www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Captains Log:

About 5 years ago, while on the look out for White-letter Hairstreak colonies in Sussex, I was delighted to stumble upon a particularly large and healthy example thriving on some private land.

Stardate: 2014 Over the next couple of years I monitored the health of the colony from the sidelines. 2015 was a particularly good year, it was fantastic to see very large numbers of Hairstreaks decending to enjoy the bramble and creeping thistle.

Stardate: 2015 Unfortunately it was becoming evident that some of the biggest Elm’s were now badly affected by Dutch elm disease, including the largest Elm that I believed (due to the high activity surrounding it) to be the master tree.

Then one day during an annual visit to the area I discovered that the inevitable had happened. Several of the diseased trees had been felled including the large master tree. Predictably the following summers population of WLH’s crashed. To my dismay only one solitary female was seen ‘at eye level’ after many hours of searching.

Stardate: 2016 Saddened by the seemingly hopeless situation I wondered if there was anything I might be able to do to help save the colony from extinction. I thought that replacing the diseased Elms with resistant strains would be the best bet so I set about trying to locate the land owner. My hope was that he or she would be sympathetic to the idea and perhaps allow access to plant some new Elms. This stage proved to be much more difficult than I had anticipated, In the end it took me nearly two years to track the owner down! We had a brief but fantastic chat on the phone and to my delight he was very receptive to the idea of replacing the diseased Elms with some resistant varieties. In the interest of protecting his land he requested that both his identity and the location should remain strictly anonymous.

Now my concern turned to how the purchase of the Elms might be funded. So I decided to call Jamie Burston, Sussex BC’s ‘species champion’ for the White-letter Hairstreak. I was sure that he would be able to help. Initially my hopes were that Sussex BC might be able to fund the purchase of a few Elms but unfortunately these funds had already been allocated.

Feeling disheartened I thought I might fail at the final hurdle. Realising I’d come this far already and I'd nothing left to loose I summoned the courage to contact the land owner one last time to ask him if he might possibly consider buying a few DED resistant Elms for his land. To my lasting delight and gratitude he said he would be happy to purchase not just a couple but 10 Elms!! Needless to say I was over the moon with the news. I quickly contacted Jamie and with his help the wheels were set in motion. He assisted the land owner in purchasing the 10 resistant Elms - alongside Sussex BC’s allocation. All that remained was to await delivery and arrange a day to plant them.

As with any decent tale there’s usually a twist somewhere and that came in the form of a nasty bought of “man flu”. With everything set up I came down with a 40 degree fever less than a week before we were set to plant the trees! Despite feeling very rough indeed I wasn’t going to miss this for anything less than “enforced” hospitalisation! So I tanked myself up on paracetamol and headed over to help with the planting. As we were finishing up the land owner told us that more affected Elms have been earmarked for the axe. Then out of the blue he sprung another wonderful surprise on Jamie and I, he said that he would buy another 10 Elms to put in next year!!! Well that rendered us both practically speechless... So next winter Jamie and I will be back with the land owner to plant another 5 each of Ademuz and LUTECE Elms!

Stardate: 2018 This could easily be the end of the story, but thanks to this wonderful experience I feel inspired to make this appeal: If anyone reading this ever stumbles across a similar situation - be it on private or public land - why not try and contact the land owner, and simply ask if they would be willing to fund any improvements. Or perhaps allow a few volunteers access to improve the habitat for Butterflies. The worst they can say is no.

I would like to extend enormous thanks to the utterly fantastic Land owner and Jamie Burston, without their time and great generosity my hopes for this colony of White-letter Hairstreaks would have been dashed.

Thanks for looking

James

P.S No Klingons were harmed in this version of events.

Absolutely wonderful story - well done you .

Tony M.

Yes, great stuff James. I remember you telling me about this up on High and Over last year.

After I found and reported a WLH egg a month or two ago at work my Horticulture dept. have been very eager to aid them and have recently purchased a Disease resistant Elm (as recommended by Jamie) to plant on site, the first of several planned when space allows

Great story, well told. A bit obvious I suppose but...well... may those White letters Live long and prosper

Tony Moore wrote:Absolutely wonderful story - well done you .

Tony M.

Thanks Tony, it’s great to know you can still encounter the help and generosity of total strangers.

bugboy wrote:Yes, great stuff James. I remember you telling me about this up on High and Over last year.

