Back to Sussex Butterfly Report 2004 Index

2004 : The Browns

The first Speckled Wood was seen in March and the last in October and in between there was almost continuous flight but with population peaks in early June and again throughout August. In terms of squares, the number was virtually the same as 2003 – 213 compared with 217 but sightings were almost doubled – 1301 compared with 690.

In 2004 the Wall Brown had only two broods, the first from mid-May to early June, the second from late July to mid-August. Brian and Dorothy Reeve found Walls around Herstmonceaux and Peter Atkinson and Mike Snelling found them at Cissbury Ring. There were 180 records compared with 125 in 2003.

The Marbled White was recorded on 457 occasions – nearly four times more often than in 2003 but in similar numbers of squares (87 compared with 73 for 2003). Not exclusive to the Downs, the two month flight period lasted from early June to early August.

Thanks to the work of the Steedmans, John Kerby and Peter Farrant, we can still record the Grayling from East Sussex, at Deep Dene, East Dene and Lullington Heath. There were 7 sightings in 2004 compared with 8 in 2003. The short flight period lasted from late July to the end of August.

Second only to the Meadow Brown, the Gatekeeper was recorded 1404 times in 2004, compared with 447 times in 2003. Widespread throughout both Counties, it was seen in 122 new squares but not seen on 84 old squares. The flight season lasted from late June to early August

Easily our most frequently seen butterfly, the Meadow Brown was recorded on 2426 occasions – about 3.5 times more often than in 2003 but in similar numbers of squares (268 compared with 235 for 2003). The long flight period lasted from early June until early October.

The Ringlet was widely present throughout both Counties in 2004 without any significant gains or losses, although it was recorded twice as frequently in 2004 compared with 2003. The flight period was from mid-June to mid-August.

Except for a few days in July, the Small Heath flew continuously from early May to early October. There were two broad population peaks, one in May-June and the other in August-September. It was recorded 889 times from 106 squares whereas in 2003 it was recorded 319 times from 99 squares.