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The Society The Chichester Natural History Society aims to study and record all branches of natural history; to entertain its members; and, by co-operating with other like-minded groups, to help conserve the flora and fauna of Sussex - especially in Chichester. It is also involved in the management of Brandy Hole Copse Local Nature Reserve - a nature reserve located within the boundaries of Chichester. Members of the Society are drawn from all walks of life but share a common interest in the natural history of West Sussex. Some members are experts in aspects of natural history, while others are newcomers to the subject. New members are always welcome. Guest lecture evenings are held on Wednesdays in winter, and field outings are arranged throughout the year to various locations in West Sussex, and occasionally further afield. For further information about the Society and its activities please browse this web-site or contact the Chairman: Mike Perry11 Wiston AvenueChichester PO19 8RJ (01243 787218) e-mail mikeperry@waitrose.comRegistered Charity No 259211
Last updated 15 November 2011
Society News
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION Send the following details to the Chairman, Mike Perry by phone or email or mail at the address above.Full Name.........................................Address.................................................................................................................................................................................................Post Code......................Tel Number....................email............................................Membership rates are: Single membership £10.00 pa.Joint/family membership £18.00 paSend no money now. We will contact you by return post.
Website Editor john@johnkelsall.wanadoo.co.uk
FROM MIKE PERRYIn two weeks time at our Annual General Meeting I will be standing down after a total of nine years as your Chair. During this time I have had the privilege of working with many very able and hard-working Committee members past and present They have all contributed much to the smooth running of your Society, and have made my job as Chairman very easy. I would thank each and every one of them for all they have done and especially for the help, advice and support they have given me. I would also take this opportunity to thank all of you who have helped the Society in smaller, but no less important, ways. I hope you have enjoyed what the Society has had to offer while I have been Chair, but for me it is best summed up in a very short sentence. It has been fun!Rosemary Marshall has volunteered to take over as Chair from me for the coming year and she has my every good wish for her tenure of the post. I am sure Rosemary and her new Committee will ensure that the Society continues to move forward.Mike Perry2011 PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITIONThe title of the Society?s photographic competition for 2011 is ?Insects at Work?. After a number of landscape-orientated subjects, this title should give members the chance to focus on something smaller. ?Work? can, of course, be taken to include anything an insect does - larvae as well as adults. As usual, members should submit 3 prints on this subject at the 2011 Members? Evening in December. These can be colour film prints or prints of digital images, but please note that in order to simplify judging any computer-assisted image manipulation is not allowed. This includes cropping and digital enhancement. DORMICE IN BRANDY HOLE COPSE?Recently a Common or Hazel Dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius was caught and killed by a cat at a location close to Brandy Hole Copse. The identification was confirmed by experts from Natural England. Could this mean than BHC is home to dormice - a species that receives full protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act? It is hoped to investigate this further next year. Watch this space!THE HORSE CHESTNUT LEAF MINERHave you noticed how the leaves of all Horse Chestnuts in and around Chichester have browned and fallen early this year again? This is caused by infestation of the trees with the larvae of a micro moth - the Horse Chestnut Leaf Miner Cameraria ohridella. It seems that every horse chestnut here is affected. Even the line of Buckeyes, a North American relative of the Horse Chestnut, along the A27 just east of the Witterings roundabout have been badly infested this year for the first time. In 2010 the Sussex Moth Group challenged its members to find a Horse Chestnut in Sussex that was not infected ? no-one could!Yet the Horse Chestnut Leaf Miner was unknown in this country before 2002 when it was discovered in Wimbledon. It seems unlikely that the moth was present in Britain for long before this because, although the adult moth is small and insignificant, the impact of an infestation of its larvae on a Horse Chestnut is profound. The larvae live in mines between the upper and lower surfaces of the leaves causing dead brown patches. As many as 20 ? 30 mines can be found in a single leaf.The Horse Chestnut Leaf Miner was first found in Chichester in the Horse Chestnuts of the District Council?s car park and in Priory Park in 2004. In just 7 years it has spread to every chestnut in Chichester! How has it spread so rapidly in Sussex? The moth is too small to spread by flight alone. Spread by wind is most unlikely to target Horse Chestnuts specifically. The most likely route is transport of adults and of larvae in leaves and twigs by vehicles. Horse Chestnuts are common around car parks!Where did the leaf miner come from? Recent research suggests that the leaf miner was originally a native of remote and isolated regions of the Balkans. The construction of modern arterial roads through these inaccessible parts of the Balkans may have provided the little moth with an ?escape route? allowing it to spread rapidly across Europe.Note, however, that even badly infested trees are not killed. Infestation with the leaf miner should never be used as an excuse to fell a horse chestnut.What is uncertain, however, is whether infestation over a prolonged period may weaken the trees. Mike Perry
Welcome to the Chichester Natural History Society website
Recent website updates15/11/2011 Newsletter 170 incorporated6/11/2011 Completed events deleted14/10/2011 Farlington Marsh report added
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