Join us to hunt for the eggs of a secretive butterfly, the purple hairstreak, and to explore Stirling University campus for other wildlife.
This event is being run by Butterfly Conservation's Glasgow and South West Scotland Branch in partnership with the Scottish Wildlife Trust Stirling and Clackmannanshire Group.
The purple hairstreak is one of Scotland's most elusive butterflies, with the adults seen flying around the tops of oak trees; here they drink aphid dew and lay their eggs, very rarely coming to the ground. They are therefore an under-recorded species but recently it has been found that the eggs can be more easily spotted on oak twigs that have been blown off the trees in winter. This outing will allow us to record this species, which has not been done on campus for 10 years, and hopefully inspire searches elsewhere! As we take a casual walk between the oak trees of the grounds, we will also be looking to see what other wildlife we can spot.
Advance booking is essential. To reserve a place (limited to around 20) and for further information, please email sjbence@hotmail.com The exact meeting location at the university will be shared by email upon booking. Please note that the date may change due to adverse weather - if interested in the event, please email to register and we will keep you up to date.
The route of this walk will mostly follow core paths and be on relatively flat gradients. We will be walking at a slow pace with regular breaks. There might be some sections on short-cut grass paths. This event is accessible to all and family friendly but children must be accompanied by an adult. Dogs allowed but must be on a lead and mentioned when booking - owners are asked to be sensitive to others attending who may be nervous around dogs. Wear suitable outdoor clothing and footwear, and bring binoculars if you wish. Parking nearby and accessible by public transport.
Image: Purple hairstreak butterfly © Bob Eade / Butterfly Conservation
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