Paul Bacon - MA Show 2020 - Mountain Ringlet

I set out to write a gui de book o n the Mou ntain ringl et butterfl y.

I set out to write a guide book on a species I’d never seen before

“

To start with they seemed almost mythical.

However over the last few months they became more than that, they became a welcome distraction and a reason to go outside and explore the Lake District fells I’d recently neglected.

“

“

What do you think your chances of seeing one are?

*It was more like 10%

“

oh I’d say around 70%* I think, feeling pretty confident

Erebia epiphron Name:

Mountain Ringlet Erebia epiphron Typical life stage times:

Egg - July to August Caterpillar - August to May Chrysalis - May to July Adult - June to August

Size (cm):

3.5 Male 3.8 Female Family:

Browns

I

don’t know why the Mountain Ringlet, I don’t even remember how I first found out about them, but i’m highly suspicious my partner Daisy had something to do with it. I do know that I’m just as interested in them now as I was when I first heard about them.

This small creature, that lives in some of the wildest places Britain has to offer, plus they only show themselves for a small portion of the year and only when the weather’s right. It’s not suprising that compared to other british butterfly species very little is known about the Mountain Ringlet but this just added to the appeal.

As the name suggests, Mountain Ringlets are found in upland areas of England and Scotland. They inhabit ground that’s typically 350m above sea level making them Britain’s only true montane butterfly species.

Sadly its estimated that the number of Mountain Ringlets has decreased by 63% since the 1970s, making them scarce in England but still abundant in Scotland.

The exact reason is still unclear however it is thought that rising temperatures and habitat degradation are contributing factors.

*pages 26-27 for references

U

nfortunately finding Mountain Ringlets doesn’t just involve heading to the nearest fell that reaches the required altitude. The populations of Mountain Ringlets in the Lake District are almost always found where the underlying geology is made up of Borrowdale volcanic rock. This rock is an igneous rock that is estimated to be around 450 million years old, it stretches east to west across the Lake District forming some of the highest and most rugged peaks in the area. It is thought that Mountain Ringlets prefer this geology as the plants that grow above this rock type have lower carbon to nitrogen ratios thus providing more nutrition to the caterpillars.* I soon found myself looking at the geology of routes as opposed to the views.

The rocky outline of Crinkle Crags on the horizon, a prime example of Borrowdale volcanic rock.

Host plant:

Matgrass Nardus stricta Abundance:

Common(upland) Localised(lowland)

T

he Mountain ringlet’s host plant, Matgrass Nardus stricta is somewhat of a fell specialist. Although it is widely spread around the UK, its ability to thrive in poor soil conditions means it can be often found on areas of fellside that other plants can’t inhabit. Along with it being unpalatable to most livestock, it’s able to survive the harsh mountain weather and the grazing

of lakeland’s sheep and fell ponies. The Mountain Ringlets use Matgrass to lay their singular, 3mm long egg onto, the plant then acts as the main food source for the caterpillar.

It is thought the caterpillar will also feed on other fellside plants such as such as Sheep’s-fescue Festuca ovina, however this is only a recent observation. The adult butterflys will use Matgrass to rest on but will feed on upland flowers such as Tormentil Potentilla erecta. So when looking for Mountain ringlet eggs and caterpillars, Matgrass is the place to start.

I

f you are fortunate enough to see a Mountain ringlet in the Lake District then creating a biological record about your sighting will really help the conservation of the species. One of the main problems Mountain ringlets suffer from is a lack of information on them due to their remote and discrete nature. This means that creating accurate and complete biological records from each sighting will significantly boost the data pool on this species. This data can then be used to track the locations and size of colonies and estimate populations. In the Lake District you would send your record to

the Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre online for them to add to their own data base. This data base can then be accessed for projects nationwide.

When creating a record you need to supply the following data: Date, Location, Grid Referance, Species (common and scientific), Abundance, any extra details and then your contact infomation. My prefered method is to use the smartphone app iNaturalist, this saves having to carry a notebook and pencil.

It also allowed me the freedom to create records whilst running without carrying any extra kit.

I’ve always thought I see more wildlife when I’m running than any other time. It’s probably down to me simply covering more ground and thus exposing myself to more habitat. However, I like to think its down to me moving in a way that to me, feels more natural and that makes me part of the landscape more. So being able to create biological records using my phone opened up the option to record whilst running out on the fells. This I feel is a good way to approach recording adult Mountain ringlets as it allows the covering of large amounts of the potential remote habitat quickly. I planned to run regularly, especially as the weather was prime for seeing them.

I’d look outside each morning and think up any reason to stay in bed and not go for a run.

It’d be too warm, too wet or I’d have a busy day planned and I’d roll over and sleep instead.

“

“

I think looking back this is where the effects of the lockdown, isolation and size of the task started to impact me a bit. What started off sounding like a fun but challenging project was now feeling massively un-achievable and quite intimidating.

The long days out on the fells didn’t sound as appealing as they once did and couple this with my first few trips being unsuccessful, I didn’t venture out anywhere near the amount I needed too.

I’d still be thinking about Mountain ringlets all the time, looking out on to the Fairfield range when I was walking ot the shop thinking I should be up there looking for them.

And slowly I did start going back out, not soon enough to be able to gather enough infomation and photographs of them to create the guide book, but soon enough to start enjoying my running more than ever.

It’s always nicer running towards the sun

References:

Butterfly Conservation

Butterfly Conservation Cumbria Branch

https://butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/mountain-ringlet

http://www.cumbria-butterflies.org.uk/species/butterfly/mountain_ringlet/

UK Butterflies

John Muir Trust

https://www.ukbutterflies. co.uk/species.php?species=epiphron

https://www.johnmuirtrust. org/assets/000/003/768/ Glenridding_Common_ property_leaflet_original. pdf?1559901049

Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre

RSPB

http://www.cbdc.org.uk/ recording-wildlife/shareyour-records/

https://community.rspb.org. uk/ourwork/b/biodiversity/ posts/mountain-ringlet-butterfly-urgently-needs-your-help

Lancaster University http://wp.lancs.ac.uk/ envision/2017/lancaster-university-conserving-mountain-species-in-the-face-of-climate-change-the-mountain-ringlet-butterfly-in-cumbria-rosa-menendez/