"Unauthorised" releases

[Jack Harrison]

Norfolk Branch BC has produced a splendid review of the county's butterflies over the past 40 years.

It again puts the Chalkhill Blue colony at Warham Camp (near Wells-next-the Sea) as the result of an "unauthorised release" without offering any evidence.  Chalkhill Blues are well known for being vagrants. 

Some years ago, the appearance of Purple Emperors in the north of the county was similarly due to "unauthorised release".  I questioned that on these pages, and it is now accepted that PE is occurring as a result of perfectly natural spread or indeed, might have been lingering at a very low level.

I might remind all our readers that the presence of humans in the UK is a direct result of  "unauthorised release" from stock that probably originated in Africa's Rift Valley

"How about living in Europe? No-one will ever know that we didn't get permission."

[sifenn]

On the subject of unauthorised releases, I'm planning to take a recent butterfly convert to Whitesheet Hill this weekend to show him some Glanville Fritillaries. Has anyone seen them flying there yet this season ?
I haven't seen them myself in UK since the demise of the Sand Point colony in Somerset over a decade ago. I assume both Whitesheet and Sand Point colonies were unauthorised, but both sites very convenient for Bristolians wanting to see this lovely butterfly.
grateful for any advice on whether to go ahead with this trip
thanks
Sifenn

[bugboy]

On the subject of unauthorised releases, I'm planning to take a recent butterfly convert to Whitesheet Hill this weekend to show him some Glanville Fritillaries. Has anyone seen them flying there yet this season ?
I haven't seen them myself in UK since the demise of the Sand Point colony in Somerset over a decade ago. I assume both Whitesheet and Sand Point colonies were unauthorised, but both sites very convenient for Bristolians wanting to see this lovely butterfly.
grateful for any advice on whether to go ahead with this trip
thanks
Sifenn

I've seen lots of pictures of the glanvilles on that site on Facebook over the past week or so.

[Wurzel]

Alright Sifenn I was there on Monday and saw at least 7 or 8. They seem to like the track at the bottom of the hill but it’s also worth checking out the quarry area at the top. Also seen there Marsh Fritillaries, Dingy and Grizzled Skippers, Green Hairstreak, Wall Brown and Adonis Blues amid the many, many Brown Argus and many Common Blues Hope this helps
Have a goodun

Wurzel

[MrSp0ck]

the Sand Point colony in Somerset over a decade ago.
thanks
Sifenn

Sand Point is an original site as Lady Glanville lived there, along with Hutchinsons Bank in petiver land in 1717, are likely to be the first 2 sites in the UK for Glanvilles, petiver named it Dullige fritillary after the Hutch area population. The Sand Point site was a victim of the 2013 Late Spring although that summer it had the highest count of 6 on transects, all were male and couldnt breed to continue.

[sifenn]

Thanks very much for the responses about Whitesheet Hill, both tips on where to look and some interesting historical context - had a superb day there today
A cool and breezy start, so the quarry proved a good place as there was just enough shelter for a handful of Glanville and Marsh Fritillaries to be squabbling over territory. After lunch I went back to the path along the bottom of the hill, bathed in sunshine, and found lots more Glanvilles; they were also flying well up the slope.
I'd estimate that I saw 30+ during my trip, half a dozen Marsh Fritillaries, countless Grizzled Skippers and Walls hill-topping above the quarry.

[Jack Harrison]

I've been reading too much Sherlock Holmes and some of his lateral thinking. Dated but entertaining.

Now, I don't have strong views for / against introduction. But I wonder if the "introducer" is "hiding in plain sight". I don't want this to be misunderstood, and I have no particular individual in mind, but could the introducer be a contributor to ukb? And thus hiding in plain sight?

