UK’s bad weather affects butterfly numbers
Last year’s weather conditions caused many of Britain’s butterfly species to decline in numbers, a charity has said
17:09 26 March 2013
We’ve probably all spotted that the UK’s current weather conditions are somewhat different to those that a Brit has come to expect at certain times of the year. For instance, during summer many Britons hope for sunny days, and in spring, for warmer days to follow the winter months.
This is contrary to what has been happening in the UK in spring this 2013, as many areas across the UK have recently been affected by snow and rain.
It is not only us who are affected by the wet and cold weather though, as other British residents such as butterflies have also been suffering with the weather.
A charity has stated that because of the weather in 2012, Britain’s butterflies have been badly hit. This relates to last summer being one of the wettest in particular.
According to the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme, out of 56 butterfly species 52 of these experienced a loss in numbers. The situation means that a number of butterflies now face extinction in areas across the UK.
Butterflies belonging to the fritillaries group suffered especially. This relates to high brown fritillary as well as heath fritillary, as their numbers decreased by almost half.
One reason being attributed to the cause of this could be because during the summer months, there may have been a lack of provisions for certain butterflies, such as shelter and food.
The Head of Monitoring at the Butterfly Conservation, Doctor Tom Brereton, is quoted in media reports on this matter. He said: “2012 was a catastrophic year for almost all of our butterflies, halting progress made through our conservation efforts in recent years.”
Dr. Brereton added: “Butterflies have proved before that given favourable conditions and the availability of suitable habitat they can recover, but with numbers in almost three-quarters of UK species at a historically low ebb any tangible recovery will be more difficult than ever.”
The country is expecting more bad weather this week, and there are media reports relating to animals such as lambs who are currently being born into the cold weather.