Our January meeting was brightened by the talk given by Sue Dodd and Sue
Smith about Butterflies of the Cotswolds. Not only were there sunny scenes
of our wonderful countryside, but beautiful slides of the insects and their
host plants.
The 2 Sues do most of their `hunting` locally and began their friendship
being lured to Minchinhampton Common to meet the Duke of Burgandy, a
butterfly that loves the tussocky landscape of the hills. They never saw it,
but became friends anyway!
Sue told us that the first butterfly to appear in late spring is usually the
Brimstone. They are soft yellow in colour and many think this is the reason
for the name of the butterfly. They hibernate in ivy and hedgerows and
promise warmer days as they flit around the countryside. There are 58
varieties of butterfly in Britain and 44 of them come to Gloucestershire,
with wonderful sounding names like Holly Blue, Green Hair Streak and Scarlet
Tiger Moth. Habitats need to be conserved though, as many species are
disappearing.
Our next meeting is Thursday February 9th at Stratton Village
Hall at
7.30pm.
There is a change to the advertised programme. Richard Gatenby is coming to
speak to us. He is the Head Gardener at Barnsley House. All are welcome.