Jack

[NickHull]

There seem to be many *unauthorised" release sites which continue to do well, as well as other well-documented, but not so successful, official release sites (no names....). I visit Chambers Farm Wood in Lincolnshire which has had several unauthorised releases, one of which has grown to be a large and sustained population of Marsh Fritillaries. I know that BC's recorders have difficulties with unauthorised releases, but I am glad that the Marsh Frits are there, as it would be many un-eco-friendly miles to visit another site. The same is true for Brown Hairstreak on that site; a widely spread population exists in the blackthorn that abounds there, all managed by the Forestry Commission, who seem to take such things in their stride.
On another note, here in Hull, we have been plagued by clouds and wind off the North Sea for the past few weeks and are still several degrees cooler than inland, that is for sure...been a late season.

[False Apollo]

There have been lots of Marsh Fritillary releases over the years both recent and historical. I sometimes get sent records for Hampshire from sites where the species suddenly appears. They normally do well for a short period then die out for various reasons. We also used to have Glanville Fritillary colonies near Milford on Sea and at Hurst Spit which could have been natural Isle of Wight expansions. The history of introductions goes back a very long way in Hampshire, but they nearly all have not survived, due to everything from fires, lack of management to parasites and other reasons.

[Jack Harrison]

If an animal does something to its advantage, eg a Beaver building a dam, we call that "natural".

Like it or not, humans are "natural".  So I put forward an argument (I'm not saying I necessarily agree with it).  Many human-animals enjoy butterflies.  So what would be unnatural to increase that enjoyment by releasing butterflies? 

I breed a few Orange tips each year and get a real kick out of seeing them make their first flights in the home area: "I knew you as an egg."  I don't think many people would object to my very limited programme.

Jack

[Neil Freeman]

I must admit I have been a bit surprised at some of the comments on social media by some people who are supportive of these releases. These people are nearly always birders/twitchers who are recent converts to butterflies and who only seem interested in getting another 'tick' or photographing another species and who seem totally oblivious to any other issues such as where did the released stock come from or the potential of spreading parasites or diseases.
Whilst I do not have strong feelings either way with regard to all these 'unauhorised' releases, I personally would not travel any distance to see something that is an obvious release. I would however go to see something that is close by or on my way somewhere else like we did at Compton down on our way down to Dorset the other year.
Also, it is not only butterflies that are subjected to this as in recent years some moth species have been turning up all over the country in increasing numbers. Notable examples are Death's Head, Convolvulus and Oleander Hawk Moths, all migratory species and also all species for which livestock has been readily available online. In these cases some of these are released by hobbyists who simply don't understand the implications of their actions but it muddies the waters when examples are recorded...are they genuine migrants or have they been reared and released ?

I suppose there are no easy answers and people will continue to argue about these releases as long as they coninue to appear.

Cheers,

Neil.

[Schmetterling]

Over the last few years I've photographed a number of "unofficial" butterflies in the UK; large tortoiseshells, scarce tortoiseshells, camberwell beauties and black veined white. I'm absolutely certain that none of these were stray migrants and arrived in the UK by natural means. All these sightings were photographed but none were reported on social media. My reason for this is that I'm an individual who enjoys and respects all wild sites together with their fauna and flora. And this is perhaps my greatest objection to "unofficial" releases, they encourage and give excuse for (mostly) photographers to trample and cause damage to delicate environmentally scarce sites. Please give consideration for those volunteers who do give their time and effort to maintaining and conserving these sites.
I do in general support re introduction of species that have been lost through human activity, for example large blues and checkered skipper. And consider myself to be well read and intelligent enough to recognise butterfly populations are the result of releases, please read Peter Eeles book Life Cycles of British and Irish Butterflies, taking note on the distribution of each species. Then, if you find marsh fritillary which are twenty miles from the nearest known colony, it can be safely described as a release.
On the subject of black veined white, I have photographed one depositing ova on hawthorn in the UK, again I will not reveal the site as it was on a SSSI.

[cecropia117]

Can I ask a couple of questions please.

Who decides what is an official release and what isn't, and who decides who is the official mouthpiece?

Just wondering!

[Jack Harrison]

One bonus of "unauthorised releases" is that it provokes interesting debate on forums such as this: it makes a change from "I saw such-and-such in A.N. Other Wood and here are my masterpieces (photos attached)".

