Northern Brown Argus

There is a small but thriving population of Northern Brown Argus, Aricia artaxerxes of the Scottish form artaxerxes, located just outside Grantown on Spey. Normally I would have recorded these and put a vague location on the blog but given how fragile and small this colony is, it is better that people are aware that it exists and that it needs to be protected from unintentional damage.  I believe that his far outweighs any damage that may be caused by true butterfly enthusiasts and of course that its existence has already been published on the web, but not widely.

How this site came to exist I have no idea, my books tell me that NBA like thin base rich or alkaline soils, especially limestone.Well the whole area sits on an acid platform, whether the site was created when the new Spey Bridge was constructed and the connecting road added or from the construction of the electricity sub-station, where the track leads, I know not. What is blindingly obvious is the change from acid to alkaline demonstrated by the indicator plants on the grass verges on both sides of the road. The whole site can be no more than a couple of acres - so if you go please treat it with care.

The last pictures on the blog show where the site is and the access.

Six spot Burnet - another good indicator.

As I jumped over the gate, there in front of me a fresh Northern Brown Argus.

  

The location.



On the A95 south of Grantown on Spey, just up from the Spey Valley Smokehouse...

 

... a metal gate..

 

...small area just inside the gate..

..and a track to the sub-station and another productive area in the wayleave.