www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

... from our very own Mark Colvin

http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/reports_largecopper.php

Cheers,

- Pete

One of the saddest stories in the history of UK Lepidoptera.

Given the success of the Large Blue reintroduction though, would it be beyond fantasy to once again see this insect flying on these isles?

Fascinating. It would be lovely to see them over here. But I suppose we should concentrate on making sure we don't lose any more.

Dave

You Brits are really obsessed with dispars, don't you.

Have I already told you I have dispar biotope right behind the house?

(I just have to be really annoying from time to time. )

The Annoying Czech wrote:You Brits are really obsessed with dispars, don't you.

Our subspecies should be called L. dispar disparu, to slip in a French pun.

As Mark says, " ... another heaven and another Earth must pass before such a one can be again". If we do seem to harp on about large coppers it's not just nostalgia and guilt but also that we're very keen to learn from the lesson and make sure no more of our endemic forms depart this present cosmic order!

That said, you're right - we probably are just a little obsessed ...

Guy

The Annoying Czech wrote:You Brits are really obsessed with dispars, don't you.

Have I already told you I have dispar biotope right behind the house?

(I just have to be really annoying from time to time. )

I understand the species is doing well in central and eastern Europe at the moment, spreading its range. I vaguely remember reading something to the effect that it has broadened its range of foodplants and is not so restricted to extremely wet places - is this correct?

Incidentally, has any work been done on the genetics of British dispar? I know that Lai & Pullin did a study of the species in central and eastern Europe looking at batavus and various populations of rutilus, which found more genetic differentiation between different populations of rutilus than between batavus and the nearest populations of rutilus. It would be interesting to know where the British populations fit in.

It's basically ubiquist. Just as phlaeas, similarly sparse but in many places. Dispar's far more predictible (is that a word? ), since males tend to inherit the same territories. Sometimes it's really like a copypaste of the previous year... So one can be sure to meet them in the right time/place.

I doubt it has ever been a species of "extremely wet places" here. I assume historical CZE sites were like hygrophilous meadows around the brooks in White Carpathinans (probably a donor areas, but there's always a possibility to be mashed with escaped captive-bred stock, since dispars were "very trendy"). Certainly not marshes. In fact, from what I've seen, the butterfly rather avoids non-managed marshes.

Last year I met one male very early (May 19) by the road between pine forests, not far from one of the hottest places in the country where eg. last H. statilinus was found. This doesn't sound "extremely wet" at all.

I'd say they normally tend to prefer mesophile or slightly hydrophilous biotopes of various succession and management. I found them common even in poorest faun. square I explored. So, only serious limit I see are the mountains. It is commonly said alt. 500 is a borderline, but I assume it's definitely higher. Can be still common at alt. around 400.

They're just damnably adaptable and modest, that's it. But not *abundant*; I counted 40 ex. around my village (2012 count).