British gorganus Swallowtails

[Neil Hulme]

Things are now really hotting up following the April sightings of British-born gorganus (European) Swallowtail at Magdalen Hill Down (Hants.) and Seabrook (Kent), followed by May sightings at ARC Pit, Scotney (Kent/East Sussex border) and the first emergent butterfly from a batch of pupae being monitored in a Chichester garden (West Sussex). I have just heard of further 'tails being spotted at Peacehaven (East Sussex) on Thursday and Chanctonbury Ring (West Sussex) on Sunday. Exciting times!
BWs Neil

[Butterflysaurus rex]

Exciting times indeed! I'll bet you they'll all avoid me like the plague though. Maybe if I dressed up as a carrot? Do you think I might attract any that way. I'll give it a go and if it does I'll send you a selfie of me as a carrot all covered in gorganus. Seriously though I would love to see one.

B'saurus

[Neil Hulme]

Hi rex,
Dressing in a carrot costume (orange foam body and green tights) is, in my opinion, almost certain to work. Try it at once.
BWs, Neil

[Butterflysaurus rex]

Now then - you don't think I'll look a little bit silly do you? The things I'm willing to do to see a Swallowtail eh!

All the Best

B'saurus

[David M]

This development has one major advantage - these butterflies will be noticed wherever they go.

If you've never seen a Swallowtail before and you suddenly encounter one, my guess is that you would report it.

It'll be interesting to see how many sightings are confirmed in the forthcoming few weeks.

[Lee Hurrell]

How exciting this is! Let's hope they breed on

[millerd]

Excellent news - if the home-grown ones are emerging to coincide with a few more blown over on the warm southerlies from the continent, then the chances of them meeting up and breeding would be much enhanced. This is how populations become established, I guess. Plenty of wild fennel round here, but they would have to travel quite a bit further...

Dave

[Neil Hulme]

Update from the BC Sussex website:

"Number 5 is alive! A fifth Sussex Swallowtail has emerged. Number 5 was originally found as a caterpillar in a garden near Eastbourne last August. However, it had been taken indoors for some time where it pupated and we feared that this warm and dry environment could have dessicated the pupae. It was moved back outdoors (in a kid's mesh butterfly cage) where the chrysalis enjoyed the lovely British winter. Yesterday we were thrilled to discover it had made it through OK!"

Great news, although this one doesn't 'count' in my books, having been artificially assisted.

BWs, Neil

[Neil Hulme]

I found a beautiful, freshly emerged male gorganus on the outskirts of Chichester yesterday (see viewtopic.php?f=29&t=4065&start=1640) on rough land near the superstores, and another has apparently emerged today from monitored pupae in Eastbourne.
BWs, Neil

[selbypaul]

Hi Neil
Thanks for reporting the good news.

Can I ask a few questions? Firstly, is the recent set of emergences the first few of many more over the next few weeks? Or are we going to be limited to a small number? And secondly, how likely is it that those that do emerge will find each other and breed?

Thanks in advance
Paul

[Neil Hulme]

Hi Paul,

Both are interesting questions.

To give some measure of where we are within the sequence of British gorganus first brood emergences, of the 9 pupae being monitored in a Chichester garden, only 3 have yet emerged. I suspect that this statistic can be crudely rolled out for the entire population.

Will these numbers be sufficient for any/many to meet the opposite sex? Although relatively few are likely to be recognised/reported, I suspect there are probably a couple of hundred pupae scattered around the southern counties. Again guess work, but that should be enough for a second brood ... probably, just.

BWs, Neil

[MrSp0ck]

The Swallowtails should hilltop, so there is a good chance they will meet, if enough emerge in the same areas and there is a high point to hilltop.

[jasonbirder]

Are any of these Gorganus Swallowtails available to the wider at public at publicised/open access sites? Or gardens where the owner is happy to accept visitors (perhaps for a small donation to a conservation charity of his/her choice)...

They're sufficiently different from our native subspecies that i'd be keen to catch up with one!

[Neil Hulme]

Hi Jason,

Other than those being monitored in a private Chichester garden, most other sightings have been from places with public access. Unfortunately, this species hasn't proven particularly 'twitchable', so there haven't been any repeat sightings .... yet. The same applied to the primary immigrants seen in summer 2013, until one was tracked to roost and then became grounded by bad weather. They are very mobile butterflies, so the chances of them sticking in one place are quite low. However, if an egg-laying female is spotted in an area with plenty of food-plant then there's a good chance it will be possible to relocate it. Luck is definitely required at the moment, but less luck might be necessary once the population grows. Fingers crossed!

BWs, Neil

[selbypaul]

Thanks for answering my questions Neil. Fingers crossed!
Paul

[Neil Hulme]

Details of another British gorganus (possibly two) seen at Steyning here viewtopic.php?f=29&t=4065&start=1660, plus news of another adult emerging in the monitored Chichester garden.
BWs, Neil

[Paul Wetton]

Hi Neil

I guess twitching one of these beauties from Nottingham is a bit of a difficult task especially considering the problems I had with another tailed species last year. What do you think my chances would be in a couple of weeks time.

Many thanks

[Neil Hulme]

Hi Paul,

I failed to relocate the female at Steyning this morning. These things are proving exceptionally hard to twitch, even from short range! Not a single specimen has been relocated yet, following the initial sighting or departure from the Golden Garden. I suspect things might get a little easier as their numbers grow, but I reckon a large slice of luck is going to play a major part in most sightings.

BWs, Neil

[Susie]

This is probably a daft question but are allotments a good place to look for these?

[Neil Hulme]

No such thing as a daft question on UKB Susie .
In a nutshell "yes", and particularly any flower-rich grassland nearby.
As the summer kicks in it must be worth wandering along the top of the Downs, where I suspect highly mobile males will be roaming.
BWs, Neil