After I found and reported a WLH egg a month or two ago at work my Horticulture dept. have been very eager to aid them and have recently purchased a Disease resistant Elm (as recommended by Jamie) to plant on site, the first of several planned when space allows

Cheers Paul, when I mentioned it to you I think I’d just found out it would all go ahead. Great news! Jamie has been very helpful indeed. If this kind of thing happens enough then I think we can secure a future for WLH’s.

IAC wrote:Great story, well told. A bit obvious I suppose but...well... may those White letters Live long and prosper

Obvious? ‘possibly’ but a perfect response Iain and one that reflects a sentiment we all share.

Many thanks all

James

Having seen my First WLHS last year i think you've done a fantastic job and really stuck to your guns in doing so
I've just posted about a find of WLHS eggs in Scotland . Goldie

You kept that one quiet, James, but what a report....probably one of my all time favourites on here.

Your perseverance and dedication are beyond laudable, and certainly worthy of further rewards of more close encounters with this delightful but hard to observe species.

Best of luck to you, Jamie AND the generous landowner.

Win, win all round!

Goldie M wrote:Having seen my First WLHS last year i think you've done a fantastic job and really stuck to your guns in doing so
I've just posted about a find of WLHS eggs in Scotland . Goldie

Thanks Goldie WOW White-Letter Hairstreaks in eastern Scotland! Who'd have thought it!

David M wrote:You kept that one quiet, James, but what a report....probably one of my all time favourites on here.

Your perseverance and dedication are beyond laudable, and certainly worthy of further rewards of more close encounters with this delightful but hard to observe species.

Best of luck to you, Jamie AND the generous landowner.

Win, win all round!

Very Kind of you David Although I kicked off the process it really turned into magnificent team effort. It only goes to show what you can achieve by making a request! I'm not in the habit of asking complete strangers to consider spending their money for the benefit of butterflies so I found that bit slightly nerve wracking. But He couldn't have been nicer about it - in fact he agreed instantly!! From there Jamie's help was invaluable in getting the final stages completed.

It all came together better than I could have hoped for. Of course the Elms won't only help the WLH's but many other species too, not to mention greatly enhancing the area for generations to come.

A very satisfying endeavour for everyone involved.

BW's to you both

Thanks Goldie WOW White-Letter Hairstreaks in eastern Scotland! Who'd have thought it!

Having seen my First WLHS last year i think you've done a fantastic job and really stuck to your guns in doing so
I've just posted about a find of WLHS eggs in Scotland . Goldie

Sorry guys, I have been trying to get some news on here re White-letter Hairstreak eggs in Scotland this past few days. It is incoming as there will be more news to come I reckon as the days progress. Meanwhile. I have several links https://butterfly-conservation.org/3114 ... found.html and https://www.facebook.com/EastScotlandBu ... nservation. Any latest additions to recent finds ill appear on the East Branch Facebook page. Its hectic up here

Great story James. Well done for taking the initiative. It is pleasing to find a landowner who is so positive. I am amazed that there aren't more like that.
I would be keen to know more about the resistant strains of Elm. Are they the same species as the native Elm?

IAC wrote:Sorry guys, I have been trying to get some news on here re White-letter Hairstreak eggs in Scotland this past few days. It is incoming as there will be more news to come I reckon as the days progress. Meanwhile. I have several links https://butterfly-conservation.org/3114 ... found.html and https://www.facebook.com/EastScotlandBu ... nservation. Any latest additions to recent finds ill appear on the East Branch Facebook page. Its hectic up here

No apology necessary, Iain. I think most of us know what has happened here and we are perfectly content to hear news of it as and when it emerges.

IAC wrote:Sorry guys, I have been trying to get some news on here re White-letter Hairstreak eggs in Scotland this past few days.

Thanks Iain

NickMorgan wrote:Great story James. Well done for taking the initiative. It is pleasing to find a landowner who is so positive. I am amazed that there aren't more like that.
I would be keen to know more about the resistant strains of Elm. Are they the same species as the native Elm?

Thank you Nick, I suspect some land owners would be willing to consider similar initiatives if asked. Perhaps more of this kind of thing goes on than we ever to hear about? If by relaying my positive experience here encourages anyone to try something like this I would be delighted. The land owner had no idea the Hairstreaks were there, are after all it is an inconspicuous butterfly unless you are specifically looking out for it. His amazing response bowled me over! A top bloke as some might say.

