Wildlife lovers in Cambridgeshire are being invited to get involved in a project to save a rapidly declining butterfly.
The Dingy Skipper has undergone a worrying decline in parts of Eastern England. A severe drop in numbers, largely down to a loss of habitat, has even resulted in several local extinctions. In neighbouring Essex, the butterfly hasn’t been since 1990 and in Hertfordshire it is found on only three confirmed sites throughout the county.
In Cambridgeshire there are a couple of sites near Peterborough where individuals have been recorded, but the best site is Devil’s Dyke near Newmarket, where as many as 27 adults have been recorded in one visit. This dramatic chalk embankment is a scheduled ancient monument and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
The Cambridgeshire and Essex Branch of Butterfly Conservation are holding a work party at Devil’s Dyke this weekend (Sunday 8 March).
Vince Lea from the Branch is leading the event and said they would love to have more volunteers getting involved:
“The reason this butterfly has been struggling is because the conditions it favours require active management to prevent sites becoming too overgrown. Some tall vegetation and scrub is beneficial as this provides shelter, but if conditions become too overgrown it can lead to the loss of the caterpillar’s food plant, which on this site is Horseshoe Vetch.
“Bare ground is also favoured by the female Dingy Skippers looking to lay their eggs. They often select host plants growing in proximity to it because this provides a warm micro-climate for egg development. On Sunday we will focus on habitat management work to make sure we get things just right for this butterfly before it emerges.”
The Dingy Skipper is the most moth-like of UK butterflies, with grey-brown wings that have mottled brown markings and two rows of small white spots.
The butterfly can be seen on the wing from late April or early May, depending on how warm the spring has been. At individual sites the butterfly flies for four to six weeks and is often seen basking in the sunshine on bare open ground, but by mid-June the flight season is usually over.
The majority of eggs are laid singly on the upperside of the foodplants leaves. Horseshoe Vetch is the preferred foodplant for the caterpillars at this site, whereas in most colonies they tend to use Common Birds-foot trefoil.
If you would like to attend the work party this Sunday, please contact Vince Lea on: 01223 263962 or by emailing: [email protected]