Page -.15
Some Notes on Butterflies in and around Buckhurst Hill
Studying Lepidoptera in this part of Essex can be very
daunting for two reasons. (1) the general decline of
butterfly populations which has occurred over most of
Great Britain in recent years and (2) the fact that
most of the suitable butterfly areas are defnintely
'no trespassers', or the land is part of Epping Forest
where collecting is not permitted.
However, I have had some success in the four years
I have collected in this area,
I have collected of course and seen commonly in most
areas the ubiquitous small and large whites (Pieris
rapae, and P. brassicae). Also generally common are
the snail tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) the green '
veined white (Pieris napi), the peacock (Inachis io).
the gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus), the meadow brown
(Maniola jurtina), the small heath (Coenonympha
pamphilus) and wall brown (Lasiomata megera). The
latter four being generally common on the more open rides
and grasslands. In fact in a field near Sewardstone,
which was lying fallow for two or three years and where
many plants and grasses had grown up, I saw in 1972
that it was full of literally hundres of meadow browns.
The only time that I have seen such a gathering of so
many butterflies in Epping Forest and being almost
comparable to that of the chalkhill blues (Lysandra
coridon) I saw on the South Downs this year (1974).
The other butterflies that I have noted have been
more interesting because they are less common or some
effort has gone into finding them. For example, the
purple hairstreak (Quercusia quercus) which I have found
locally in Hainault Forest, but seemingly less common
in Epping Forest. The only location that I have seen
it is in a group of oaks round a small grassy area near
the Suntrap Field Centre, Here they presented some
difficulty in catching as they would rarely come within
net level prefering to flit 12-15' up in the oaks and
only occasionally coning lower down to feel from bramble