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This
month we reveal your Big Butterfly Count results and explain how species have
fared in the warm weather. Our secret gardener unearths the reasons why your
windfall fruit is such a sweet temptation to autumn butterflies and Richard Fox
lifts the lid on what’s on the wing this
September.
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Butterflies Bounce
Back
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It looks like our
butterflies enjoyed the long, hot summer of 2013 just as much as we did with the
Big Butterfly Count revealing record-breaking results.
Warm
weather created a butterfly bonanza with four times as many recorded during this
year’s Count than in 2012.
More than 44,000 of you took part, counting a
staggering 830,000 butterflies.
The whites did well, with both Large White and Small
White numbers up by more than 300%.
Small White topped the 2013 chart
with the Large White in second place and Peacock a surprise in third.
Garden-favourite the Small Tortoiseshell recorded its best Count result
yet, coming sixth.
Some 15 of the 21 Big Butterfly Count species
increased this year compared with 2012 and 12 of these were up by at least
50%.
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Look Out For:
Peacocks
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Hibernation starts
surprisingly early for some butterflies and with bumper numbers of Peacocks and
Small Tortoiseshells around this summer you may find them in your home over the
coming days.
Such visitors
may be looking for cool, sheltered places to sit out the winter. But, while it
is lovely to have such beautiful insects in the house, the butterflies are
making a grave mistake. Central heating spells
disaster for hibernating butterflies, causing them to wake too early. Put
sleepy butterflies back outside on nice autumn days or carefully relocate them
to unheated building such as garages and
sheds.
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Dig It: Sweet Harvest For
Drunken Butterflies
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September brings the
first mists and mellow fruitfulness of autumn. This is a month of bounty in the
garden with apple trees and berry bushes hanging heavy with fruit.
But
remember not to discard your windfall crops. Bruised apples provide a key food
source for butterflies. You may even witness tipsy Red Admirals and Commas
feasting on the fermenting fruit.
If you don’t
have any fruit trees, don’t despair. Empty your fruit bowl of over-ripe extras
and leave them in a place where the butterflies can feast.
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Liked Counting
Butterflies? Come And Join Us!
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If you enjoyed taking nature’s
pulse with the Big Butterfly Count why not take the next step to help conserve
the UK’s butterflies and moths?
For a short time only Butterfly
Conservation is offering free year-long membership.
You’ll be invited to
get closer to the butterflies and moths where you live with your local Butterfly
Conservation Branch.
Get inspired to go exploring on our beautiful
UK-wide reserves and enjoy reading the latest butterfly news and features in our
exclusive Butterfly magazine.
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Useful
Links...
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News Blog
Lifting the lid
on behind-the-scenes work keeping our staff busy – from midnight mountain
searches for rare moths to needle-in-a-haystack hunts for Hairstreak
eggs.
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EventsYou can brush
up your identification skills, help on a conservation task, see a rare species
or just enjoy beautiful reserves across the UK. Find out what's happening near
you.
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Butterfly
Conservation: Company limited by guarantee, registered in England
(2206468)
Registered Office: Manor Yard, East Lulworth, Wareham, Dorset, BH20
5QP, Tel: 01929 400 209
Charity registered in England & Wales (254937)
and in Scotland
(SCO39268)
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