2025 Review

January 2026

This proved to be a year of major upheaval for the regional conservation of butterflies and moths. Financial difficulties within Butterfly Conservation brought changes to the way in which the national charity operated with respect to branches. This led in the autumn to the formation of the West Midlands Butterfly & Moth Society (WM-BAMS), with the aim of bringing a more local, independent and volunteer-led focus to conservation work within the region. Throughout all this, locally, practical work to conserve butterflies and moths continued.

January

The Brown Hairstreak team undertook a number of egg searches, mainly in northern Worcestershire, with several new areas discovered. Conservation tasks were undertaken at Grafton Wood, Trench Wood, Monkwood, Penny Hill and the Wyre Forest, aimed at conserving key species.

February

Brown Hairstreak highlights were the first egg being reported from Worcester Woods Country Park, after several years of trying, and an improved egg count at Grafton Wood, including a 'quad'. Elsewhere, we spent a couple of days on the Long Mynd and Stiperstones reducing gorse that was invading Grayling habitats and, funded by site owner FCC Environment, we had the chipper in at Penny Hill to process material cleared by volunteers over the winter. In the Wyre Forest, thanks to a grant from Natural England, we were able to clear conifers and birches as part of the project to return the Kentish Glory moth. Funding from Telford and Wrekin Council enabled us to produce an ID guide to the butterflies and day-flying moths of that area. At the end of the month, we were sorry to say goodbye to Natalie Norton, Butterfly Conservation's Regional Landscape Officer, whose contract came to an end and was not renewed.

March

We reviewed the conservation tasks done over the winter and planned for the coming season, especially monitoring and survey work. A butterfly ID session was run for volunteers at Pelsall Common to try to boost recording in this part of the Black Country. There was still time, however, for more work on the Stiperstones for Grayling, in the Wyre Forest for Kentish Glory and at Trench Wood, a nature reserve managed jointly by Butterfly Conservation and Worcestershire Wildlife Trust; partnerships with other organisations underpin much of our success.

A final flourish from the Brown Hairstreak survey team was the discovery of eggs around Mucknell Abbey near Worcester Parkway station, the site of a planned new town (confusingly to be called Wychavon). Such discoveries are really important and we've fed the information to those involved with planning the new development, in the hope that some key blackthorn areas will be retained. With better weather later in the month, several species were already on the wing, including Emperor moth and Large White (which went on to become West Midlands Butterfly of the Year).

Photos: Emperor moth (Mike Southall) and Large White (Joanna Kelly)

April

Mainly fine weather had a largely positive effect on Spring butterflies and brought early emergences. Both Pearl-bordered Fritillary and Wood White were on the wing by the middle of the month, a good two weeks earlier than in 2024. It was good to see both these species and Dingy Skipper respond well to conservation work undertaken at various sites during the previous winter – very encouraging for the volunteers involved. With the start of the main flight season, the emphasis always shifts away from habitat management and towards recording and monitoring our most threatened species; we held a new recorders' day in the Wyre Forest to train new volunteers.

Photos:

• Bugle responded well to management at Penny Hill landfill site
• Pearl-bordered Fritillary was seen very early in the Wyre Forest
• Dingy Skipper first seen at Llanymynech on 4 April - a month earlier than in 2024
• Wood White continues to spread - this mating pair seen at Penny Hill landfill site

May

Early in the month, we returned to Broadway Quarry and our project to support Small Blue's tenuous grip in Worcestershire by planting Kidney Vetch, with the support of the site owners. The plants had been badly affected by drought, although we hoped they'd recover, and there were no Small Blues. Still, Dingy Skippers were present and Green Hairstreak was recorded for the first time.

Two Worcestershire Wildlife Trust reserves were visited in search of Brown Hairstreak larvae using ultra-violet light after dark. This proved an interesting experiment and the results were written up in issue 122 of BCWM's magazine, The Comma. Our survey showed that 62% of over 50 marked eggs reached pre-pupation, far more than anticipated. More larvae were found in the same way at Trench Wood, along with several Brimstone larvae showing some fluorescence – a new discovery.

