SBBT

Saving swallowtail and birdwing butterflies

Donate

  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Mission
    • In Brief
    • Patron & Board Of Trustees
    • Honorary Advisors & Coordinators
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Opportunities
      • Position Vacant: Trustee
    • Events
    • Important Documents
      • Constitution of the Swallowtail and Birdwing Butterfly Trust
      • Charity Registration
      • Privacy Policy
      • Annual Reports & Financials
  • Projects
    • World Swallowtail Day
      • World Swallowtail Day – Sunday 11th June 2023
      • “SAVING SWALLOWTAILS” CONFERENCE WORLD SWALLOWTAIL DAY 2021 REPORT
        • Saving Swallowtails Conference: 12 June 2021
      • WORLD SWALLOWTAIL DAY: 14 June 2020
        • SBBT Photography Competition Winners
        • Swallowtail Limerick Day
        • Colouring Book
      • WORLD SWALLOWTAIL DAY 2019 – REPORT
    • The Bhutan Glories and Shoskom – the Bhutan Glories’ Hill
    • Conservation of the Swallowtail in Britain
      • Wheatfen Meeting Agenda and Speakers 27 June 2018
      • Meeting Report: Conservation of the Swallowtail in Britain
      • Report in the Guardian
    • Swallowtail Survey on Fiji Identifies New Species
      • SBBT’s Further Studies on the Natewa Swallowtail
    • Swallowtail Survey on Dominica
    • Homerus Swallowtail DNA Study
    • Kinabalu or Borneo Birdwing
      • Kinabalu Birdwing Project Update 2023
      • Kinabalu Birdwing Project
    • Richmond Birdwing
    • Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing Project
    • Swallowtail MSC Studentships
  • Support Us
    • SBBT Gift Aid Form
  • Conservation
    • Saving Swallowtail Butterflies
    • Action Plan
    • Global Priorities
    • Research Needs
    • Top Ten Threatened Species
      • Graphium levassori
      • Graphium sandawanum
      • Ceylon Rose: Atrophaneura jophon
      • Southern Tailed Birdwing: Ornithoptera meridionalis
      • Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing
      • Wallace’s Golden Birdwing: Ornithoptera croesus
      • Homer’s or Homerus Swallowtail: Papilio homerus
      • Papilio moerneri
      • Papilio aristophontes
      • Luzon Peacock Swallowtail: Papilio chikae
    • Featured Species
      • Macleay’s Swallowtail
      • Richmond Birdwing
      • Small Réunion Swallowtail: Papilio phorbanta
  • About Swallowtails
    • Biology
    • Distribution & Classification
    • Swallowtails & Humankind
    • Swallowtails & Science
    • Threats To Swallowtails
    • Captive Breeding & Release Of Butterflies
    • Key References
  • Swallowtails of the World
    • Swallowtails of the World – Take the Tour
    • Swallowtails of the World – Photos
    • Subfamily Baroniinae
    • Subfamily Parnassiinae
    • Subfamily Papilioninae
    • References
  • Publications
    • Books and Reports
    • Papilio! Newsletters
  • For Purchase
    • Shop
  • Contact Us
  • Latest News and Blog
  • “Saving Swallowtails: the Apollos and their Allies”
You are here: Home / Swallowtail MSC Studentships
Susie and Hamish discuss their projects with Will Fitch at Wheatfen Reserve

Swallowtail MSC Studentships

SBBT has entered into partnership with the University of East Anglia’s School of Biological Sciences to co-supervise students working for their Master’s in Applied Ecology and Conservation. This is a direct result of the workshop on “Conservation of the British Swallowtail” that took place at Wheatfen Reserve near Norwich in June 2018, whose participants pointed out a range of research projects that were needed. Our first pair of students are Hamish Lillywhite and Susie Hills. Read on to learn more about their stories in their own words……

“Hi, I’m Hamish. I am a masters student at the University of East Anglia studying Applied Ecology and Conservation. The title of my dissertation is ‘Environmental variables influencing the presence of Milk-parsley: implications for the species under future climate scenarios’, so I will be spending my summer at several fenland sites across East Anglia surveying the environmental and soil conditions where Milk-parsley is found and is not, to try and find out more about the conditions needed for the plant to grow successfully.

