126 Heath Fritillary in Essex: a review of its status and a report of its second generation
pond, and Gipsywort in a nearby ditch. By the end of my walk I had counted 82 Heath Fritillaries,
and even this is probably an underestimate.
A return visit to Hockley Woods on the 8th September was no less amazing, for almost as many
fritillaries continued to embellish the coppice blocks, with a further two pairs noted 'in-cop' and
dozens of others elegantly flitting around in the autumn heatwave. Less encouraging was the fact
that the cow-wheat had now nearly all died back, leaving just swathes of withered and blackened
plants. Possible alternative foodplants such as Ribwort Plantain and Germander Speedwell were
absent; thus, any resulting larvae would presumably starve to death, especially as they take about
three weeks to hatch.
The following day I received a telephone call from Ken Ulrich informing me that he had found three
Heath Fritillaries that afternoon in Thrift Wood, the first definite evidence for a second brood from
this location.
Yet another very warm day on the 11th allowed the butterflies to fully benefit until late in the afternoon
with about 70 in evidence, principally from Plot 7, and a few still engrossed on the Willowherb
almost until 1800 hours. Due to more unsettled weather, my next excursion was not until the 17th
when improved conditions revealed a total of 48 insects. One Bramble bush yielded another singular
observation - that of watching a couple of Heath Fritillaries sharing a feast of overripe blackberries
with four Commas. A further ramble around Hockley Woods on the 22nd again proved fruitful;
although mostly cloudy, it remained mild and unseasonably humid. I located 18 butterflies basking
as best they could on the Willowherb foliage, including a last mating pair of the year (and the century!).
Spiders were omnipresent around the main clearing, their webs no doubt claiming the lives of a large
proportion of the fritillaries, for I frequently noted their silk- wrapped bodies during the course of
my searches - all rather a lamentable fate for such a beautiful creature, but an exotic meal for any
spider nonetheless.
The butterflies struggled on late into the month, and by the 25th only seven were present. My final
records were on September 28th, but by now only five weary individuals remained to feed on the
scanty remains of Willowherb flowers, taking refuge from the cool breeze. The next day consisted of
torrential downpours that must surely have ended their protracted season once and for all. One
further rather optimistic walk around the site on 6th October appeared to confirm this assumption, as
none were to be seen.
Almost from the outset, the ground-breaking events at Hockley Woods were bound to gain attention
from a wider circle of people as well as naturalists. 1 spoke to Dr. Martin Warren at Butterfly
Conservation's office in Dorset to put him in the picture, and also to Rochford District Council (who
own and manage the wood) and English Nature at Colchester. After all this hectic activity, very little
time elapsed before the local media took an interest.
A reporter at Essex FM, a local radio station based in Southend-on-Sea, contacted me on 8th September
and, along with Don Down, we agreed to meet at Hockley later that day. The media angle was that
this second generation might be an indication locally of the effects of global warming-the fritillaries
normally have a late summer generation only in the warmer parts of central and southern Europe.
Both Don and I recorded a brief interview, with at least one broadcast the next morning during the
news bulletin. Some of the local press also featured the butterfly, in one ease under the headline
'Hockley Woods Second Coming'! Unfortunately some of the information was rather misleading to
the general public as the article gave the impression that their future habitat could extend to areas
Essex Naturalist (New Series) 17 (2000)