Notes and Observations 15 Part 2

NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS (Motella mustela). This fish, brought to Ipswich Museum to be identified, was caught with rod and line off Felixstowe beach. W. Yarrell's History of British Fishes says: "They are reckoned pretty good eating, but are never got in any quantity, never caught at a hook: the only method of getting them is by shifting the stones at low water when they are to be found with the Blennies."

FIVE-BEARDED ROCKLING

D . J. LETIZIA, Ipswich.

T H E EDUCATION COMMITTEE of the Suffolk Trust for Nature Conservation has recently been set up to improve the understanding and pursuit of natural history and conservation; to involve the schools of Suffolk in the work of the Trust and generally to organise its educational role in Suffolk.

Any person wishing to have further details and/or who considers that he or she can assist in the Committee's aims is asked to contact the Secretary at 54 Holyrood Close, Ipswich. (Tel.: Ipswich 56533.)

M . W . MUMFORD, Secretary.

BUTTERFLIES IN W E S T SUFFOLK. Evidently this has been an exceptional year all over the country for small tortoiseshell butterflies (Äglais urticae) and on 20th September I observed a large concentration of this species at a nursery garden at Drinkstone.

An unforgettable sight was 63 tortoiseshells crowded together upon one small clump of Sedum spectabile. With wings fully outspread and quite motionless, they made a dazzling pattern of chestnut, black and blue upon the carmine flowerheads. I counted at least 500 more upon a nearby row of Michaelmas daisies and should estimate the total number of small tortoiseshells present that day in an area of about two acres at well over a thousand. Curiously enough the only other species present was a lone comma butterfly (Polygonia c-album).

Although other Nymphalid butterflies — peacocks (Vanessa io), red admirals ( Vanessa atalanta), and painted ladies (Vanessa cardwi) — have occurred in modest numbers this summer in south-west Suffolk, most of our resident species have been as scarce as ever.

Very small numbers of ringlets (Apthantopus hyperanthus), meadow browns (Maniola jurtina) and wall butterflies (Parage megera) were present at Härtest and at the old gravel-pits at Rodbridge, and there was a small August hatch of holly blues (Celestrina argiolus).

But following the trend of recent years, such once abundant species

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as small heaths (Coenonympha pamphilus), hedge browns (Maniola tithonus), common blues (Polyommatus icarus), skippers (Hesperiidae), and small coppers (Lycaena phlaeas) were conspicuous by their apparent absence. I saw single commas at Härtest and Risby in October.

W . H . PAYN, Härtest.

FEEDING ROOST OF LONG-EARED BAT (Plecotus sp.).

In mid-July, 1969, a Long-eared bat was discovered to be using as a feeding roost the wall of the covered outside stairway leading to a top floor flat of a house in Ipswich. The staircase is well lit, the bat was easily seen and did not seem to be disturbed by human beings going up and down the stairs. From 30th July until 6th September a record was kept of the occasions when the bat was seen and when the site was looked at and the bat was not seen. (I did not keep the wall under constant supervision but would look at it two or three times between dusk and midnight when at home.) T h e results are set out in diary form below:

30 31

JULY

AUGUST

1-2

3 4, 5, 6, 7 8-23 24

25 26 27

Bat seen.

Not seen.

No observations made.

Bat flew in just before midnight and hung up: it was not feeding and had gone by 12.50 a.m.

Not seen.

On holiday.

On return from holiday found a large collection of moth wings amongst which a large number of the Silver Y (Plusia gamma) with some Lesser Yellow Underwings (Triphaena comes), Common Yellow Underwings ( T . pronuba), and Cabbage Moth (Mamestra brassicae) were kindly identified

by Mr. H. E. Chipperfield. At 11 p.m. bat was hanging up on the light rose but not eating: it moved onto the wall and flew away after about a quarter of an hour.

Bat arrived 8.45 p.m. and hung up feeding: left at 9.15.

Not seen.

Bat not there at 8.30 p.m. but was there at 9.15, hanging on the wall but not eating: it left at 9.45.

At 10.30 it returned to hang on the lamp and was photographed several times with flash bulbs which did not seem to disturb it. It was, though, disturbed by a strong floodlight which made it fly from the light to hang on the wall. The bat was left hanging up at 11.30 p.m. but had gone by 11.45.

