Staff at the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) have teamed up with the national wildlife organisation Butterfly Conservation to try to find out more about the Green Hairstreak butterfly – and visitors could play a vital part.

Ian Court, the YDNPA’s Species Officer, said: “We know relatively little about the distribution of the Green Hairstreak in the National Park, which makes it difficult to keep track of numbers and to ensure they are surviving here.

“We are hoping walkers will take part in the survey by reporting back when they see them.

“The Green Hairstreak is unmistakeable – it is the only butterfly in this country with green wings and when it is perched it closes them, showing the green underside and white streaks.

“We are asking people who see them while they are out and about to make a note of the date, the place, including a grid reference, and the number seen.

“We are hoping for a good response from visitors. All the information we get back will help us and Butterfly Conservation to build up a better picture of this beautiful inspect.”

Green Hairstreak caterpillars feed on bilberry and so the adults are most often seen between late April and mid to late May in areas where bilberry is abundant. The most likely sites to look for this species are on sheltered slopes on moorland or moorland edge where bilberry is abundant.

To help people taking part, the YDNPA has produced a leaflet containing information about the Hairstreak and a form that should be completed and posted back to the Authority free of charge.

The leaflet, called ‘Have you seen a Green Hairstreak butterfly this year?’, can be obtained from National Park Centres and Tourist Information Centres at Horton-in-Ribblesdale, Leyburn, Richmond, Settle and Skipton.

The Green Hairstreak survey is the first in a number that the YDNPA and Butterfly Conservation will be asking visitors to take part in this year.

Butterfly Conservation spokesman Sam Ellis said: “We hope people will help us together more information about this species. The more we know about, the more we can do to protect it and to make sure it thrives in the Yorkshire Dales.”

//ends//

Note to Newsdesk: Ian Court will not be available for the week beginning May 1 but Sam Ellis from Butterfly Conservation can be contacted for interview on 0191 378 9216.

For more information please call the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority's Media Office on 01756 751616. Alternatively, please email media@yorkshiredales.org.uk

CONTACT US

Images of Yorkshire: Constructed and Maintained by Michael Norfolk
Copyright © 2003-2007 imagesofyorkshire.co.uk. All rights reserved.
Please visit our associated websites for Knottingley and Pontefract or view information about our monthly Digest Magazine