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Lullymore West Bog Wildlife Reserve
Visitor Guide

Lullymore West is a cutaway bog from which peat was commercially extracted in the 20th century. The bog has regenerated to become an important refuge for wildlife. Over 300 species of bird, plant, insect and animal are found here. The variety of habitats on the bog including grassland, scrub woodland, pools and ditches support the biodiversity of life on the site.

Lullymore West Bog is part of the great Bog of Allen. The site is located on the north western edge of the mineral soil island of Lullymore, approximately 7km from Allenwood.

Land use around Lullymore West Bog includes a coniferous forest plantation to the west and agricultural land to the north and east. The south side of the bog is privately owned raised bog. Lullymore West Bog was donated by Bord na Móna to the Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC) for conservation in 2005.

Lullymore West Bog is 4.5ha in extent and is being conserved by the Irish Peatland Conservation Council for its diversity of butterflies and moths. With 21 out of the 31 butterflies occurring in Ireland found here and over 150 species of moth, the site is exceptional in Ireland. The endangered Marsh Fritillary Butterfly (Euphydryas aurinia), an insect protected under the EU Habitats Directive is just one of the species being conserved here.

Conservation Management of Lullymore West Bog
IPCC's Conservation Management Plan for Lullymore West Bog focuses on the actions that need to be undertaken each year to protect and enhance the butterfly and moth diversity of this site and to raise awareness of the wildlife importance of the bog. Records of wildlife are being kept by the IPCC on an on-going basis, the spread of scrub woodland is being controlled, drains are being blocked and the whole site has been fenced off as a safety precaution. Scientific monitoring of the Marsh Fritillary Butterfly is on-going annually. The increase in abundance of Devil's Bit Scabious, the food plant of the Marsh Fritillary Butterfly larvae is a management priority.

Volunteers
Volunteers play a vital role in the on-going reserach and management work being undertaken at this site. Please contact IPCC if you would like to participate in the annual programme of work which includes weekly butterfly transect monitoring between April and October, marsh fritillary nest monitoring in Spring and Autumn, tree removal and spread control in summer, regular site clean ups and drain blocking. Wetland habitat creation is also planned on the site. You can contact us from this link bogs@ipcc.ie

Habitat Map of Lullymore West Bog, Co. Kildare 2007 overlain on the air photograph for the site. Different symbols show the locations of the habitats described on the bog. The reserve boundary is in red. Land use around the reserve can be seen including coniferous forestry to the west, grassland to the north and east and privately owned cutover bog to the south. The access point to the bog is shown by the black arrow. Map drawn by Padraic Fogarty.

Habitats for Wildlife
Six habitats have been recorded and described on Lullymore West Bog. The distribution of the habitats on the bog can be seen in the habitat map which was prepared by Pådraic Fogarty working with IPCC staff. The habitats found on Lullymore West Bog are:

Scrub Woodland	Grassland
Cutaway Bog	Bare Peat
Wet Depressions and Drains	Recently Felled Woodland

The grassland habitat is the most species rich and visually is most stunning in late summer when knapweed, devil's bit scabious and measdow sweet are flowering among the moor grass giving a very distinct pink and purple hue to the site.

On crisp cold bright sunny days in spring, the treelines on the perimeter of the site are stunning when the yellow catkins of willow are seen against a beautiful blue sky.

In spring, after the rains, the wet depressions are filled with water. These become alive in March with tadpoles of frogs. In the damp areas, the mosses are very visible at this time especially the orange brown moss Calliergonella cuspidata.

The total number of animal species on Lullymore West excluding moths and butterflies is 66. Early in spring green tiger beetles are commonly seen in the cutaway bog habitat. Most obvious in the summer months are the craneflies, hover flies and spit bugs. In early autumn spiders make funnel shaped nests in the grassland and you may catch a glimpse of a female with her egg ball near the nest.

The site is rich in moths with 156 species recorded in 2006 by the Moth Society of Ireland from light traps placed on the site overnight.

In 2004 Dr Martin Speight of Trinity College Dublin discovered a species of Hoverfly at Lullymore West, which was new to Ireland. The species is Eupeodes goeldlini. Dr Speight collected a male hoverfly whilst it was feeding on dandelion flowers during the month of May.

The birch and willow woodland habitats are a refuge for bullfinch, chiffchaff, cuckoo, willow warbler, white throat, thrush, robin and gold finch. Thrush anvil sites are commonly seen on the bog where there is rocky mineral soil exposed. Banded snail shells are seen in such areas in abundance.

Marsh Fritillary and other Butterflies
21 different species of butterfly are found on Lullymore West Bog, out of a total Irish species list of 31. In 2007, IPCC began a programme of butterfly monitoring on the reserve. A 1km butterfly transect has been established throughout the site. Regular walking of the transect is undertaken between April and October. In 2007, recorders found the highest diversity of butterflies were recorded during site visits in May when 16 species were observed. The greatest numbers of species present were recorded in May and September with an average of 33-34 butterflies.

