Watts Bank is a nature reserve south of

Lambourn Lambourn is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It lies just north of the M4 Motorway between Swindon and Newbury, and borders Wiltshire to the west and Oxfordshire to the north. After Newmarket it is the largest centre of ra ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

. It is managed by the

Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT), is a wildlife trust covering the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire in England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It sh ...

. It is designated a biological

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

as White Shute. Watts Bank is a small

chalk grassland Calcareous grassland (or alkaline grassland) is an ecosystem associated with thin basic soil, such as that on chalk and limestone downland. Plants on calcareous grassland are typically short and hardy, and include grasses and herbs such as clove ...

bank. It has had over 30 butterfly species recorded.

Fauna

The site has the following fauna:

Butterflies

*''

Aricia agestis ''Aricia agestis'', the brown argus, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found throughout the Palearctic realm, north to northern Jutland (Denmark) and east to Siberia and the Tian Shan. Subspecies *''A. a. agestis'' southern and ce ...

'', brown argus *''

Callophrys rubi The green hairstreak (''Callophrys rubi'') is a small butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. Etymology The genus name ''Callophrys'' is a Greek word meaning "beautiful eyebrows", while the species Latin name ''rubi'' derives from ''Rubus'' (brambl ...

'', green hairstreak *''

Melanargia galathea ''Melanargia galathea'', the marbled white, is a medium-sized butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. Despite its common name and appearance, this butterfly is one of the "browns", of the subfamily Satyrinae. This species can be found across most ...

'', marbled white *''

Lycaena phlaeas ''Lycaena phlaeas'', the small copper, American copper, or common copper, is a butterfly of the Lycaenids or gossamer-winged butterfly family. According to Guppy and Shepard (2001), its specific name ''phlaeas'' is said to be derived eithe ...

'', small copper

Flora

The site has the following flora:

Plants

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Gentianella amarella ''Gentianella amarella'', the autumn gentian, autumn dwarf gentian, or autumn felwort, is a short biennial plant flowering plant in the gentian family, Gentianaceae. It is found throughout Northern Europe, the western and northern United States, ...

'' *''

Dactylorhiza fuchsii ''Dactylorhiza fuchsii'', the common spotted orchid, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae. ''Dactylorhiza fuchsii'' is one of Europe's commonest wild orchids. It is widespread across much of Europe, with the range ext ...

'' *''

Primula veris ''Primula veris'', the cowslip, common cowslip, or cowslip primrose ( syn. ''Primula officinalis'' ), is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the primrose family Primulaceae. The species is native throughout most of temperate Europe and w ...

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Succisa pratensis ''Succisa pratensis'', also known as devil's-bit or devil's-bit scabious, is a flowering plant in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. It differs from other similar species in that it has four-lobed flowers, whereas small scabious and field s ...

'' *''

Linum catharticum ''Linum catharticum'', also known as purging flax, or fairy flax, is an herbaceous flowering plant in the family Linaceae, native to Great Britain, Iceland, central Europe and Western Asia. It is an annual plant and blooms in July and August. It ...

'' *''

Anthyllis vulneraria ''Anthyllis vulneraria'', the common kidneyvetch, kidney vetch or woundwort is a medicinal plant native to Europe. The name ''vulneraria'' means "wound healer". Description ''Anthyllis vulneraria'' reaches of height. The stem is simple or more ...

References

{{SSSIs Berks Parks and open spaces in Berkshire Nature reserves in Berkshire Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust Lambourn Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Berkshire