COMMON butterflies saw a collapse in their population numbers in Cumbria over the summer despite the UK experiencing weather conditions that usually help them to thrive. Results from the three-week Big Butterfly Count survey reveal a decline in the insect across the length and breadth of the country. The majority of butterfly species studied as part of the survey saw their populations fall with some producing their worst numbers since the Big Butterfly Count began. Widespread species such as the Gatekeeper, Comma and Small Copper experienced their worst summers in the project’s history and were down 40 per cent, 46 per cent and 30 per cent respectively, compared to last year. The Small Tortoiseshell saw a 47 per cent drop in numbers and Peacock slumped by 42 per cent with both species recording their second worst years. Numbers of the colourful Peacock have now dropped from an average of 3.6 individuals per count in 2013 to just 0.5 per count in 2016, a six-fold decrease over three years. The reasons why butterflies have struggled despite favourable summer weather conditions are as yet unclear.
Butterfly Conservation’s Head of Recording, Richard Fox, said: “The drop in butterfly numbers this summer has been a shock and is a bit of a mystery. When we have cold, wet summers, as in 2012, we expect butterfly populations to plummet, but that wasn’t the case this year.
Source: Westmorland Gazette, 17 October 2016
http://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/news/14805577.Butterfly_numbers_…
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