Wildlife and Conservation Review of 1999
43
first Large Skippers were reported from the early date of 25th May. In contrast, July was relatively
warm and sunny, although north-easterly winds early in the month brought an unseasonal chill to
many coastal areas. By the end of July, though, summer had asserted itself and we were experiencing
temperatures approaching 30 C. Rainfall was only a quarter of the average, and the rain that did fall
was mostly associated with bands of thunderstorms.
A notable event to mark in June was the celebration of 40 years of the Essex Wildlife Trust, and
its myriad of achievements in protecting and enhancing the wildlife of our county in that time.
July's weather resulted in a rapid peak in butterfly numbers, and by the end of the month moth
catches were back up to, or slightly exceeding, normal levels. On 17th July, the night skies over
Essex were lit up with about 50 moth traps, our contribution to the country total of 454 traps operated
on National Moth Night. Despite a rather cool and dreary night, Essex performed creditably with
393 species (794 nationally), representing 16% and 30% of the British list respectively. At least four
100+ species counts came from Essex, including three of the top five most productive sites, and a
Humber of good records were made, including Triangle, Phyllocnistis xenia and Esperia olivella,
as detailed in the Lepidoptera report elsewhere in this volume. On the butterfly front, July saw the
first implementation of a Biodiversity Action Plan to bring back the woodland butterfly community
to Marks Hall Woods. The plan, a partnership project involving English Nature, the Essex
Lepidoptera Panel, Forest Enterprise and the Thomas Philips Price Trust, seeks over the next five
years to return all the former woodland butterflies to this site, now that management practices have
improved and their future is assured; 1999's contribution was Silver-washed Fritillary.
July 17th was also a red-letter day as a new damselfly for Essex and Britain was discovered by
Stephen Dewick and Richard Gerussi {Atropos 9, 3-4). The Small Red-eyed Damselfly Erythromma
viridulum was located eventually in three apparently unremarkable ponds in mid-Essex. In one, it
was the predominant species of damselfly. Egg-laying was observed, and the strength of the best
colony suggests that colonisation occurred in 1998 or earlier. My only concern is over the secrecy
surrounding the sites: surely the risk of the ponds being lost to agricultural intensification or damaged
by pollution outweighs the risk from collectors? And why did the naturalist community, including
the County Recorder, have to first find out about this outstanding discovery from a published paper
in January 2000?
There were many other exciting insect discoveries as well, testament to the activity of recorders in
our county. Don Down found the eggs and larvae of Small Ranunculus on Prickly Lettuce at both
East Tilbury and Leigh, the first Essex records since 1918. These and an additional record of an
adult at Languard Point, Suffolk, point to the extension of its range from a recently-established
Kentish population. Two examples of the very local Giant Lacewing Osmylus fulvicephalus were
found by Geoffrey Wilkinson at Pengy Mill, by the River Can, along with two good plants, Shepherd's
Needle and Green Hellebore. Peter Harvey was invited to Belhus Park to investigate an area of
grassland threatened by tree planting; amongst patches of Harebell, he located the mining bee
Melitta haemorrhoidalis, an obligate associate of Campanula flowers, not previously recorded in
Essex for more than a century. He also found Bombus ruderarius, a much-declined bumblebee.
Naturally, he recommended that all future tree planting should be preceded by insect surveys, to
safeguard such relict sites: all to no avail, though, as the site was subsequently burned by vandals.
Only time will tell if the bees have survived.
Searches had been taking place for the Shrill Carder-bee Bombus sylvarum in south Essex since
May, but it was not until late July that any specimens were found. Two previous sites, Wat Tyler
Essex Naturalist (New Series) 17 (2000)