| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
 | |
| Area of Search | East Sussex |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | TQ 616 238 [1] |
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 3.7 hectares (9.1 acres) [1] |
| Notification | 1993 [1] |
| Location map | Magic Map |
Paines Cross Meadow is a 3.7-hectare (9.1-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-east of Heathfield in East Sussex. [1] [2]
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 Man. SSSI/ASSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in the United Kingdom are based upon them, including national nature reserves, Ramsar sites, Special Protection Areas, and Special Areas of Conservation. The acronym "SSSI" is often pronounced "triple-S I".
Heathfield is a small, affluent market town in East Sussex, England.
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent to the north and east, Surrey to the north west and West Sussex to the west, and to the south by the English Channel.
This site is damp meadow on heavy clay with some areas of peat around springs. There are diverse invertebrates, including great green and dark bush-crickets and common blue and gatekeeper butterflies. [3]
The dark bush-cricket is a flightless species of bush-cricket.
The common blue butterfly is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae and subfamily Polyommatinae. The butterfly can be found in Europe, North Africa, [iran] and the Canary Islands, but it is especially common throughout the British Isles. Recently, however, there has been an estimated 96% population loss due to habitat loss. Butterflies in the Polyommatinae are collectively called blues, from the coloring of the wings. Common blue males usually have wings that are blue above with a black-brown border and a white fringe. The females are usually brown above with a blue dusting and orange spots.
The gatekeeper or hedge brown is most commonly found in southern and eastern Britain and coastal areas of south and south-east Ireland. It is also found in the Channel Islands, but not in Scotland nor the Isle of Man. Given its preference for warmer weather, the restriction of range expansion can be assumed to be due to climate. Colonies vary in size depending on the available habitat, and can range from a few dozen to several thousand butterflies.
The site is private land with no public access.
