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The Fire Butterfly Lycaena dispar batavus in Holland 2015.

There has been a number of scientific papers regarding this butterfly. There are a few short videos of feeding adults. However, there seems to be very little information on encountering this rare butterfly in the field. I hope the following will help to enlighten those that may wish to go to the Dutch Fenlands and provide others with information on this interesting endemic.

Figure 1. A pristine L. dispar batavus female basks in the fens of the Weerribben National Park Holland.

There will be three reports with images of Memorable Days searching for L. dispar Batavus in Holland ' and the following articles ' Two Men went to Mow a Meadow' and ' Meetings in the Weerribben'.

Introduction.
The Dutch call L. dispar batavus, Grote Vurrvlinder, which means in English the Fire Butterfly. This is a good name, because on encountering the sheer brilliance of those glorious blazing wings in their fenland home, they will never be forgotton. In nature, L. dispar batavus is a rarity and the Dutch lepidopterists class it as endangered. This butterfly occurs over a large area of fenland at a very low density. Today, ssp batavus is almost confined to the Weerribben National Park. It has been lost from the Widen National Park lying to the south, although it still occurs at a couple of sites to the north.
Figure 2. The foodplant of L. dispar batavus, The Water Dock Rumex hydrolaputhum.

L. dispar batavus is almost identical to the extinct British nominate race both in its appearance and ecology. The batavus ssp is a large dispar race, especially in the females and they are the largest of the European Lycaenidae. The larvae feed solely on the Great Water Dock Rumex hydrolaputhum and it is univoltine flying from mid-July to early August.
Figure 3. A typical breeding station of L. dispar batavus with Rumex hydrolaputhum.

I was told by a Dutch lepidopterist that this species was discovered by a party of children while out for a nature ramble with their teacher during 1915.

The Habitat.
L. dispar batavus occurs in a medium Fen sward where the males have their territories. Here both sexes feed at flowers. This type of fen usually has a wet Sphagnum base and there is a myriad of Marshland flowers, reeds, sedges and rushes. The favourite fenland nectar source is the Purple Loosestrife Lythrum salicaria, although especially the males, do visit a number of different plants to feed. Where colonies occur near roads, a favourite feeding station are patches of Common Creeping thistle Cirsium arvense. Although eggs are laid on dock growing in the fen, those larvae will not survive, as it is summer cut. Most of the main breeding sites are in dykes where the foodplant also grows and along old peat diggings that now hold deep water. Sightings of this rare butterfly are few and far between, a number of Dutch people told me that during some years they have no success at all when searching for this butterfly.
Figure 4. The fenland habitat of Subspecies L. dispar batavus in the Weerribben.

I have for quite a while now wanted to see L. dispar batavus in its native fenland, especially as it resembles the vanished British race. This year is ssp batavus centenary year, the butterfly being discovered a hundred years ago. Until recently, information was almost non existent on where to see this butterfly, its best sites being kept secret, that is until a book was published on the best butterfly sites in Britain and because dispar is no longer with us, it included information on the Weerribben fenland in Northern Holland. I camped for a week at Ossenzijl at the north end of this National Park . I was lucky with the weather, it was mostly fine but on the Saturday a great damaging storm blew across the lowlands of Holland and made for a lively time in my tent .

Next Memorable Days in search of L. dispar ssp batavus.
Figure 5. Me with my lucky bright red hire bike in search of the Fire butterfly or as we Brits call it the Large Copper in the Weerribben National Park.

This is fascinating and I look forward to the next instalments. I had no idea how rare and elusive the Dutch subspecies was. I have a feeling it is one of those things I will read about and admire from a distance but never see ...

Guy

I have the book you refer to which includes information about the Dutch race of Large Copper and I shall read your instalments with interest.

