News Items

An article in the Spring 2010 issue of Butterfly, the Butterfly Conservation magazine, gives insights into the update to The Butterflies of Britain and Ireland by Jeremy Thomas and Richard Lewington. This book is a real classic and recommended to every butterfly enthusiast. A review will appear on the UK Butterflies website in due course. Autographed copies can be pre-ordered from the British Wildlife website and are an absolute bargain when one considers that the original (and hard to come by) edition regularly sells for over £60 on eBay.

The Spring 2010 issue of Butterfly, Butterfly Conservation's magazine is now out. As usual, plenty of excellent articles and news, including some insights into the updated classic Butterflies of Britain and Ireland by Jeremy Thomas and Richard Lewington and a summary of Mike McCarthy's Great British Butterfly Hunt. Not a Butterfly Conservation member? Click here to enter the Butterfly Conservation website where you can find joining instructions.

Only a few places remain and so this is the final reminder of the UK Butterflies photography workshop, in association with the Hampshire and Isle of Wight branch of Butterfly Conservation. The purpose of the workshop is to gather together members of the UK Butterflies community to share their photographic experiences, with an emphasis on Lepidoptera. The event will be run at Longstock, near Stockbridge, Hampshire, on Saturday April 24th 2010, 10am to 5pm. Click here for more details on the event, including information on how to register. We're delighted that Matthew Oates has agreed to be our guest speaker.

Butterfly Conservation's 6th International Symposium will be held at Reading University from 26th to 28th March 2010. Sir David Attenborough, BC President, will open the event, whose theme is "The 2010 target and beyond for Lepidoptera". Click here for more information - including the full programme which was published a few days ago and looks superb!

Last summer saw yet another increase in the number of eggs laid at Green Down after the population crashed in 2007. 92,000 eggs were laid in the summer of 2009 up by 13,500 from the previous summer. Despite less adults on the wing in 2009 there were more days suitable for egg laying. Following the success of previous open days at the Green Down reserve, the Somerset Wildlife Trust is pleased to announce the date for 2010 - Sunday 13th June. Due to the sensitive nature of the site, places are limited and there will be a draw to allocate tickets. This year, the cost will be £3.50 per adult and £2 per child, payable in advance. Please apply for your ticket by sending a letter and cheque payable to Somerset Wildlife Trust, together with your name, contact number and address written in BLOCK CAPITALS and a SAE to: Green Down Open Day, Somerset Wildlife Trust, Tonedale Mill, Tonedale, Wellington, Somerset TA21 0AW. Somerset Wildlife Trust members should include their SWT membership numbers. Your application needs to be in by 7 May 2010, as any received after this date will not be included in the draw. Ticket holders will receive their tickets during June and everyone else will have their cheques returned.

A Lepidoptera report from Greece is now available, detailing the butterflies and moths observed on a trip made to northern Greece from 7th to 13th June 2009. A big thanks to Peter Davey for co-authoring the report and to Chris Manley, Lynn Fomison, Pat Turner, Robin Turner and Tim Norriss for the use of their wonderful photos.