Take a look, through some of the common species of wildlife that live in the South Yorkshire area around Sheffield and Rotherham.
A recently extended patch of heathland and woodland, neighbouring Wyming Brook.
Help stop the badger cull coming to Sheffield and Rotherham!
Unveil the hidden world of insects in Sheffield & Rotherham with the newest issue of Kingfisher magazine.
Help us to increase the local population of the brilliant Brimstone Butterfly
The Brimstone butterfly (Gonepteryx rhamni) is one of the heralds of spring, and can be seen in most parts of Sheffield and Rotherham. Despite having simple needs the population size in our area is very small. This can be easily changed, its population can explode in size, simply by planting sufficient numbers of its larval host plant, Common Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica).
To do this we need your help! In partnership with Nether Edge and Sharrow Sustainable Transformation (NESST) we are asking people in Sheffield and Rotherham, like yourselves, to plant Common Buckthorn in your garden or other green spaces that you are responsible for.
All you need is a 1.5 metre x 1.5 metre x 1.5 metre space for each plant, which is sufficient space for the plant to reach a large enough size for the Brimstone to lay its eggs.
Together we can increase the population of the Brilliant Brimstone Butterfly!
The Brimstone butterfly is bright yellow in colour, large, and is hard to mistake for anything else in the UK. Adults hibernate over winter, often hidden under Ivy leaves. They emerge in early spring, usually on warm days in February to April, and are usually seen flying fast and direct, as if on a mission to somewhere.
After mating, the female lays her eggs on Buckthorn, and the eggs usually hatch within 10 days, depending on the temperature.
The caterpillar feeds on the leaves of the Buckthorn plant over a period of one to two months usually in May and June, before pupating, and emerging as an adult butterfly in late July and August, when they are often seen nectaring on plants such as Thistle. The cycle then begins again, with the adults hibernating over winter.
There are three native Buckthorn species in the UK, namely Common Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica), Alder Buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula) and Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides).
The Brimstone butterfly lays its eggs on the first two of these, exclusively.
Alder Buckthorn only tends to thrive on waterlogged acidic soils, so for most gardens and sites, the best plants to buy to attract the Brimstone butterfly is Common Buckthorn, which is also sometimes known as “Purging Buckthorn.”
Common Buckthorn has small yellow/green flowers in May, which when pollinated, turn into 6-10mm diameter purple/black berries in the autumn.
If you want to let Common Buckthorn grow, completely unconstrained, it can grow into a small sized tree, with a height of 6 metres to 7.5 metres. However, it can be pruned quite happily in late winter, to keep it smaller.
To attract the Brimstone butterfly to lay eggs, all you need is a 1.5 metre x 1.5 metre x 1.5 metre space for each plant.
The aim of this initiative is to demonstrate that very small practical steps, such as the planting of a larval host plant, can have large demonstrable impacts.
We are building on the success of a similar initiative which began in East Suffolk in 1998. The Brimstone butterfly was very rare there at the time. Over the course of five years, over 2000 Buckthorn plants were planted in Ipswich and the surrounding area.
As the Buckthorn plants grew, so did the Brimstone butterfly population, and by 2010, the population was described to have “exploded.” The Brimstone is now a very common butterfly in East Suffolk.
We want to do the same in Sheffield and Rotherham. We know it won’t be an overnight impact. But we know that in roughly 10 years time, if we plant enough Buckthorn plants in Sheffield and Rotherham, we will also see the local Brimstone population “explode” – we can’t wait!
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(c)Gillian Day and Suzsanna Bird