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Welcome to the Hertfordshire & Middlesex Branch of Butterfly Conservation
Butterfly Conservation is a registered charity dedicated to the conservation of butterflies and moths
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23 August - Amwell Nature Reserve 7:30pm - 9:00pm moth evening organised by the HMWT - donation requested
23 August - Stanmore Country Park 9:00pm - 10:30pm moth evening
Please go to the Events page on the national
Butterfly Conservation's website for more details
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| Latest news and information |
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Species (39) reported this year : Peacock, Red Admiral, Comma, Brimstone, Small Tortoiseshell, Painted Lady, Small
White, Holly Blue, Camberwell Beauty, Large White, Orange-tip, Speckled Wood, Green-veined White, Small Heath, Small Copper, Green Hairstreak,
Grizzled Skipper, Dingy Skipper, Small Blue, Brown Argus, Common Blue, Large Skipper, Meadow Brown, Purple Hairstreak, Small Skipper,
White-letter Hairstreak, Marbled White, Ringlet, Dark Green Fritillary, Essex Skipper, Purple Emperor, White Admiral,
Silver-washed Fritillary, Gatekeeper, Chalkhill Blue, Brown Hairstreak, Clouded Yellow, Queen of Spain Fritillaty, Adonis Blue - see
sightings page
Small Blue project at Greenwood Park - construction completed - please read
progress report (latest update 31 May).
Have a look at the display boards at the
park
Painted Lady influx this year. For sightings already reported in 2019 go to the
Migrant Watch page on the Butterfly Conservation website
Brown Hairstreak reported from Surrey (12 July?), so we should find it in our area
very soon. Start looking on hedgerows with plenty of blackthorn and nearby ash/oak trees, preferably near woodland. Contact
Andrew Wood for best sites. For species account click
here. Several seen on 28 July at the Stafford Open Space in Hillingdon - see sightings page
Advice on controlling infestation of Box Tree caterpillars, please read UPDATED BC note
here
The Living Churchyards project aims to encourage wildlife in their churchyards. For more details please read
here. A workshop day on 13 July at
Potton where Andrew Wood will be present. Booking is required for this event
Reports of Green Hairstreak and Small Blue on unexpected sites this year so continue looking out for them in
grassland areas even where there is no Kidney Vetch (for Small Blue)
Can you help record hibernating Small Tortoiseshells? Read Malcolm's article. There is a link to this article in the current newsletter. If you encounter connection problems let
us know
Are there any sites in our branch area you have never been to? Check out the map on the sites page. Many new sites have been added. The map itself can be expanded or loaded under a new tab in your browser
Butterflies bounced back in 2018 according to a study by the UKBMS
Large Tortoiseshell reported in Kent and Lincolnshire in last week of March and one seen in central Essex on 1
April. One seen at Incombe Hole, Ivinghoe Beacon on 23 April. At least 600 in the Netherlands this spring - unprecedented, at
least in the last 50 years or so and first proof of reproduction since 1995 - see Chris van Swaay's tweet.
At least 85 people attended the branch AGM and members' meeting on 23 March - photos below © John Murray
Third Camberwell Beauty sighting in north London this year - at Muswell Hill on 24 March
Over the next 12 months Butterfly Conservation are launching a 'Moths Matter' campaign to encourage people to become
more interested in moths - see the web page here
The Garden Butterfly Survey 2018 Results summary are out. Click
here for details
Which butterfly was top in 2018 according to the Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey? Find out more in the latest
WCBS newsletter
Brown Hairstreak eggs found further north in Middlesex
Help the new team at Millhoppers - work parties will
normally be held every first Sunday of the month - next date 1 September
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2018
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Holly Blue seen in Islington on 23 December- see
Katherine Pogson's tweet
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More Brown Hairstreak egg finds in Middlesex - see
sightings page
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A very successful Brown Hairstreak egg-hunting day on 9 Dec - see
sightings page
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| © John Dobson |
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Advice on two moth species: for controlling infestation of Box Tree caterpillars, please read BC note
here. Health warnings on toxic Oak Processionary
Moth caterpillars - please read.
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Initial National Lottery support for London-based project Big City Butterflies. Please read more
here including a job vacancy
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9 Herdwick sheep now at the Millhoppers Reserve
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Big Butterfly Count 2018 results - Small Tortoiseshell crashes -
details
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Brown Hairstreak reported from the Borough of Hillingdon on 2 September - see
sightings page and
Andrew Middleton's video clips of the butterfly in the area on 6
September
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Which butterfly was the most abundant in our gardens in 2017? Find out from Butterfly Conservation's
Garden Butterfly Survey
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Generally in the UK, it was the warmest May on record. UK maps for climate change anomalies shown
here
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Chequered Skippers flying at Rockingham Forest.
Also see tweet on Back From the Brink
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Can you prepare a square metre in your garden to provide a refuge for our butterflies and other insects?
Please read Alan Titchmarch's Press Release
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Butterfly Conservation report a below average year for
butterflies in 2017. See here for details and summary of results
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About 80 people turned up at the branch meeting at Welwyn on 24 March. More photos can be found on 
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| © John Murray |
© Liz Goodyear |
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Read about the 50th anniversary Conservation Day at Millhoppers NR here.
For Press Release from Butterfly Conservation click here.
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Congratulations to Andrew Steele on his Woodlands Trust Award - Acorn Award
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Follow us on  and
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The Hertfordshire & Middlesex Branch has over 1000 members and covers the administrative county of Hertfordshire and the Watsonian Vice-county of Middlesex (VC21).
The London Boroughs included within the Branch area are Barnet, Brent, Camden, City of London, City of Westminster, Ealing, Enfield, Hackney, Hammersmith & Fulham, Haringey, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Islington, Kensington & Chelsea, Richmond (north of the Thames), Tower Hamlets and the Surrey District Council of Spelthorne.
Download a copy of our 'Welcome to the Hertfordshire & Middlesex Branch of Butterfly Conservation' leaflet for more information
For Branch enquiries please email: elizabethgoodyear@talk21.com; for website enquiries please email peter.clarke4@ntlworld.com
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