Thank you David and Guy. Yes, I am afraid L. dispar ssp batavus is now a real rarity in Nature. I guess people believe that it is more common because the larvae are easily available as captive breeding stock from sources such as Worldwide Butterflies. In six days searching the Weerribben National Park for ssp batavus, of which 5 days were often windy but fine and sunny, I saw 12 different butterflies. I was told by the Dutch people who were also searching for this enigmatic butterfly that was a very good number to have seen. There are no Copper fields there!!. During some days, I also encountered the same butterflies, I knew them by the distinctive pieces of their wings that were missing. I had sightings of the same male for four consecutive days. More on this beautiful species soon.

Fascinating stuff Nomad, look forward to reading the rest

BWs,

William

Hi there
Brilliant introduction to your three articles, you already have me hooked! Do the Dutch have any idea why it is now so rare and declining?
Paul

Thanks Paul. There will be five parts to this article that hopefully you will enjoy. I believe that L. dispar batavus has never been a common butterfly. A reduction and changes in certain parts of its habitat may be one of the problems. Most Dutch field naturalists that I happened to meet have no idea why it is so rare. The cutting or mowing of some areas of its fenland habitat while the butterfly is on the wing, certainly seems to be a odd practice but this will be looked at further in one of the articles.

Memorable days searching for Lycaena dispar batavus.

I set off on my first outing into the Weerribben fens early in the morning. I had high hopes of finding L. dispar batavus, it was going to be a fine summers day. I walked along the nature trail from Ossenzijl, which runs for 3.5 km by the sides of reedbeds, fens and through carr woodland. I stopped at an interesting piece of tall fen and admired the impressive giant yellow-flowered Great Fen Ragworts Senecio paludosa, rising high above the reeds. In Britain this is a very rare plant, being confined to a once rubbish filled ditch in Cambridgeshire. Just like the Large Copper, this plant is another victim of our drainage of our fens.
Figure 1 The Weerribben reserve with wind pumps.

No butterflies are on the wing, I know it is too early but I am eager to see the Dutch fenland, already the many dragonflies are out hunting. I make a mental note of the many fenland plants, most of which still occur in Britain but not in such numbers. I sit and ponder by an old wind-pump, one of many that is now used to pump water into the fens . Then, I decide to have a look in the fen along a short path made by deer . The vegetation is very wet from the rain the night before and my feet are soon soaked but I do not care, I am in Holland searching for fire butterflies.
Figure 2. The Great Fen Ragwort Senecio paludosa in the Weerribben reserve.

I peer around and then out of the corner of my eye I see a roosting batavus female. I cannot believe my luck and she is huge. The female moves up the reeds and then flies a short distance to bask in the morning light. Rain drops glisten on her body. She soon flies off to land in an inaccessible reedbed.
Figure 3 & 4. L. dispar batavus female in the early morning fens of the Weerribben Reserve.

Well that was a good start I thought, but then I did not know that it would be many hours before I would see another. I had been told pristine L. dispar batavus are especially hard to find, as these butterflies soon cut themsevles on the reeds and may be prone to attacks from birds and probably large dragonflies.

Later in the day as the cloud rolled in, I found a few Summer brood Map butterflies Araschina levana along a broad ride through carr woodland. This small butterfly flew at high speed and they were difficult to follow with the eye, but they were also fond of basking. They mostly seemed to be males and were very territorial, fighting any other males that strayed into their space, the combatants would both disappear into the trees but soon be back having seen of their rival.

Watching the Maps bought back memories of last year's Hullabalo, when they turned up near Swanage in Dorset. All that confusion and secrecy. Seeing the Dutch Maps they seemed so territorial they do not look like a migrant species . Of course they were an introduction. but it did not seem to matter, after all, they were on British soil. I only met the native Dutch Maps a few times but became very fond of this little and charming butterfly.
Figure 5 & 6. A Map butterfly A. levana takes a rest in the Weerrribben in Holland.
Figure 7. A basking L. dispar batavus female lights up the morning fens.

Next. More memorable days in search of L. dispar batavus .

Peter.

I am already gaining an insight into how precious a butterfly species this is in the Netherlands.

Lord alone knows how coveted it used to be in the UK.

