Wednesday 10 June 2015

Small Blues in Hemel Hempstead

Hemel: Yes, it’s another post about Small Blues (Cupido minimus). I can see the eyes rolling from here! But, I’ll keep it brief, I promise. In a nutshell, following up on Monday’s find, I went searching this afternoon for Kidney Vetch and, by extension, Small Blues, in Hemel Hempstead. The good news: I found some (at least 12 butterflies, to be precise). The bad news: it’s in rather a dangerous location close to the A41 and so not worth the risk of sharing much more than that, unfortunately. Still, in the context of county records, this is only the fourth known colony in Hertfordshire. There’s a large colony at Butterfly World, Chiswell Green; a small one at Aldbury Nowers and a good sized one on the outskirts of Letchworth, discovered last year. Each new find gives hope that this smallest of butterflies can thrive in Hertfordshire, given the right conditions.

Small Blue & Kidney Vetch, Hemel Hempstead

2 comments:

  1. Brilliant find, great work Lucy! I still haven't been over to look for them, but did see a large patch of kidney vetch on the verge by the road up to the A41 near Aldi. Pleased to see that the council have adopted a wildflower friendly mowing regime - I noted at least half a dozen pyramidal orchids and loads of common spotted orchids blooming on the banks by the slip roads, and that was just the ones I saw from the car!

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    1. That’s great news Martin. It’s probably worth checking out that area for Small Blues as well. I know that Andrew Wood visited the A41 colony and also found a couple of further Small Blues on one Kidney Vetch plant not too far away.

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