In today’s blog, we are delving into the wonderful world of butterflies as Netty Ribeaux, RSPB idverde Senior Advisor takes us to Wormwood Scrubs in London to uncover how a partnership between green space management company, idverde, and the RSPB is benefitting butterflies and biodiversity in this corner of London.
Wormwood Scrubs, synonymous with the prison, is in fact a large area of open space close to central London. Known simply as the Scrubs, it is one of many sites managed by idverde, a green space management company who are partnered with the RSPB. Here some great work has been happening to support London’s butterflies, engaging local people and improving the site for a host of different butterfly species.
Intrepid butterfly huntersEvery Friday during the summer, my colleague Kate McVay - the RSPB/idverde biodiversity and community adviser for the site, grabs her clipboard and butterfly ID chart and heads out onto the Scrubs with a group of local volunteers. No previous experience needed, they set off on a 3km route taking them through woodland, scrub and grassland counting butterflies.
Kate (left) with a team of volunteer butterfly surveyors on the look out for butterflies at Wormwood Scrubs. © Netty Ribeaux/RSPB.
On a sunny day these intrepid butterfly hunters can spot hundreds of the critters, and this is where the fun starts. Even if at the start of this transect the only butterfly you know is a ‘Cabbage White’, about an hour and a half later you will be shouting, Small White, Large White, Green Veined White or ‘another Smessex’, which is when you know you are hooked! A ‘Smessex’ is shorthand for a Small or Essex Skipper, two small and extremely similar butterflies identifiable by different coloured tips on the underside of their antennae and bundled together on the recording form as they are so hard to tell apart.
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Smessex Skippers. ‘Smessex’ is shorthand for a Small or Essex Skipper, two small and extremely similar butterflies identifiable by different coloured tips on the underside of their antennae and bundled together on the recording form as they are so hard to tell apart. © Kate McVay/RSPB.
This survey is not just a fun way to get people clued up on how to identify butterflies, it also provides incredibly useful data that can be used to improve the management of the site and can be used to identify broader trends. For example, the survey runs along several areas included in a cut-and-collect meadow management programme aimed at increasing wildflower coverage in grassland habitats. This allows the team to monitor any changes in abundance or diversity of butterflies that may arise through management actions.
A Marbled White butterfly on Wormwood Scrubs. © Kate McVay/RSPB.
What can surveying for butterflies tell us?Butterflies can be described as a good biodiversity indicator species, they are very sensitive to pesticides, land use change and pollution, with populations fluctuating in response to climatic conditions. They have different needs at different parts of their lifecycles with caterpillars relying on specific food plants and so their presence and absence can tell you if your site management is working. These surveys are part of Butterfly Conservation’s UK butterfly monitoring scheme so as well as gathering data to inform the management of the Scrubs, these weekly walks also feed into a far bigger data set which can help monitor population trends across the UK.
Kate and her volunteers have so far recorded 23 different species during these surveys, with a small patch of thistles just by the prison proving to be a hotspot for Smessex Skippers.
A Comma butterfly on Wormwood Scrubs. © Kate McVay/RSPB.
Supporting butterflies on the Scrubs We’re not just surveying butterflies at Wormwood Scrubs, we’re also actively managing the land to create suitable habitat for butterflies and other wildlife. This includes: • Butterfly scrapes - Removing topsoil and sewing with pollinator friendly seed mix • Hedge laying – a traditional technique that supports the young growth of blackthorn, vital for Brown Hairstreak butterflies• Scything – a low impact, traditional grass-cutting practice that encourages a variation of sward height and supports a greater variety of grassland species than other grass cutting techniques.
A ‘butterfly scrape’ at Wormwood Scrubs. © Kate McVay/RSPB.
Our work at Wormwood Scrubs is just one example of the RSPB/idverde partnership delivering for nature and empowering local people to influence land management in urban spaces. Through working in partnership the RSPB is able to support biodiversity initiatives beyond our reserves and work in idverde managed community spaces, with the people that live there to help support nature.
Get involvedAll butterfly records can be uploaded directly onto the iRecord butterflies app and if you are interested in joining Kate on one of these walks or other volunteering opportunities on Wormwood Scrubs please pop Kate an email.
AcknowledgementsThe RSPB Business Conservation Advice Unit comprises a team of highly skilled biodiversity experts trained to work in close partnership with UK businesses to improve both land management and species recovery through on-the-ground Nature Positive projects, and the engagement around it. Visit our business conservation partnerships page to learn more about our partnerships.
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