A Duke of Burgundy butterfly / image copyright: Keith Warmington
Last year’s record-breaking spring helped some of the UK’s rarest butterflies recover following years of decline, a scientific study today revealed.
The hot, dry weather provided perfect conditions for early spring specialists enabling them to benefit from extended flight periods as they emerged weeks earlier than usual.
The threatened Duke of Burgundy bucked a trend of recent declines as its population rose by 65% between 2010 and 2011.
Other rare spring butterflies prospered – the Grizzled Skipper recorded a rise of 96% and the scarce Pearl-bordered Fritillary saw numbers jump by 103%.
But despite last year’s much-needed respite, many of our most threatened butterflies remain in a state of long-term decline and need further targeted conservation work to turn their fortunes around permanently.
Common garden species such as the Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell and Common Blue all recorded major population falls as the dry spring gave way to the coldest summer for 18 years.
Summer-flying woodland specialists also struggled. The White Admiral recorded a 51% fall and the threatened Black Hairstreak, which recorded a substantial increase between 2009 and 2010, declined last year.
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