IMPACT OF MUNTJAC DEER MUNTIACUS-REEVESI ON EGG-LAYING SITES OF THE WHITE ADMIRAL BUTTERFLY LADOGA-CAMILLA IN A CAMBRIDGESHIRE WOOD

During the 1980s the number of muntjac deer Muntiacus reevesi increase d markedly in Monks Wood National Nature Reserve in Cambridgeshire. Gr azing and browsing by the deer have affected the vegetation of the woo d In this paper, we draw attention to an indirect effect of the deer o n egg-laying by the white admiral butterfly Ladoga camilla, a locally distributed species of conservation interest. Surveys made in 1973 and 1993 showed that a substantial proportion of potential egg-sites of t he white admiral, the lower leaves of honeysuckle Lonicera periclymenu m, have been removed by the deer. There has been a general expansion o f range and increase in abundance of muntjac in recent years and conse rvationists should be aware of the possibility of indirect effects on invertebrates.