Work continued on the Kentish Glory reintroduction project in the Wyre Forest, with a habitat survey of potential sites. The survey showed how quickly sites can become less suitable for this moth and highlighted the need for proactive and regular management of birch scrub. Also in the Wyre, we continued work on Clearwing moths and were rewarded by the discovery of a new site for the rather elusive Large Red-belted Clearwing: two were attracted to a pheromone lure late in the afternoon of 15 May. This was followed by a successful public moth morning, in conjunction with Natural England as part of National Nature Reserves Week, which produced around 65 species including a Pine Hawk-moth.

First sightings of Meadow Brown, Marbled White and even Large Heath came before the end of the month. Pearl-bordered Fritillary had a fairly successful season, with the Malverns reintroduction project going from strength to strength, but Small Pearl-bordered struggled for a second year.

May ended on a sad note, with the loss of Regional Manager, Rhona Goddard, who moved on to Shropshire Wildlife Trust. Within three months, as a result of financial cuts and operational changes, Butterfly Conservation went from two full-time staff members in the West Midlands to none.

Photos:

• Almost fully grown Brown Hairstreak larva
• Brimstone larva under UV light at Trench Wood
• Large Red-belted Clearwing in the Wyre Forest
• Pine Hawk-moth at the Wyre Moth Morning

July

There was a distinctly mothy feel to the month. Moth of the morning at Bonnie's tearoom near Grimley was, appropriately, the Drinker and at Trench Wood we were pleased to record Mere Wainscot at its only known site in the West Midlands. Twycross Zoo launched a version of Monopoly featuring various conservation projects, including the planned reintroduction of Kentish Glory to the Wyre Forest.

Work on the Grayling butterfly continued with the discovery of new colonies on the Long Mynd, including 'Grayling Rock' at the start of the Burway, and the production of a leaflet, funded by the National Trust, describing the pioneering work undertaken by the Grayling Action Group at the Stiperstones.

Early emergences continued with our earliest-ever record of a Brown Hairstreak, on 8 July near Fladbury. A second was seen the following day at Smite Farm by Rhona Goddard, now working for Shropshire Wildlife Trust.

This month marked the starting point of what later became a new volunteer-led and independent organisation, based in the West Midlands and focused on the delivery of local action for butterflies and moths. Many factors contributed to this decision but, in short, many of our long-term and experienced volunteers within the West Midlands Branch felt that changes in Butterfly Conservation were making it more difficult for us to recruit and retain volunteers, significantly reducing our ability to work effectively. Setting up our own group has enabled us to control our own projects and ensure that resources are applied exclusively to conserving species within our region.

Photos:

• Unveiling a moth trap at Bonnies Tearoom
• Drinker moth, seen both at Bonnies Tearoom and Trench Wood
• 'Grayling Rock' at the start of the Burway
• First Brown Hairstreak of the year on 8 July

September

More landmarks in the development of the West Midlands Butterfly and Moth Society: our new logo and website were launched, and we held our first events covered by our own public liability and personal accident insurance.

It was time to start planning our winter conservation tasks with various site owners. With the rapid expansion of Purple Emperor into our region, we took the opportunity to mark sallows for retention at both Monkwood and Trench Wood. Partnership with other local organisations is the key to success at so many of the sites where we are involved – maintaining these excellent relationships is a priority for WM-BAMS.

At a follow-up visit to Bumble Hole, we found Large Copper eggs and larvae in several locations: it will be interesting to see if any survive the winter and produce a new generation next year. Adults had been seen over several weeks, with a final record on the 9th. The release of Large Coppers at the site certainly brought butterfly people together with visitors from far and wide.

Work parties began at Penny Hill landfill and Wyre Forest. The Brown Hairstreak team was quick out of the blocks and visited mainly Vale Landscape Heritage Trust land near Fladbury, where they found eggs in two new 1km-squares; this was the beginning of what would turn into an epic season.

Photos:

• A sallow at Monkwood marked for retention, for use by female Purple Emperors
• Improving breeding habitat in Brand Wood for Pearl-bordered Fritillaries