NOTES A N D OBSERVATIONS

28

29 30 31

SEPTEMBER

199

Bat flew in at 9 p.m., u p to the light and then flew out. It was not seen again t h o u g h a watch was kept until 1.30 a.m.

Bat hanging on the light at 9 p.m., moving when disturbed on to the wall: gone at 10.30.

N o observations before m i d n i g h t : not seen t h e n .

N o observations before 1 a.m. w h e n bat was hanging f r o m the light rose: not feeding. Flew onto the wall when disturbed.

1, 2, 3 Bat not seen.

4 Bat flew in at 10.45 p.m. and h u n g on the wall feeding.

5 N o t seen.

6 Bat was hanging by one foot f r o m the light at 9.30 p.m. after a few minutes flew to hang on the wall: at 9.50 it had gone. I t has not been seen since.

A . S T E W A R T , C o u n t y Hall, Ipswich.

SQUIRRELS AT H I G H A M .

I n 1922 there was on this little f a r m two acres of mixed woodland and one acre of larch, both about fifty years old: the conifers were all bearing seed. Between 1931 and 1935 I planted about six acres of mixed woodland and thirteen acres of conifers which would not have started bearing seed until about 1960. T h e r e are some other larger woods in t h e parish.

Squirrels were u n k n o w n here in the 1920s, t h e first one being reported to me in 1930 as an u n k n o w n brown animal with a b u s h y tail. T h e red squirrels ( S . vulgaris) gradually increased in numbers b u t I never noticed any damage to t h e leaders of my conifers — which they are said to peel — t h o u g h they always get all the hazel n u t s before they are ripe and most of the walnuts: they usually Strip most of the cones of t h e Scots pines. T h e grey squirrels (S. carolinensis) appeared in 1964, since w h e n the red ones seemed to have decreased in n u m b e r s as the grey increased, b u t I have not m a d e a count and cannot say if the decrease is absolute or relative.

D. JONES, Valley F a r m , H i g h a m .

G R E Y SQUIRRELS S P R E A D I N G .

D ü r i n g t h e s u m m e r of 1969, Grey squirrels ( S . carolinensis) have been seen in D e b e n h a m (K. E. C a b b a n ) and Campsea Ashe (Cranbrook).

SUBFOSSIL R E D D E E R .

W h e n the N o r t h Sea gas main was being taken across t h e Aide Valley at Stratford St. Andrew, the excavator threw u p a single cast red deer a n t l e r ; 4 points, length 20", c i r c u m ference at b u r r 7".

CRANBROOK, G t . G l e m h a m .

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PARASITIC W O R M NEW TO SUFFOLK. In Journal of Helminthology Vol. XLIII, Nos. 1/2, 1969, pp. 167-172, Alan W. Pike records Spirofilaria fulicae-atrae (Diesing) from the knee joint of a Water hen shot at Great Glemham.

A NEW ALIEN? In July this year there appeared in my vegetable garden two specimens of Bupleurum lanc ifolium. About a week later I noticed another plant which I at first thought to be Grass Poly, but which was identified at Cambridge Botanic Garden as Lythrum junceum, a native of the Mediterranean region.

The ground on which these plants appeared had in the past been a place where garden and household rubbish was deposited, and had only been cultivated for three years. It is possible that the seeds may have come there with bird seed or some other import, and the recent digging caused them to germinate.

One Bupleurum has seeded, the Lythrum is now about 60 cm. high and is, at the beginning of October, still flowering.

PHYLLIS JACKSON,

Chevington.

A CORRECTION. In my account of lepidoptera taken in Suffolk in 1968, I said in the Suffolk Naturalists' Transactions (Vol. 14, p.

225) in connection with captures near Thorpeness "that the prize was Clinton's Groundling (Scrobipalpa clintoni Povolny), only recently discovered in Argyllshire". Mr. S. Wakely, who was involved in the taking of the insect in question, informs me that through an unfortunate misidentification the specimen turned out eventually to be the Dotted-brown Groundling (Aroga velocella Duponchel), quite a common and widespread species.

BARON DE WORMS, Woking, Surrey.

A PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION ON NATURAL HISTORY SUBJECTS THE Society is exploring the possibility of holding a Photographic Competition.

We should be glad if anyone interested in taking part in such a competition would send their names to: Mr. S. Beaufoy, 98 Tuddenham Road, Ipswich.