Silver studded blue butterfly discovered on site
A new butterfly for Carymoor has been found
Published: 5th Jul 2022
We are hugely excited to discover what we think is our first Silver Studded Blue butterfly on the reserve.
Our eagle-eyed butterfly recorder, Julian, originally thought it was a Brown Argus or Common Blue with some abnormalaties. However, after consultation with the County Recorder and Marcus Rhodes at the University of Exeter, who is studying Silver Studded Blue butterflies for his PhD, we are pretty sure it is a new species for us.
Marcus has highlighted certain features such as there is no black spot on the forewings, the orange markings are indistinct and there is no hint of any chequering in the white margin which makes him certain this is a SSB.
They advised that landfill sites are a prime candidate for Silver Studded Blue colonisation if Lasius ants are present and the butterflies use successional vegetation on disturbed ground.
We will be holding a more detailed search of the area to see if we can establish if a colony is present.
Exciting news indeed!
(Photo by Julian Rawlins - female SSB)