Butterflies including gatekeepers, large skippers, small coppers and small tortoiseshells are in severe decline on agricultural land, while breeding farmland bird populations hit their lowest recorded level in England in 2013, having more than halved since 1970. Breeding farmland birds and butterflies are declining in both the long and short term, while woodland birds and butterflies have also seen numbers fall in past decades. In 2013, breeding woodland birds in England reached their lowest recorded level, more than a quarter (28%) below 1970 levels. Butterfly populations have tumbled by almost a half (48%) since 1990.
Source: Irish Independent, 23/07/15
http://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/birds-and-butterflies-suffe…
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