Thanks to prompt action by OFA eggs of the Orange-tip butterfly have been protected from possible harm during site work near Osney Mead.

National Grid has been clearing vegetation along the ‘electric road’ which runs south from Osney Mead to the Devil’s Backbone. Because of our butterfly recording activity (see previous post) we were aware of Orange-tip butterflies having recently laid eggs on vegetation close to the electric road near where it starts. The butterfly lays its eggs in Spring on Lady’s Smock, a wild flower also known as Cuckoo Flower.

We contacted the National Grid team carrying out the work and asked them not to disturb the plants. They took out advice on board and damage to the plants was avoided during the clearance work in the area. The eggs laid this year now have a change to develop into next year’s generation of adults.

The National Grid team are carrying out ecological surveys prior to a planned upgrade of the underground cables which run beneath the ‘electric road’. During the past week they have been conducting a water vole survey and we hope to discover what they found.