UK butts 98

[Chris Raper]

On 6 Sep 1998 04:50:47 -0700, nickbowles at My-Email.co.uk wrote:

Hi Nick,

All my comments are based on a few reserves in South Oxon. So, here
goes:

>very good	

>Holly Blue (1st Brood)

Same here

>good	
				 				
>Chalkhill Blue
Terrible here - on my local site we have had the worst year for ages!
:-(

I thought Dark-green Fritillary had a good year. We saw plenty on the
reserve and they seemed to be seen in nearly all compartments. On the
other hand, another site near by had much less than normal and their
Silver Washed Frit numbers were very much lower. I think all
populations are dependant on the local micro-climate so everyone is
likely to have slightly different experiences.

>Essex skipper			
Well, I'm not sure about numbers but they certainly outnumbered Small
Skipper.

>Meadow Brown					
Very good

>as usual

>Grizzled skip   Dingy skip
>Green Hairstreak  (SE England)
Bad year for us - weather was very poor and few were seen.

>Marbled White

Quite a poor year here

>Large White    

I thought LW had a good year here. For the last few years numbers have
been very low but there were plenty around this year.

>Painted Lady

Well, I think 1998 was an average migrant year so I suppose this is
true. Painted Lady was pretty scarce and ony a few Clouded Yellow were
seen. Silver-Y moth, Rush Veneer and P.xylostella were also average.

>poor

>Clouded Y

I wouldn't say 'poor'. We saw about an average number.

Cheers
Chris R.