Milk-parsley is the only foodplant of the British Swallowtail butterfly, so if we want to extend the range of the butterfly, as indeed we do, we will need to make sure Milk-parsley will survive. This is especially important now because sea-level rise brings with it the threat of salt-water incursion into Norfolk’s rivers and broads. Because of this, I am also carrying out a controlled experiment growing Milk-parsley on the university’s campus, planting seeds in pots filled with different substrate and watered with differing concentrations of saline water, to see how much Milk-parsley can tolerate.

I will be at the World Swallowtail Day on the 9th June at Wheatfen, so please come along and ask me anything about my project; hopefully, I will have some data by then! “

Now let’s hear from Susie Hills…

“Hello, I’m Susie and am also a masters student at UEA studying Applied Ecology and Conservation. My research project is about why the British Swallowtails are found where they are and why they choose to lay their eggs on certain Milk-parsley plants and not others. Across our reserves in Norfolk, there can be patches of lush-looking Milk-parsley in one corner of a fen with no Swallowtail caterpillars, but a few metres away is another patch of Milk-parsley with dozens of caterpillars! Why this first patch is devoid of caterpillars and why the second is full of them isn’t clear, so this is what my project hopes to answer.

At sites across East Anglia where swallowtails are found, I’ll be measuring the abiotic variables around Milk-parsley plants to see if there is an environmental explanation for egg-laying distribution. I’ll also be looking into the plants themselves, including their physical characteristics (such as height, number of leaves, etc) and the biological community they support (including any invertebrates on the Milk-parsley plants). This information will help reserve managers like Will Fitch at Wheatfen to increase the suitability of habitats containing Milk-parsley to make sure they support Swallowtails into the future.

I’ll also be helping out at World Swallowtail Day; please feel free to come over and have a chat! “

A British Swallowtail fifth instar caterpillar feeding on Milk-parsley. N.M. Collins

Newsletter





    We want to keep you up to date!
    Sign up for our free newsletter and we will be in touch. Don't worry, we take care of your data and never release it to third parties. See our Privacy Policy for details

    Latest News

    Kinabalu Birdwing declared Sabah’s state butterfly

    8th October 2023

    The Kinabalu or Borneo Birdwing (Troides andromache) has officially been named as the state butterfly of Sabah in Malaysia, Borneo, sparking hope for the future of this threatened species. The striking but elusive butterfly is found only in Borneo where it frequents the mountainous regions of Mount Kinabalu and Crocker Range. However, it faces the […]

    SBBT award grant to filmmaker to highlight the Glories of Bhutan

    12th September 2023

      In August 2023, the Swallowtail & Birdwing Butterfly Trust provided a grant to wildlife documentary maker, Sonam Dorji, to produce a short film on the Bhutan Glory (Bhutanitis lidderdalii) and Ludlow’s Bhutan Glory (Bhutanitis ludlowi). Sonam, who is based in Bhutan, discovered a site in 2020 where both species fly in the same location, something […]

    Second “Saving Swallowtails” Conference planned

    24th July 2023

    SBBT’s much-acclaimed global online conference is back. Our first conference in June 2021 focussed mainly on the Papilioninae. This time, we’ll be exploring the Baroniinae (the Baronia) and the Parnassiinae (apollos and allies). The meeting will once again take us on an online world tour, with expert papers from the Americas, Europe and Asia. The […]

    Useful Links

    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • For Purchase

    OUR APPEAL

    Swallowtails and birdwings are beautiful and graceful butterflies – who wouldn’t love to see them dancing in the sunlight or sipping nectar from wildflowers? But many species are under threat from agriculture, forestry and climate change. We have ideas, enthusiasm and a vision for the future. Will you help us to achieve our goals?

    GIVING

    Financial contributions are welcome and will be treasured. We also need your ideas, new information, suggestions and encouragement!

    Donate Today

    What We Do

    We do four things to help swallowtails and birdwings: we raise financial resources; convene networks and partnerships; catalyse action, and provide scientific and technical support.

    Contact Us

    Send an email to info@sbbt.org.uk, or post a letter to SBBT, c/o Stephenson Smart, Queens Head House, The Street, Acle, Norwich NR13 3DY, UK

    Connect

    • E-mail
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter

    Newsletter





      We want to keep you up to date!
      Sign up for our free newsletter and we will be in touch. Don't worry, we take care of your data and never release it to third parties. See our Privacy Policy for details

      © Copyright SBBT 2023 All Rights Reserved · Registered Charity 1174142