Butterfly Wars

Who would have thought a butterfly could stir up such feelings?

There has been some suspicion that someone local has been illicitly releasing various species of butterfly locally over the years.

Several years back there was an apparent release of Map butterflies in an area in Cholsey and around 3 years ago some Silver-washed Fritillaries were seen at the same site. Both these butterflies species were not seen in subsequent years at the site and as far as I know have not been at this site for many years if at all.

Last year a Marsh Fritillary was seen at the same site. This butterfly had become extinct in the 3 counties of Berks, Bucks and Oxon around 1996.

I understand Natural England are planning to introduce them on Otmoor and are in the process of planting Devil’s bit Scabious in large quantities prior to the release as the Scabious is the caterpillars food plant and a lot would be required to support a new colony.

This year Marsh Fritillaries were seen at this same site in Cholsey with up to 12 noted. Courtship behaviour and egg laying was also observed. The food plant was also found at the site but not in large quantities.

I blogged about the sightings and others put information on other social media sites and subsequently a lot of butterfly enthusiasts turned up to see these butterflies.

Another butterfly seen at the same site was the Small Blue that has not been recorded there before and some believe these were also released.

There have been differing views on these butterflies being present.

Most have enjoyed watching them as they are a rare butterfly but have reservations about them being there as they appear to be a non-sanctioned release rather than a natural colonisation or a planned introduction, such as the Otmoor project.

Apparently the species has been found at 6 sites in the upper Thames area so I’ve heard. Again probable illicit releases and is this being co-ordinated?

It has been mooted that the ‘Butterfly Conservation organisation’ is not accepting records from the area anymore. Maybe they should then at least they can keep tabs on the releases if that is how they view them?

The scientific community are not keen on these alleged releases as, I quote.

“These releases are frowned upon by butterfly conservationists, as they can't monitor natural population changes, and the genetic integrity is threatened.”

And furthermore.

“It's a big problem for science & conservation, as butterflies are a great indicator of the effects of climate change & range shifts. There's also the genetic aspect, populations might be micro-adapted to their habitat, and bringing in genes from who-knows-where can dilute this & alter behaviour or phenology, or move diseases around.”

Over to you!