Green Hairstreak
The green hairstreak is making a comeback in the Pentland Hills, south of Edinburgh. Difficult to spot, this beautiful butterfly is now spreading, thanks to good management.
The Living World is a natural history strand that revels in rich encounter, immersion in the natural world and warm, enthusiastic story telling.
The Green Hairstreak butterfly is small, bright green and feisty. The males fight for females, spiralling in the air at break neck speed. This lovely butterfly was not recorded in the Pentland Hills, south of Edinburgh, until 20 years ago but now populations are being discovered in more and more places. Sensitive management is helping bring back this bright jewel to the bilberry and heather clad hills. By excluding sheep and letting gorse and bilberry grow together the right conditions now exist. Green Hairstreak only appear on the wing in May and Victor Partridge takes Mary Colwell to see where he first spotted them in the Pentland Hills.
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Victor Partridge
As a child, he lived in Bury on the edge of Manchester and with easy access to the countryside he explored the fields, reservoirs and hills of the Pennines. As many children used to do in those days, he enjoyed finding caterpillars and putting them in a jam jar, but instead of letting them die he got books out of the library and learnt about their needs and life cycle.
He was inspired by a television programme called 'Elusive Butterflies' and wrote to the presenter to find out how to get a job as a lepidopterist - someone who studies moths and butterflies. The reply was honest and explained there are not many people who get paid to study butterflies.
After studying geology at Liverpool University and doing several jobs around London, such as helping children learn about the countryside and leading a team of long-term unemployed people in making improvements to the environment, he gained his dream job of being a countryside ranger.
Now working in the Pentland Hills Regional Park he has the occasional opportunity to be a lepidopterist, as he helps to conserve the habitat of the green hairstreak.
Broadcast
- Sun 10 Aug 2014 06:35Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
Natural Histories
Nature that has had a profound impact on human culture and society across history.
