'that almost surpassed belief' (EN II p.70). Two male Clouded Yellows were seen on Wanstead Flats
in 1888 (Fitch, 1891) and 40+ were seen in the vicinity of the rifle butts at Honey Lane Plain in 1892
(EN VI p. 180). The 1983 influx saw a number of records in the Forest.
Rarities amongst the Forest's butterfly fauna are the Brown Hairstreak (Thecla betulae), the
White-letter Hairstreak (Satyrium w-album) and the Purple Emperor (Apatura iris). Epping Forest
was a famed locality for the Brown Hairstreak in the late 19th century. Larvae were beaten from
Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa), particularly from Fairmead and High Beach (Buxton, 1890, and Fitch,
1891). The William Cole collection (P.E.M.) has a series of this species reared from larvae collected
in the Forest in the years 1868-75. It was seemingly last recorded in the year 1900: the specimen is
in my collection. However, in 1983 and 1984 this species was "re-discovered" in the Forest perhaps
as a result of deliberate reintroduction. The White-letter Hairstreak seems to have only contemporary
records from the Forest. Fitch (1891) reported it only from Epping outside the Forest. I discovered a
single adult feeding on Creeping Thistle (Cirsium arvense) flowers on Warren Hill in July 1976 and
a further specimen seen feeding on Bramble (Rubus fruticosus) flowers on the edge of Woodford Golf
Course, not far from Hatch Grove in late June 1989. Healthy colonies of this species have since been
found to occur in several of the Forest's green lanes. The Purple Emperor has always been a rare
species, much sought after by collectors. There have been few reliable reports in the Forest. Fitch
(1891) reported two seen in the Forest; in Bury Wood, Sewardstone and another towards Epping.
There were no further reports until July 1983 when a male of this magnificent species was once again
seen in the Forest (Emmet and Pyman, 1985) in the Honey Lane area. There is some speculation as
to whether this constitutes a genuine re-colonisation or a deliberate introduction.
Butterflies extinct in the Forest
In common with many other sites in Britain, the numbers of 'lost' species of butterfly are regrettably
many. Some species that have now gone from the Forest were extremely rare and local and known
from only one or two records. The Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi), a typical species of heaths and
commons, the larvae feeding on Broom (Cytisus scoparius) and Gorse (Ulex spp.), is only on the
Forest list on the evidence of a single specimen netted by Doubleday (Emmet, 1979). The Grayling
(Hipparchia semele) is not reported for the Forest by Fitch (1891) but one was apparently seen in the
Forest by Raphael Meldola in September 1869 (Hope Dept.), again its only known record. The Heath
Fritillary (Mellicta athalia) a species more usually found in managed coppiced woodland (the larvae
feed on Cow-wheat (Melampyrum pratense)) was recorded as a single specimen from High Beach in
1839 (Fitch, 1891). The larval foodplant is not common but is still fairly widespread in the Forest.
Perhaps the saddest loss to the Forest are the fritillaries. The Small Pearl-bordered (Boloria selene)
and Pearl-bordered (B. euphrosyne) were both found, apparently in numbers, in Monk Wood in 1878
(W. Cole collection P.E.M. and Fitch. 1891). The Small Pearl-bordered, at least, existed until the turn of
the century in the Forest, but thereafter there are no confirmed records of either species. Richard Warner
(1771) recorded the food plant of the fritillaries, Dog Violet (Viola canina), as being found '... Under
hedges and on the sides of fields: very common'. Although still present in the Forest, it is no longer as
common as Warner implied it was in the 18th century. The two large fritillaries Silver-washed (Argynnis
paphia) and the High Brown (Argynnis adippe) have always been rare in the Forest. Meldola (1891)
reported seeing the former at High Beach in July 1870 and Fitch (1891) noted it as having almost
disappeared from the Forest, citing the only record of one being seen in Bury Wood, Sewardstone. There
have been occasional reports of 'wanderers' of this species in the Epping Forest area - one was taken at
Woodford in 1926 (LN 38 p.35) and another in a garden at Loughton in 1945 (EN XXVIII p.37). Fitch
(1891) recorded the High Brown Fritillary from near the Wake Arms and Mera collected a specimen at
Loughton in July. 1917 (Mera collection, PEM). It was last recorded here in 1921 (Mera, 1930).
The Marsh Fritillary (Euphydryas aurinia) is of great interest. It is a species of damp pastures and
heathy commons where its foodplant. Devils-bit Scabious (Succisa pratensis), grows. It was recorded
from High Beach in 1839 and also from Wanstead Flats (Fitch, 1891), being last seen in the Forest in
1874 (Emmet, 1979). The Wanstead record further underlines the former heathy nature of this site
(see page 72). One true heathland species now gone is the Silver-studded Blue (Plebejus argus) which
formerly occurred at High Beach in the vicinity of the King's Oak and near High Beach church
(Buxton, 1890 and Fitch, 1891). Two fine Nymphalids lost to the Forest as breeding species are the
Large Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis polychloros) and the White Admiral (Limenitis camilla). The former
is probably now only a rare vagrant to Britain, but in the early part of this century was a widespread
breeding species. The larvae feed on elm (Ulmus sp.) and sometimes on other shrubs such as Sallow
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