Selection of butterflies found on Lullymore West Bog, Co. Kildare. Photos: J. Harding and C. Krieger.

The 21 butterflies recorded on Lullymore West Bog in 2007 were:

Brimstone	Marsh Fritillary	Small Copper
Common Blue	Meadow Brown	Small Heath
Dark Green Fritillary	Orange Tip	Small Tortoiseshell
Dingy Skipper	Painted Lady	Small White
Green-veined White	Peacock	Speckled Wood
Holly Blue	Red Admiral	Wall
Large White	Ringlet	Wood White

In Spring 21 nests of the marsh fritillary butterfly larvae were recorded on the reserve having survived the winter period of 2006/2007. In autumn 11 nests of the larvae were recorded. These will over winter in 2007/2008. Poor weather during the flight period of June and July in 2007, scrub woodland encroachment onto the grassland habitat of the butterfly larvae and the development of purple moor grass into large clumps are all factors that may be causing the decrease in larval nests recorded in the autumn of 2007.

Spring nest of the larvae of the marsh fritillary butterfly. On warmer days the caterpillars will sit on the moor grass litter and bask in the sun. The heat activates thier metabolism and encourages them to feed. Photo: C. O'Connell, IPCC	Autumn nest of the marsh fritillary butterfly. The caterpillars are actively feeding on a leaf of devil's bit scabious. Photo: C. O'Connell, IPCC

Succisa pratensis or Devil's Bit Scabious ­ the food plant of the marsh fritillary butterfly was found to be most abundant in the open habitats of the site including grassland, recently-felled woodland and bare peat. In these habitats cover of the plant reached up to 100% of the vegetation.

When to Watch Butterflies on Lullymore West Bog

The chart above shows you when the various butterflies on Lullymore West Bog were in flight in 2007. While you watch for butterflies, look out also for the beautiful plants, mosses, insects, spiders and other wildlife found in this reserve.

Enjoy Your Visit Safely
Please help us to preserve and protect Lullymore West Bog and its wildlife so that future generations can enjoy it too. We ask you to follow these guidelines:

* Dumping of rubbish and personal items is prohibited as they damage the bog and spoil the environment.
* Walking pets, camping, fires and the use of motorised vehicles on the bog are prohibited as they disturb wildlife.
* When walking on the bog try to avoid trampling ground nests of the Marsh Fritillary Butterfly particularly in Spring and Autumn.
* It is an offense to feed or molest wildlife or remove or otherwise disturb any natural feature or plant on the bog.
* It is dangerous to walk on the bog
surface owing to hidden ditches, soft ground, tree stumps and brambles.
* "Pursuant to the provisions of the Occupiers' Liability Act 1995, the occupiers of these premises puts all visitors to his premises on notice that his sole duties to them are: (a) not to injure the visitor or damage the property of the visitor intentionally, and (b) not to act with reckless disregard for the visitor or the property of the visitor."

Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC)
IPCC's mission is to conserve a representative proportion of the bogs and fens of Ireland and their heritage for future generations to enjoy. Our activities include: education and publicity, promoting environmental awareness, providing information and encouraging the protection and conservation of our national heritage for the common good. We own and manage three peatlands for conservation in Counties Kildare and Waterford. We own and run the Bog of Allen Nature Centre which is open to visitors and school groups and we provide an extensive information service on our web site at www.ipcc.ie. The Irish Peatland Conservation Council is a voluntary, non-governmental organisation, a Company Limited by Guarantee (No. 116156), with charitable status (CHY6829). IPCC have 6 members of staff and is supported by 48 volunteers. The IPCC can be contacted at the Bog of Allen Nature Centre, Lullymore, Rathangan, Co. Kildare, www.ipcc.ie

Thank You to Our Supporters
The creation and management of the Lullymore West Wildlife Reserve by the IPCC is supported by the following: IPCC's Friends of the Bog, The Biodiversity Fund of the Heritage Council, Volunteering Ireland VOLT Network, Bristol-Myres Squibb Company, Bord na Móna, EOG Association for Conservation, Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government's "Notice Nature" Campaign, KELT and the LEADER Plus Programme which is funded by the Irish Government and part-financed by the European Union under the National Development Plan 2000-2006.

© 2007 Dr Catherine O'Connell, IPCC. Habitat Map: Pádraic Fogarty (www.openfield.ie).
Published in 2007 by the Irish Peatland Conservation Council, Lullymore, Rathangan, Co. Kildare.

Lullymore West, Co. Kildare - IPCC Reserve

Marsh Fritillary Butterfly