The Butterfly Net at Derbyshire Dragonflies

Welcome to The Butterfly Net

This is the hunting ground for Butterflies throughout Derbyshire. It is our aim to network with enthusiasts in the County and to report the information as we receive it. The Butterfly Net is a sub-domain of Derbyshire Dragonflies ( www.derbyshire-dragonflies.org.uk ) a site dedicated to Damselflies and Dragonflies.

Records shown below have been reported within the last 14 days.

Latest Sightings

Specie Date Number Seen

No records

Select specie from the list left to see the location of the latest sightings

Butterfly News

26/07/2008

Ken's update number 12

Hi Everyone,

Following a spell of warm and relatively sunny weather it appears that the Essex Skipper is now well established in the S E part of Derbyshire with records so far this year coming from West Hallam, Breadsall, Friargate, Aston, Stanton Gate, Forbes Hole NR and Darley Abbey Tip. At the moment the Essex appears quite fresh compared with the similar Small Skipper, as they usually emerge about 2 weeks later. They best way to positively I D the species is to check the tips of the antennae – the Essex appear jet black as if they have been dipped in Printers Ink whereas the Small Skipper are brown or ginger. This weekend could be a good opportunity to check whether the Essex is on your patch. At the moment there are no records to the West and North West of Derby ( other than Kedleston ). If in doubt email me a photo and I will hopefully be able to confirm.

Still no new brood records yet of either Common Blue or Brown Argus ( away from the Peak ), but on a glorious summer evening last Wednesday ( 23rd July ) at around 8 pm in Allestree Park I noted a couple of fresh Holly Blue butterflies flying along the hedgerows, whilst above them at the top of the oaks a number of Purple Hairstreaks were seen with their characteristic ‘zig zag’ late evening flying display. Very few records have been received so far this year for White Letter Hairstreaks so it may well be that their flight period is late, but a couple were noted by Pat and Ken Orpe flying around elms in the middle of the day on the 19th July at Cumberhills near Duffield, so hopefully this species may well be still about, albeit in small numbers.

Finally, fresh new brood Peacock butterflies were noted today ( 25th July ) in our garden in Allestree – they have lots of empty buddleia bushes waiting for them to nectar on before Autumn comes!!!

Regards,

Ken Orpe

02/08/2008

Essex Skipper News from Ken update no 13

Hi Everyone,

Many thanks to those recorders who responded to my appeal for information on the status of the Essex Skipper in Derbyshire. Additional records have been received from Mickleover and Hilton to the west of Derby, and Allestree Park and Shipley Park to the north of Derby. Phil Gilbert emailed me a photo of an Essex Skipper seen at Walton to the west of Chesterfield so it appears that this species is now poised to spread to even more parts of the County. This weekend could well be the last chance to note additional sites this year so any further observations would be appreciated. The situation with the spreading Brown Argus is not so good as there have been very few records received so far this year but it was pleasing to know that a couple of second brood individuals were seen at Drakelow Power Station NR yesterday (30th July).

Second brood Common Blue butterflies have been seen since the last update together with a few Small Copper butterflies. The summer hairstreak populations are well down on recent years with the White Letter Hairstreak having a particularly bad time, and with numerous elms appearing to be suffering from a new bout of Dutch Elm Disease, the future for this species does not bode well. A few Purple Hairstreaks were noted last weekend at Grange Wood in the South of the County but to date there have been no records from the High Peak. It will be interesting to see how many second brood Wall Brown butterflies are noted during August as this is another species that is declining at an alarming rate.

Let’s hope that the new month brings in some migrants to raise spirits as to date only a few Painted Lady butterflies have been seen and only a single Clouded Yellow at Friargate in the centre of Derby.

Regards,

Ken Orpe