www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Hi,

I spent all of last summer working on my dissertation project which examined the effects of high voltage power lines on butterfly numbers and have found a worrying negative correlation. The closer you get to power lines the less likely you are to see a butterfly. What is worse is that some of the wires i looked into had magnetic and electric field levels in excess of 100 (mG, V/m) this is beyond dangerously high.

I urge people if you hear of any new power lines being built near any important butterfly habitats take action to prevent the build underground wires are far safer or even if the government would raise the height of the wires that would make a difference, this summer i am investigating the effects on caterpillars and pupae as well as continuing my research on butterflies.

I know of 3 butterfly sites where the area under the power lines is the best area to find butterflies.
Haldon Hill, Glasdrum Wood, and Ashclyst.
This is probably because this area has been felled.
Roger Harding

yes areas with woodland do seem to run a bit of a contradiction. All of my sites were meadow or hedgerow sites.

chanandler04 wrote:yes areas with woodland do seem to run a bit of a contradiction. All of my sites were meadow or hedgerow sites.

Yeah - in Pound Wood, for instance, in Essex, the BEST place for Heath Frits is below the power lines...again, because the trees must be felled to keep the power lines clear. Now they are clearing the wood away from the lines, it would be an interesting comparison...
N

Power Lines through woodlands mean clearings which have to be maintained and kept clear of very tall trees and shrubs. Perfect woodland stable habitat conditions. In Kent I've also seen Heath frits in these Power Line cleared areas and in both W.Sussex and Hants, have found ova of Purple Emperor almost directly under them where fine Sallows grow.

On damp muggy rainy days when the air is heavy with moisture ( high humidity ) the noises ( buzzing like in horror movies ... ) made by the cables or insulators carrying high electricity power is a bit unnerving.... Cannot be sure, but those noises tend to keep the Butterflies away too.