Butterflies in Suffolk

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BUTTERFLIES IN SUFFOLK S . BEAUFOY

THIS article is not a comprehensive survey of all the butterflies of Suffolk; but it is a review of the present-day status of some of the county's species, both common and rare, with special reference to the scarcity, or even possible disappearance, of some of the rarer species. An attempt is made, as well, to find a plausible explanation for this reduction in numbers. Conditions in the countryside have changed considerably since the days before the last war — much of the heath and rough meadow land has been ploughed and cultivated, hedges have been uprooted and many of the deciduous woods have been felled or replanted with conifers. As a result it is inevitable that the total number of butterflies has decreased. Recent observations, however, indicate that the commoner species are still very common indeed, at least in suitable localities near Ipswich. T h e r e is no dearth of many species of the Browns: the Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperanthus), the Hedge Brown (Maniola tithonus), the Meadow Brown (M. jurtina), the Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) are always abundant in and around Belstead Woods and elsewhere, as are the two Skippers, the Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris) and the Large Skipper (Ochlodes venata). T h e Whites are also plentiful in Suffolk; the Large White (Pieris brassicae), the Small White (P. rapae), the Green-veined White (P. napi), the Orangetip (Anthocharis cardamines) are common and widespread. T h e r e is also a fair sprinkling of the Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) and the Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas). A butterfly, which in some years is scarce, the Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus), was in 1968 exceedingly numerous in both the spring and autumn generations in the Ipswich area. T h e Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae), the Peacock (Nymphalis io) and the Comma (Polygonia c-album) have remained fairly common over the last few years. T h e presence of the Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta), the Painted Lady ( V . cardui), and the Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus), of course, depends upon immigration to this country from abroad in the early summer. So m u c h for the commoner species. T h e same happy State of affairs does not hold for some of the scarcer species. T h e following species have been absent from the Suffolk countryside since about 1960, or have been recorded in only a few isolated instances — White Admiral (Limenitis Camilla), Purple Emperor (Apatura iris), High Brown Fritillary (Argynnis cydippe), Silver-washed Fritillary (A. paphia), Pearl-bordered Fritillary (A. euphrosyne), Large Tortoiseshell ( N y m p h a l i s polychloros), and Silver-studded Blue (Plebejus argus). It has often been suggested that the increased use of chemical sprays has been the cause of the reduction in the n u m b e r of


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Butterflies in Suffolk by Suffolk Naturalists' Society - Issuu