Lovely, impeccably fresh specimen you got an audience with too. You certainly deserved it!

Thanks David. This certainly is a very wonderful and precious butterfly. I must mentioned that any localities mentioned in this thread for L. dispar batavus are freely available in ' Discover Butterflies in Britain ( 2006) by D.E. Newland. Although Mr Newland book is a site by site guide to British Butterflies, he included the Weerribben reserve because of the extinction of our Large Copper L. dispar dispar. I do hope this thread brings to the attention of how rare the fully protected ssp batavus is in nature and hope that these articles encourage other British Butterfly enthusiasts to explore the fens of the very extensive Weerribben National Park. You will find a very warm welcome there. I might add that some areas in the Weerribben are permit only, so if you want to visit these you must apply for that permit from the park authorities. See Mr Newlands book for the address.

Peter.

Memorable days searching for Lycaena dispar batavus in Holland. Part two.

I set off again on my red hire bike into the fens looking for L. dispar batavus and search likely looking spots but I find none. Later, I met two botanists conducting a plant survey of the fens and they also had a brief to keep a eye open for batavus, they have drawn a blank but show me an exact spot on a map where they have seen batavus last week.
The kind and helpful botanists have shown me a location on my map at the southern end of the Weerribben reserve in a very large area of old peat diggings called the Woldlakebos. ( mentioned in Mr Newland's book, Discover butterflies in Britain 2006). Some of the old peat diggings have filled with water and here L. dispar batavus has been seen taking nectar at patches of Creeping Thistle Cirsium arvense, I head there.
Figure 1. The Woldlakebos.

I arrive at the location in the Woldlakebos and find the Creeping thistles, I wait, two hours pass, only Meadow Browns Maniola jurtina are feeding, then there is a Small Copper Lycaena phlaeas. Going back to get a drink from my rucksack, I return and there feeding next to L. phlaeas is the most marvellous pristine female L. dispar batavus, she has quite dark markings on her forewings. When the sun goes in she flies into the fen vegetation to bask, I am very excited, she glows, a fire butterfly indeed.
Figure 2 & 3. A beautiful female of L. dispar batavus.

Later, there is flash of intense brilliant orange, a male has arrived but he is not in good condition, he looks like he has been attacked. He is very interested in my bright red bike, he flies over to it several times. Later, I cycle back to my campsite a happy man.

I arrive early at the Woldlakebos site I visited the day before around 9am. The tatty male is already here feeding, the female from yesterday turns up, already she shows slight tears to her hindwings. The male flies over and tries to mate with the female, she flies off into the fen, the male chases after her, they descend into the fen together. Hopefully they will pair.

A number of other people have arrived at this locally well known site, the male comes back and even though he shows damage the people here are very pleased. The male is well photographed.
Another almost pristine smaller female pays us a visit, she is very dark, an aberration? , I manage to get some good shots with my camera.
Figure 4. A very dark L. dispar batavus female.

The day before I met a Dutch entomologist in another area of the Woldlakebos and we talked as we admired a male batavus basking and feeding in the fen. Today, he has arrived here. He visits the Weerribben each year to search for batavus, he tells me that he had looked here last year but saw none because they had cut the fen, he has never encountered them before feeding at thistles. He also informed me that on some visits to the Weerribben he is unsuccessful in his search for ssp batavus , he mentions I have been very lucky in mine.
Figure 5. A male L. dispar batavus basks in the fen in the Woldlakebos.

By the adjacent lagoon, a notice has been placed, that says in Dutch " Do not mow until the 18th August Fire Butterly Survey in progress ". Bamboo poles have been placed by the foodplants, growing along the sides of the lagoons, I guess a lot of egg counting will be going on.

The next day it rained in the afternoon and then a great storm arrived from Western Holland in the early evening. The storm bought down many trees and flattened the thistles by the lagoon, which are now turning to seed. It almost flatterned my tent during the night. A large Willow branch fell in the camping field but thankfully just around the corner, several tent spaces away. Luckily there was no tent underneath, almost everyone who was camping had gone home. Things looked bleak but by Sunday the storm had blown itself out and the sun come out. I set off once more into the fens on my last day to hopefully find another male batavus to photograph but with that storm my chances seemed slim.
Figure 6. The Weerribben National Park.

