral :- A total of 5 individuals were noted at 5 sites across the County which overall so far this year is similar to the number seen in the Spring of 2024.
Despite all those sightings, overall numbers for the first 3 months of this year are running at 67% of the total for the same period in 2024 although there is obviously a couple more weeks in March 2025 still to go – this reduction is very much on the line of the comparison for butterfly records across Derbyshire for the whole of 2024.
This Sunday sees the Annual Transect Training and Butterfly I D course in Allestree and the event is now fully booked but is a clear indication of the interest and importance that local volunteers have in carrying out the vital work of monitoring of our local butterflies – 2025 is the 50th Anniversary of the Transect Recording Scheme, being started in 1976 at Monks Wood, Cambridgeshire by Ernie Pollard, John Heath and Jeremy Thomas and the East Midlands Branch of Butterfly Conservation is still top of the league when it comes to the total numbers of transects being carried out by Branches across the UK – it is all down to your dedication and expertise and long may it continue! Pat and I look forward to meeting existing and new friends on Sunday – let’s make it a day to remember!
