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which is lighter than specimens from the second brook.
The red admiral and painted lady (Vanessa atlanta and
V. cardui) are common when they migrate from the
continent in numbers.
Thus there are butterflies if you can find them in
Epping forest. I have noted about 21 species but what
has happened to the others, the silver washed fritillary
last seen by a friend of mine at High Beech in the
mid 1950's, also the large pearl bordered fritillary,
the white letter hairstreak, the ringlet, the speckled
wood, the large tortoiseshell, the chalkhill blue?
They have probably all disappeared, perhaps due to
human disturbance, I don't know, but it is a rather
melancholy list of species that have disappeared.
Mark Hanson.
With a Botanist Along the A.12. 1.7.74
Major road verges are being increasingly recognised
as valuable wildlife refuges and a number of studies
have been done on plants, small mammals and kestrels,
but little in Essex has been published.
An embankment or cutting is heavily compressed to
maintain stability and the topsoil cover is spread
after storage in heaps for many months, the resulting
man made soil is not perhaps the best medium for plants,
but on the other hand verges have no pedestrian access
and plants and animal communities are relatively
undisturbed.
Studies on the Ml and others have shown that a great
many plants can and do establish themselves very
quickly under such conditions. Those who travel the
Brentwood and Ingatestone bypasses will be familiar with
the extensive self sown broom and gorse. While there
has been extensive tree planting, the flowering plants
on the A12 verges are self sown and it was to look at
these that Mrs Morris and I set off for the Boreham
Bypass on the evening of 1st July, 1974.
The first lay-by out of Chalmsford (at TL740096) is