Next. More Memorable days searching for L. dispar batavus in Holland. (Which includes another scarce butterfly of the Weerribben).

Peter A.

Those two are truly beautiful specimens, Peter. You clearly had a productive trip and from what I've already read you certainly deserved your rewards!

Really interesting stuff. Great photos!

Beautiful... of ook "heel mooi"! Us, being on an island cut off from the continent with the channel in between, means we do end up with less wildlife than on the continent sadly. Once they're gone they're gone.

Thank you for the nice comments. I believe Holland, which is mainly a very agricultural country, has around the same number of butterfly species as Britain. That's not bad considering they have no mountains. I believe they have had a few extinctions but not as many as the U.K and they have retained Lycaena dispar. I agree, once endemic races disappear that is it, they are gone for good. The nominate Large Copper L. dispar, the two ssp of Silver-studded Blue Plebejus argus masseyi and cretaceus and a number of interesting geographical races of the Large Blue ssp eutyphron. Very sad.

A quick look through De Dagvlinders van Nederland reveals that the Netherlands have lost 28 species, rather more than we have so far.

M.

Gosh, is that 28 extinctions of butterfly species in Holland or does that include moths, that seems a lot.

What kind of timeline are we talking about? I find it hard to believe the Netherlands has lost 28 butterfly species, for instance, in the last 100 years. That would be practically one every four years!!!!

Memorable days searching for L. dispar batavus in Holland.

When looking for L. dispar batavus in the field I made good use of any avaliable local knowledge. The entomologist that I met at the Woldlakebos was most helpful. In the fens, I also wanted to see the butterfly the Dutch call the Zilveren Maan = Silver Moon Boloria selene and what we British call the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary. This is rare butterfly in Holland, that occurs in the Weerribben fenland. In Britian it is found in woods and on moorland.

The Dutch entomologist told me to check a site south of Ossenzijl. I arrived at the spot and crossed a bridge across a dyke with much L. dispar batavus foodplant. Sure enough I encounter B. selene in open areas between and in the wet medium fens. The butterflies seemed smaller than those in Britain and they flew at speed close to the ground, stopping now and again to bask or take nectar. I found only a few.
Figure 1 & 2. Boloria selene in the Weerribben.

Walking along the edge of the fen, I at once saw a flash of brilliant orange and a pristine male L. dispar batavus landed on Milk Parsley to feed. What a splendid male he was and he visited other flowers and took turns resting in the vegetation. This was his territory and he buzzed any B. selene at high speed. He moved so fast I just managed to keep track of him. I had found one other good male in a site in the Woldlakebos but not as fine as this fellow. His beauty was exquisite and I was enjoyed myself very much and this was a fitting end to my exploration of the fenland of the Weerribben.
Figure 3, 4 & 5. The most beautiful of the four males of batavus that I saw in the Weerribben. Feeding on Milk Parsley with the abundant Red Soldier Beetles Rhagonycha fulva and the same male basking in the fen.

Later in the day, I met a tall Dutch guy in a uniform standing by an official looking Weerribben Parks vehicle. I was pleased to meet this warden, I had some pressing questions for him, such as why were they cutting some fens while the butterflies were on the wing there and visiting the nectar sources they contained ( See the next article).
Figure 6. A male L. dispar batavus rests in the fen.

I saw many dragonflies in the Weerribben Fens. My favourite was the beautiful Vuurlibel or Fire Dragonfly Crocothemis erythraea. Unfortunately, this species does not occur in Britain.
Figure 7. The Fire Dragonfly Crocothemis erythraea.

Next Two men went to mow a meadow = Fen.

What a trip you've had, Peter. Those images are glorious. This is a beautiful butterfly for sure!