White-letter Hairstreak Initiative. Two members of the Herts & Middlesex Branch of Butterfly Conservation have done so well surveying for elm and White letter Hairstreaks in specific 1km squares, that they have just launched a UK-wide search. Take a look at: http://www.w-album.hertsmiddx-butterflies.org.uk/ which contains a map of UK showing about 8 randomly-chosen squares in each county. By chance, the squares in Suffolk are all virgin at the 1km level, and several are also empty at the 10km level. The idea is that you look for likely elms in spring, starting with a 1km square and expanding the search to 2km and finally 10km, search for eggs then, and return in late June to find the adult butterflies. The site is loaded with helpful tips and super images of eggs and larvae. There is also a page about Suffolk: http://www.hertsmiddx-butterflies.org.uk/w-album/w-album_notesSH.html where you can see the enormous progress we have made since the Millennium survey. If you want to participate, it is just a matter of visiting the right square and reporting back on-line. Doing so will contribute to the national picture as well as our Suffolk survey.
