No.129
The Trusty Servant
In those days, around Crabbe Wood,
the Duke of Burgundy (now rare)
and the pearl-bordered fritillary were
common spring butterflies. The dingy
and grizzled skippers were also easy
to see. NH Soc was led with huge
enthusiasm by Michael Baron, whose
specialities included wildflowers and
finding edible fungi. No one became
ill, so his judgment was obviously
excellent. Michael’s knowledgeable
enthusiasm must have inspired many
Wykehamists and a few dons.
Further away at West Winterslow,
many species including the purple
emperor, white admiral, silver-
washed fritillary (including the rare
grey-green Valezina female), purple
hairstreak and many others were
easy to see. I even watched a white
admiral carefully using her feet
to discern a sprig of honeysuckle,
protruding through a bramble bush,
on which to lay a single egg. Silver-
washed fritillaries could be seen
touching antennae as they began their
elaborate courtship ritual.
The purple emperor
I heard a dramatic crackling. Almost
simultaneously, about 50 scarlet
tiger moths emerged and flew off
in all directions. Slightly frivolous
thoughts of Moses and the Burning
Bush crossed my mind. I wonder how
often the brilliant, and unmistakable,
scarlet tiger moths are now seen
flitting across the water meadows?
Professor Ford did careful studies of
these moths in the forbidden marshes
next to my prep school (Cothill
House). Rumours abounded that
long ago the large tortoiseshell, not
uncommon in Victorian times but
now thought to be extinct in England,
had bred in Fallodon. Under Michael
Baron’s watchful eye I and a group
of recalcitrant Kennyites on ASA
duty sought to manage this reserve. It
now, rather sadly, seems to discourage
visitors.
During an NHS expedition which
hoped to find adders in the New
Forest, a green hairstreak was
encountered, and temporarily
captured by me. This was an eureka
moment for a Maths don and a
childhood interest in butterflies was
rekindled. Despite the best calculation
of John Durran (Co Ro, 68-92),
marching noisily along a sunny
ditch we saw no adders. Another
memorable sight was Alan Conn
(Co Ro, 69-07), somewhat too smartly
dressed, descending deep into marsh
while trying to view a flowering bog
bean!
Soon afterwards, on Watership Down
just south of Newbury, a dark green
fritillary and several small blues were
encountered. On the same expedition
nearby in some woodland managed
by Graham Darrah, white admirals,
unknown to all of us, were quite
abundant.
18
St Catherine’s Hill had many species,
including a plethora of marbled
whites and chalk-hill blues. One
blissful sunny day in early June,
Graham Darrah and I picnicked near
the White Horse at Bratton. Amongst
a plethora of species, we found a
massive colony of Adonis blue
butterflies. Knowing that they used
to inhabit St Catherine’s Hill (along
with their more common cousin the
chalk-hill blue), we transported a
few and left them beside flourishing
patches of horseshoe vetch (their
only food-plant) in a warm area
covered with short grass on the
south-eastern side. (I realise now
that this kind of reintroduction is
severely discouraged - but ‘ignorance
is bliss’). The small colony bred, and
the butterfly survived for a number of
years. I wonder if anyone from NH
Soc would like to clamber around the
hillside in late May/ June or August/
September and see if they still survive?