Butterflywatch: sunny summer should have been favourable, but jury is still out

Despite ideal butterfly weather in 2018, data suggests some species still face worrying declinesA coppery autumn has followed a superbly sunny summer. I've been admiring a late, great third generation of small coppers, some of which are huge, suggesting their caterpillars thrived earlier in the year.It is hard to declare 2018 a vintage butterfly year because the scientific data has not yet been crunched. In fact, the Big Butterfly Count suggests that this ideal butterfly weather only confirms a dismal loss of abundance. An average of 11 butterflies (of 19 common target species) per count was barely higher than 2017, the lowest in the count's nine-year history. Particularly worrying is the small tortoiseshell's mysterious decline. Continue reading...