Jack

[Schmetterling]

Who decides on whether a butterfly release is "unauthorised". An excellent question with no simple answer. I suspect authorised releases are those that are sanctioned by Butterfly Conservation, for example large blue and checkered skipper. At a local county BC level these would include small and pearl bordered fritillary, purple emperor, wood white, silver washed fritillary, brown hairstreak, black hairstreak, Duke of burgundy, adonis blue, chalkhill blue, marsh fritillary, glanville fritillary, small blue and grizzled skipper and large tortoiseshell to name but a few. Most of these slip under the multi media radar. Some of these are passed off as the result of stray gravid females, which with a bit of research this can be shown to be nonsense. I suspect some local BC groups welcome this type of release as it increases their species count. More information can be gained from the individual BC websites.
The true "unauthorised" releases are made by so called breeders, I use this term because it is more likely stock that has been raised from purchased or bartered ova, pupa or larvae. Essentially stock not bred by those who make the release. These are raised in all probability to photograph the resulting butterflies. Unfortunately these butterflies or moths can include rare species from the UK and migrant species from Europe. With regard to true butterfly and moth breeders, don't condemned them as their expertise could be essential in the near future to save our dwindling butterfly populations.
An interesting point is that to release "foreign" species onto a SSSI is illegal, as it destroying or damaging the breeding habitat of endangered species.

[essexbuzzard]

Problem is, we live in a man made environment. Apart from a few adaptable species, the only places butterflies live is where we let them.

Many patches of habitat are so isolated, they never get colonised by butterflies, except the more mobile species. The Marsh Fritillary illustrates this very well. I’ve seen fields and downland blue with devils bit scabious in early autumn. But if the nearest colony of Marsh Fritillaries is 100 miles away, they will never colonise naturally. The only way to get them is to put them in there. It’s isn’t natural, of course. But we don’t live in a natural environment. In a perfect world, they would colonise naturally from next door.

The same goes for small, isolated inbred populations. They eventually go extinct. In a perfect world, occasional adults would come in, to freshen up the gene pool. But if the nearest colony if 50 miles away, the artificial introduction of a few adults might be advisable.

It’s an interesting debate, this!

[Wolfson]

I am an advocate of addressing the loss of habitat and its connectivity and only using introductions as a last resort supported by habitat management. I came across a thread by Marcus Rhodes on Twitter that made some good points, particularly to do with releasing captive bred stock, unfortunately, I don’t know how to post a link, but it should be easy to find.

[bugboy]

I've been reading too much Sherlock Holmes and some of his lateral thinking. Dated but entertaining.

Now, I don't have strong views for / against introduction. But I wonder if the "introducer" is "hiding in plain sight". I don't want this to be misunderstood, and I have no particular individual in mind, but could the introducer be a contributor to ukb? And thus hiding in plain sight?

Jack

I hope no one finds my driving licence

[Neil Freeman]

I am an advocate of addressing the loss of habitat and its connectivity and only using introductions as a last resort supported by habitat management. I came across a thread by Marcus Rhodes on Twitter that made some good points, particularly to do with releasing captive bred stock, unfortunately, I don’t know how to post a link, but it should be easy to find.

I saw his thread and shared it on twitter. Here is the link;

https://twitter.com/MarcusWRhodes/statu ... 3354179584

Cheers,

Neil

[Schmetterling]

The references to Marsh Fritillary are interesting, but biodiversity within this species in southern England has been compromised over many years. The late Peter Cribb kept captive stock for over twenty five years and bred thousands of healthy specimens for release purposes in various countries in the South of England. This is quoted from his booklet "Breeding the British Butterflies". I suspect these releases occurred from the 1950s ino the 1970s.
This does raise questions over where the current captive stock originated, the removal from the wild of any part of the life cycle for this species is illegal in both Europe and the UK.
Species diversity, migration, extinction and re introduction are covered in E B Ford's book "Butterflies" and is worth a read.