Butterflies at Fowlescombe

What are butterflies?
Butterflies are invertebrates in the order Lepidoptera (which comes from the Greek 'scale wings'), since the wings of the butterfly consists of a membrane covered by loosely attached scales. Butterflies are fully grown adult insects, and as such don't grow any further, but they under go a four stage life cycle and at each stage they look completely different. EGG, CATERPILLAR, CHRYSALIS and BUTTERFLY
"The length of time each adult butterfly lives depends upon the species that it is and the prevailing weather conditions. For instance a small species such as the common blue may live only for a few days, whereas a peacock may emerge from its pupa in early August, feed up and hibernate, mate and lay eggs in the spring and still be on the wing in early June the following year." Field Studies Council (1998) Guide to the Butterflies of Britain

If you like to find out more information about butterflies then try the Butterfly Conservation web site. They can help with where to see butterflies to the law about the protection of butterflies.

The transect.
In 2001 a new butterfly transect was set up on the farm, the transect goes through some of the land that is under the farms country side stewardship scheme from the wet meadows at the bottom of the valley through broadleaved woodland and onto permanent grassland. The transect is set up using the Butterfly Conservation guidelines

This transect is split in to nine different sections, each section is given a habitat code and an management/activity code, for example A habitat code of 18 and a management code of M1, would mean that the section is in agriculturally improved/ reseeded/ heavily fertilised grassland that is grazed by livestock. Also you can have several codes for the same section. The following tables are the descriptions of the habitat and management that are applied to the different sections of the transect.
The tables below the photographs of some butterflies shows the grid references and overall habitat description and codes for the transect.


Gatekeeper	Large white

Painted Lady	Peacock

Red Admiral	Small Tortoiseshell

This table shows the grid references and overall habitat description and codes for the transect.

Section	Grid Ref	Section Length (m)	Habitat Text Description Overall	Habitat Description 1	Habitat Description 2	Habitat Description 3	Habitat Description 4
1	SX689542	150	meadow grassland, mostly wet. Soft rush and grass spp. with some bramble and willow and alder	19	Not Set	Not Set	Not Set
2	SX691544	350	meadow grassland. Grass spp. tussock sedge, soft rush and some willow and alder	19	17	24	Not Set
3	SX689545	300	Over grown meadow dominated by gorse and bramble thickets with some secondary tree growth and herb rich glades.	22	20	Not Set	Not Set
4	SX687547	150	Broadleaved wood land with beech, sycamore and hazel, with some bramble cover and open areas.	26	22	32	Not Set
5	SX688548	100	new plantation 2001 (WGS) mainly oak and hazel	31	30	Not Set	Not Set
6	SX689548	200	Agriculturally improved grazing, dominated by vigorous grass spp.	18	Not Set	Not Set	Not Set
7	SX692549	380	farm track, with woodland and unimproved grassland to the east and semi improved valley with a wet bottom and marsh area	26	19	24	32
8	SX693548	250	farm track with high hedgerows on both sides, hazel, black and hawthorn	25	32	Not Set	Not Set
9	SX692547	350	farm track with newly planted (2001) hedgerow and old hedge banks with haw/blackthorn, hazel	31	32	Not Set	Not Set

This table shows the management description and codes for the transect.

Section	Management Text Description Overall	Management Code 1	Management Code 2
1	Grazing by cattle	M1	Not Set
2	mostly grazing with cattle, small area cut for hay/silage	M1	M4
3	Area under CS. Some scrub removal and grazing.	M1	M3
4	No real management at the moment, but there will be some removal of sycamore regrowth and the planting and laying of some under storey shrub/trees.	M13	Not Set
5	management as set down by the terms of the WGS grant, with weeding of the tubes mowing of the rides and some spraying.	M13	M4
6	grazing by cattle, and a hay/ silage cut is taken	M1	M4
7	area used for machinery and stock movements	M11	M3
8	area used for machinery and stock movements with some management of the hedgerow, only cutting the hedge when it becomes a hazard.	M11	M3
9	when the hedge is old enough it will be layed	M11	M13

So far the number of butterflies has reached 23 these are as follows:

English name	Specific name
Large Skipper	Ochlodes venatus
Small Skipper	Thymelicus sylvestris
Essex Skipper	Thymelicus lineola
Clouded Yellow	Colias crocea
Brimstone	Gonepteryx rhamni
Large White	Pieris brassicae
Small White	Artogeia rapae
Green-veined White	Artogeia napi
Orange Tip	Anthocharis cardamines
Small Copper	Lycaena phlaeas
Common Blue	Polyommatus icarus
Holly Blue	Celastrina argiolus
Red Admiral	Venessa atalanta
Painted Lady	Venessa cardui
Small Tortoiseshell	Aglais urticae
Peacock	Inachis io
Comma	Polygonum c-album
Speckled Wood	Pararge aegeria
Wall Brown	Lasiommata megera
Marbled White	Melanargia galathea
Gatekeeper	Pyronia tithonus
Meadow Brown	Maniola jurtina
Ringlet	Aphantopus hyperantus

The results of this transect are sent away to the butterfly conservation transect co-ordinator for Devon at the end of every recording year. The results are then placed on the BC data base, which is then used to study varying distribution patterns, habitat management prescriptions and also can be used in the creation of a new atlas for British butterflies.


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Butterflies at Fowlescombe

Ochlodes venatus

Thymelicus sylvestris

Thymelicus lineola

Colias crocea

Gonepteryx rhamni

Pieris brassicae

Artogeia rapae

Artogeia napi

Anthocharis cardamines

Lycaena phlaeas

Polyommatus icarus

Celastrina argiolus

Venessa atalanta

Venessa cardui

Aglais urticae

Inachis io

Polygonum c-album

Pararge aegeria

Lasiommata megera

Marbled White

Melanargia galathea

Pyronia tithonus

Maniola jurtina

Aphantopus hyperantus