I have watched the crops grow golden, the Large Blues come and go and the sun rising and falling in Somerset since the 30th of May. What a wonderful experience it has been, but all good things must come to an end. Therefore, it is time to say goodbye to Collard Hill and all of it’s inhabitants. A new chapter of adventure awaits me.
![FB_IMG_1468608660608[1]](https://ntlargeblue.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/fb_img_14686086606081.jpg?w=501&h=501)
Here are a few images I have taken over the course of my time on Collard Hill which I did not manage to put on the blog posts:
Goodluck to the 2017 Large Blue Butterfly Volunteer Ranger. May the Large Blues be another success in your presence!
Abbi
The National Trust's Large Blue Blog 
Well done Abbi. Your ladybug larva is a glowworm larva: http://www.glowworms.org.uk/
best wishes for your future career.
Thank you! Ooooh I didn’t think it looked quite right.
Lovely to have spent a couple of days with you Abbi. All the best for the future. Mike Meechem
Wish you all the best Abbi, you were a great ranger
Good luck Abbi. Many thanks
Thanks for a really lovely blog, Abbi. Thoroughly enjoyed the pictures and informative commentary. Wishing you every success in your next adventure.
Well done Abbi, really enjoyed the blog, well done.
Thank you very much for fascinating reports on this LB season on Collard Hill, and much more than LB. Very well written, are you becoming a journalist? Or an writer on ecology? Looks very good so far! If you can still answer questions (or I would be grateful if you could pass this on), a few things I haven’t gathered, might have missed it – has here been an assessment on whether more or less LBs were about this year? And ants? Was it a good year overall? Any spread beyond !he reserve? Are LBs now established on Collard Hill? Best wishes for your studies and career. Vic Vic Warren C Eng C Env Visit my (occasional) environmental blog at http://www.greenstuff.org.uk/
Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2016 18:56:14 +0000 To: vic.warren@hotmail.com
Thank you Vic, I will be starting my second year at Bangor University studying Environmental Conservation, so I could possibly become a writer in the future. The sightings I have recorded this year have matched records in 2010 when the LB population was at its highest since being reintroduced. Therefore, if the spring weather is usual the LB population should continue to grow. If the spring weather is unusually cold for long periods the red ants will not be able to forage as far and will eventually eat what is in their ants grub nest (including the LB caterpillar) and then there will be a decline in the LB population that summer. So, it was a very successful year overall. I hope this answers your questions, some details however are more sensitive to disclose. Thank you, Abbi.