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Exciting News from The Beeb Scotland
'Survival zones' for butterflies
Ten "survival zones" are key to saving rare butterfly species from
becoming extinct, according to Butterfly Conservation Scotland (BCS).
The areas identified include Highland Perthshire, Lochaber, North Argyll, Solway and Upper Deeside.
BCS has previously warned that climate change threatens some species.
It said Scotland had become a refuge for butterflies in decline in
England and careful management of the zones could safeguard their
future.
BCS director, Paul Kirkland, said changes to farming and forestry practices have affected habitats.
He said: "Butterfly Conservation Scotland has identified these
10 Butterfly Survival Zones where we will be focusing our new
conservation strategy to re-connect isolated colonies to secure their
future. North Argyll - especially around Loch Creran - pearl-bordered fritillary, chequered skipper and marsh fritillary
Lorne and Knapdale - marsh fritillary and pearl-bordered fritillary
Lochaber - especially Loch Arkaig to Roy Bridge - chequered skipper, pearl-bordered fritillary and marsh fritillary
Upper Deeside - pearl-bordered fritillary
Badenoch and Strathspey - pearl-bordered fritillary
Highland Perthshire - including Rannoch and Breadalbane - pearl-bordered fritillary
Solway - especially Mabie Forest - pearl-bordered fritillary
Mull - marsh fritillary
Islay - marsh fritillary
Moray Firth - especially Culbin - pearl-bordered fritillary
"Although butterflies are small insects, we need to think big to save them.
"Our new focus works with landowners in these key areas to restore habitats, allowing butterflies to spread over a wider area."
The organisation hopes to encourage landowners to use European and government grants to improve and restore habitats.
Projects include introducing managed grazing by livestock of woodlands
to create suitable areas for pearl-bordered fritillary and chequered
skipper, and restoring grazing on abandoned farmland for the marsh
fritillary.
Mr Kirkland said: "Scotland's butterflies have been preserved by
landowners, crofters and foresters who have chosen to continue to
manage their land in traditional ways, especially in the north and
west.
"We do not want to follow England's example of abandoning these practices which has led to these species disappearing."
The "survival zones" announcement comes as parent body, Butterfly Conservation, celebrates its 40th birthday.
It is the world's biggest organisation concerned with Lepidoptera - the
name for the order of insects that include butterflies and moths.
Other bodies involved in the new strategy include Scottish Natural
Heritage, Forestry Commission Scotland, Farming and Wildlife Advisory
Group, Scottish Agricultural College and Local Biodiversity Action Plan
officers.
Glasgow and SW Scotland Branch of Butterfly Conservation
Conserving and Recording the butterflies & moths of SW Scotland
The Glasgow & SW Scotland branch area now has 34
species of butterfly after the recent arrival from England of the Small
& Essex Skippers. There is currently no definitive list of moths
for the branch area but being the most southerly of the three Scotland
branches, the Glasgow & SW Scotland branch very likely has the
greatest number of species.
The branch area includes Dumfries & Galloway,
Ayrshire, Greater Glasgow, Stirlingshire, Argyll, the Argyll islands,
Dunbartonshire & Loch Lomond. This includes Scotland's first
National Park: Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park.
These regions include a diverse range of landscapes providing a range
of habitats from the fertile central lowlands and coastal parts of
Ayrshire/Dumfries & Galloway to the moorland of more inland areas
of these counties and to the rugged mountain scenery of the southern
highlands and Argyll and to the unique scenery and habitats of the
Argyll islands.
This diversity of habitats in the branch area is
reflected in the distribution of some butterflies and moths. For
example, the Mountain Ringlet is only found at altitudes above 300m in
the southern Highlands, the Scotch Argus is not found in lowland areas
of the branch area except in Argyll where it is found down to sea
level. There are some spectacular moths of moorland in the branch area
including the Emperor Moth, the Northern Eggar & Great Brocade.
The key butterfly species in the branch area are the
Chequered Skipper & Marsh Fritillary in parts of Argyll, the Large
Heath which lives in lowland and blanket bogs in various parts of SW
Scotland, the Pearl-bordered Fritillary which has an important
stronghold in Argyll and the Mountain Ringlet in the southern highlands.
The key moth species are the burnet moths of Argyll
and the Argyll islands - Slender Scotch Burnet; New Forest Burnet &
Transparent Burnet - and other western species including the Barred
Tooth-Stripe, Square Spotted Clay, Argent & Sable &
Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk Moth.
MOUNTAIN RINGLET SURVEYS ON SCOTTISH MOUNTAINS 2008
The Mountain Ringlet was designated a UK BAP species
in 2007 on the basis of declines at lower altitudes which are thought
to be caused by climate change. Moreover, this butterfly is certainly
under-recorded in Scotland owing to its remote mountain habitat. These
are two reasons to get out and survey this butterfly this summer. To
these two reasons can be added a third. The Scottish mountains are
fantasic places to be on a fine summers day. The flight period of the
Mountain Ringlet is from late June to early August.
The Mountain Ringlet has a distribution centred on
the southern Highlands of Scotland stretching from Ben Lomond in the
south to Ben Nevis and Creag Meagaidh in the north. It is not found on
the Grampians in general but there are records from Loch an Eilean,
Aviemore and Glendoll. The reason for the absence from the Grampians is
the dominance of heather here as Mountain Ringlet requires grassy
mountains with abundant Mat-grass, its foodplant. However, there are
many grassy mountains further north in the west highlands of Scotland
on which there are no Mountain Ringlet records: the mountains of
Kintail for example. Is this a genuine absence or is it simply
under-recorded here or is the habitat not right in Kintail?
Click here
for further details on the survey methodology. A fine summers day with
either unbroken sunshine or long sunny spells is required and it is
essential that several transects per mountain are obtained from a range
of altitudes. Data from any Scottish mountain would be welcome as the
Mountain Ringlet is certainly under-recorded and negative results are
needed to define the true distribution of the Mountain Ringlet. While
the Mountain Ringlet is unlikely to be found on the Grampian mountains
which are dominated by heather, it is possible that by selecting areas
with less heather and more grass, it might be found outside the two
known areas of Loch an Eilean and Glendoll. Some example mountains
presented on the survey page relate to the Glasgow & SW Scotland
branch and give an idea of how many 1km squares may be found on the
south-facing aspect of a mountain on which Mountain Ringlet may be
found.
If you have a GPS with the facility to download
tracks & waypoints to a computer, it would be brilliant if you
could record your track and save a waypoint for each Mountain Ringlet
you see. This would provide superb information on the distribution of
Mountain Ringlet on a mountain. Thought this may interest you all
Running Wild in The Wilds of Argyll
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