We planted two varieties of resistant Elm, one called LUTECE and the other Ademuz. Neither are native, I believe one variety is form Spain, Jamie Burston knows a lot more than I do, perhaps if he sees this he might be willing to say more about it.

Of course Butterfly Conservation do an enormous amount of work all over the UK, and the volunteers are magnificent, but BC's resources only stretch so far, I would always recommend approaching them first. If they are unable to help due to limited resources then 'as my experience shows' you can still make a difference.

BW's

James

NickMorgan wrote:I would be keen to know more about the resistant strains of Elm. Are they the same species as the native Elm?

Actually Jamie Burston has some information about the types of DED resistant Elm’s used in his excellent personal diary here.

viewtopic.php?f=29&t=8319&start=100

Butterflysaurus rex wrote:

NickMorgan wrote:I would be keen to know more about the resistant strains of Elm. Are they the same species as the native Elm?

Actually Jamie Burston has some information about the types of DED resistant Elm’s used in his excellent personal diary here.

viewtopic.php?f=29&t=8319&start=100

I think they are mostly hybrids of various European and Asian Elm spp. Luckily the Hairstreak doesn't seem to be particularly fussy, any Elm will do, although I've seen it written that Wych Elm is preferred.

bugboy wrote:I think they are mostly hybrids of various European and Asian Elm spp. Luckily the Hairstreak doesn't seem to be particularly fussy, any Elm will do, although I've seen it written that Wych Elm is preferred.

I know the Ademuz variety is a “Spanish field Elm” Jamie’s diary has more info about it.

I will post a detailed description about the disease-resistant elm cultivars Ulmus minor 'Ademuz' and Ulmus 'Nanguen' LUTECE in my personal diary, in early March.

I don't want this conversation to take away from the outstanding work and dedication that James has shown, a truly inspirational story and message! It's reassuring to know that there are people out there like James, doing brilliant work with conservation at the forefront. Anyone can want to make a difference, James decided to make it happen, please listen to his appeal, sometimes just a conversation is all that is needed.

As others have said, an excellent inspirational story. Well done James .
This has also given me a few ideas in my own patch, thanks.

You've really done your research, Jamie, and I admire you for that. I truly wish such information could be made 'mainstream', as we are still in a period of reconsolidation given the historic ravages of Dutch Elm Disease. Imagine if a campaign could persuade just 1% of UK residents to contribute to a single resistant elm?

There'd be hundreds of thousands of them in 20 years and at practically no cost at all.

Jamie Burston wrote:I will post a detailed description about the disease-resistant elm cultivars Ulmus minor 'Ademuz' and Ulmus 'Nanguen' LUTECE in my personal diary, in early March.

I don't want this conversation to take away from the outstanding work and dedication that James has shown, a truly inspirational story and message! It's reassuring to know that there are people out there like James, doing brilliant work with conservation at the forefront. Anyone can want to make a difference, James decided to make it happen, please listen to his appeal, sometimes just a conversation is all that is needed.

Many thanks for providing some info on the DED resistant Elm varieties Jamie. In turn I have been hugely inspired by the land owner. As a member of BC Sussex branch I am highly aware of the tremendous work that my fellow members put in. I may be biased but I feel we’re blessed with some of the most passionate and amazing people working to conserve butterflies in the UK. I think we inspire each other as a community. I know there are others doing their own bit - supplementing their official BC activists and helping to improve their local areas. I may have gone a bit further with this venture than most but if it weren’t for the amazing generosity of others I could not have achieved it.

Paul Harfield wrote:As others have said, an excellent inspirational story. Well done James .
This has also given me a few ideas in my own patch, thanks.

Very kind of you Paul, thank you if your ideas come to fruition please consider recounting your experience on UKB. I’m sure many others besides myself would love to read about it.

Best wishes

James

Hi all

Here's a link (hosted by the BC Hants & IOW Branch) to the 2016 (6th edition) DED-resistant elms report, which summarises the results of long-term trials conducted by Andrew Brookes. All of the characteristics and performance features of the various cultivars are discussed, and suppliers listed.
http://www.hantsiow-butterflies.org.uk/ ... 202016.pdf

It's great to see such an interest in this topic - a few here and there will go a long way to helping the White-letter Hairstreak.

BWs, Neil