4 May 2012
The Orange-tip, one of our earliest non-overwintering butterflies and a sure sign Spring has arrived. Picture by PAUL MARTEN / Sussex Wildlife Trust.
One of the first signs of spring is glimpsing the unmistakable bright orange flashes of the male Orange-tip Anthocharis cardamines as it patrols along country lane verges and hedgerows looking for a female. Emerging in April they are one of our earliest non-overwintering butterflies to see, and a sure sign that blissful sunny spring days are here and butterfly recording can start in earnest.
The male butterfly is easy to spot when it is on the wing, with its vibrant orange wing tips; a wonderful sight for us but this bright colouration is thought to be a warning sign to repel predators. This bold butterfly wouldn’t make a very tasty snack due to the mustard oils which will have built up in the body when it was a caterpillar feasting on its foodplants, such as Garlic Mustard Alliaria petiolata and Cuckooflower Cardamine pratensis.
We’re looking to collect as many Orange-tip records as we can in order to fill the map of Sussex for the forthcoming Butterfly Conservation Sussex Butterfly Atlas and we’d like you to send in your records.
Drop us a line when you spot a male Orange-tip, whether it’s in your garden or in the countryside we’ll be grateful to hear from you. We’ll need your name, the date you saw it, and where you saw it, preferably an OS grid reference, and a road name and town — the more detail the better.
Please send your Orange-tip records to Penny Green [email protected] or 01273 497521.
15 February 2012
Once a year there is a curious gathering of a very special Sussex species: the biological recorder. Usually they would be found in their natural out-of-doors habitat; on heathland, downland or woodland, but for just one day a year they come together in a communal winter roost at Adastra Hall in Hassocks.
During the day several speakers entertain the audience with tales of scientific discovery in Sussex and recording groups display their latest projects so that interested volunteers can get involved, such as atlas survey work. At lunchtime there is a feeding frenzy of sandwiches and cakes and talk of the coming year’s survey plans and then more cake. There is simply not enough time to feed, chatter and drink before it’s time to return to their perches for more delicious information. By the end of the afternoon session the flock, repleat with the new information they have consumed, say farewell and part once again for a whole year to play on their summer pastures, complete with their summer plumage of nets, magnifying-lenses and binoculars.
If you’re interested in attending the next Sussex Biological Recorders Seminar, get in touch with Penny Green.
16 December 2011
Mistletoe photo courtesy of Landscapes of England.
Mistletoe is abundant in some areas of Sussex and it appears to be becoming increasingly common throughout England. Mistletoe is a hemi-parasite on a variety of trees; it photosynthesises using its evergreen leaves, but it supplements this by taking water and nutrients directly from its plant host. Mistletoes translucent white berries are well known to many people and in the past this plant was sometimes grown in ancient orchards so that the farmers could supplement their income by selling the sprigs of Mistletoe at Christmas.
The berries are highly attractive to many birds including the Mistle Thrush, however they have a cunning trick up their sleeve. The berries are incredibly sticky, and once they have passed through the bird it can often have problems extricating itself from the sticky residue encasing the seeds. The birds usually find a way, and this results in the Mistletoe seeds being wiped onto the top of a branch on a new host.
In Sussex you should look for mistletoe in old orchards, on Apple trees and also high up on Poplar and Lime trees with the Ditchling, Storrington and Arundel areas being particularly blessed with large numbers of this enigmatic plant.