Loss of Butterflies

[aeshna5]

Originally Posted by King Edward

That may be true, but I doubt it's declining for lack of nettles.

Agree it's not lack of nettles. The recently arrived tachinid fly Sturmia bella, was implicated but recent studies seem to show this isn't the whole cause for the decline which is still not fully understood.

[Dogghound]

Originally Posted by King Edward

Regarding nettles, by all means leave undisturbed nettle patches if you have them already, but I don't think there's any good reason to actually plant/encourage them in a garden (especially if there's limited space, which could be used for more attractive and equally wildlife-friendly plants). Apart from anything else, nettles are probably as common today in the countryside as they've ever been, given that they thrive on heavily fertilised ground with high phosphate levels.

I was really making a point on how to attract butterflies to a garden rather than conservation. Nettles without doubt attract red admiral, peacock, small tortoiseshell and comma. Plus a large range of moth species. I agree nettles are very numerous, although certainly some years they can be lacking in the local area due to management of verges etc. In areas with high levels of arable land they can also be quite limited.

[GCN lova]

Same as dogghound i was just saying how to attract them your garden. Obviously some species require specific plants or habitat but of course they can supply nectar to visitors.

[Deb London]

An article in the current issue of British Wildlife, entitled “The state of the UK’s butterflies” (1) attempts to summarise the changes in the UK’s butterfly species in the last decade and a half. Perhaps predictably, the numbers of England’s scarcer “habitat specialist” species continues to be of concern. Some species are in real danger of extinction, at least in some regions (the picture in Scotland is far less bleak, where there has been no overall decline in habitat specialists). However, I have an interest in how our park and garden butterflies are doing and what (if anything) I can do to help them. I have therefore been trying to distil information from the article concerning their fate.

The butterflies of our parks and gardens seem to fall into the category of “wider-countryside” species. Such species are adaptable and mobile, and can thrive in man-made landscapes, such as hedgerows, roadsides, parks and gardens. The future of these species seems to be brighter than that of the habitat specialists, and in Scotland there has actually been an apparent increase in their abundance. In terms of distribution across the UK, species such as the Peacock (17 % increase in distribution), the Comma (up 8 %), the Speckled Wood (up 20 %) and the Ringlet (up 8 %) continue to do well. The Red Admiral is no longer merely an immigrant, but has now been recorded as breeding here. The authors suggest that these changes are in response to climate change.

Whilst some species have not shown increases in range, their distribution has at least been stable. Species in this category include the Marbled White and Gatekeeper.

However, there have been notable declines in the range and abundance of a number of the wider-countryside butterfly species. The Small and Essex Skipper, the Small Tortoiseshell and the Wall have shown dramatic and statistically significant decreases. The Wall continues to disappear from parts of its former range.

Overall, at monitored sites, the total number of these less specialised species has decreased significantly over ten years (by 24 % in the UK, and 25 % in England). Even more worryingly, at woodland and farmland monitoring sites in England, the number of butterflies (total, all species) has decreased sharply (by 51 % at woodland sites and 41 % in the agricultural setting).

Summarizing the wider trends in numbers over the ten year study period, the authors conclude that “not every species is affected in every part of the UK, but it is clear that the majority of UK butterflies are still in serious decline”. Whilst conservation efforts directed at our most threatened species have shown some degree of success, suggesting that we should be able to reverse the trends if we try hard enough, who is looking out for garden species? Or do they not matter as much, because they are at least still seen on our walks in the countryside?

Worrying, is it not?


1. Fox, R., Brereton, T.M., Asher, J., Botham, M.S., Middlebrook, I., Roy, D.B., & Warren, M.S. (2012). The state of the UK’s butterflies. British Wildlife 2 (4),229 – 238.

[tigertom]

I do not think what has been happening to some local woods near to me is any help to butterflies. My housing association manages both the Woods shown below 1st 2 pics are how the wood in pics 3+4 did look befor they done some work in it to return it to how it should be
They have not yet got round to the one in pics 1+2 and hope they dont


This is what they have done to one of the woods


My local council is of no help saying as they own it they can do what they want as long as they do not cut any oaks down they have cut down pines some lime and few others as well removing all the undergrowth
MIKE

[Dorts]

GCN lova mentioned the Duke of Burgundy. This now very local species relies almost entirely on large Cowslip and Primrose leaves for its eggs to be able to over-winter. Such leaves are only produced when growing conditions have enough spring/summer moisture. Smaller leaves wither along with the eggs in drier summers. This is one of the causes of this species decline, particularly in the South on chalk where drier weather has a more marked effect on the growth of Cowslips. The plants can survive a 'leafless' winter, but the Butterflies eggs can't!
Dorts.

[fairplay]

Originally Posted by tigertom

I do not think what has been happening to some local woods near to me is any help to butterflies. My housing association manages both the Woods shown below 1st 2 pics are how the wood in pics 3+4 did look befor they done some work in it to return it to how it should be
They have not yet got round to the one in pics 1+2 and hope they dont


This is what they have done to one of the woods


My local council is of no help saying as they own it they can do what they want as long as they do not cut any oaks down they have cut down pines some lime and few others as well removing all the undergrowth
MIKE

It's a difficult one this as the Housing Association will argue it is safer for the public and in my opinion, butterflies would benefit too as more sunlight can come in.

But of course, if in removing some of the ground cover, they have removed a certain food source for a particular butterfly then that will not be so good.
Without knowing more about the wood, I'm not in a position to comment, but they do seem to have removed all the rotting dead wood which will be bad for fungi and invertebrates.

Neil.

[Ferret]

Not all doom and gloom last year was a good year for some species Duke of Burgundy up b 65%, Grizzled Skipper up 96% and Pearl-bordered Fritillary up 103% although summer flying species did not fare so well Record Spring Respite For Rare Butterflies - Butterfly Conservation
A massive difference could be made to all insects if we encouraged local councils not to mow park grass and roadside verges to within an inch of their life and maybe actually plant some wild flower areas, it even costs less to do this than it does to mow so cheaper council tax (well I can dream can’t I), lots of other thing that can be done as well i.e. encourage rotational coppicing of suitable woods by buying British charcoal for the barbeque and buying hazel fence panels instead of pine (they might by harder to find at the moment but that is just because nobody asks for them, garden centres and building supplies only stock what the customer asks for, so let’s all ask for them.
Encourage farmers to join stewardship schemes so that hedgerows, field margins and headlands are properly managed in order to link up all those well managed woods and reserves and thereby helping the gene pool mix and to help with re-colonization after local extinctions, which is why a lot of species are declining.
Buy one or two British organic vegetables or meats if you can, not sure if it will do your health any good (although I personally think it will) it will defiantly do the countryside some good.
And of course plant some of your garden with wildlife friendly plants and try to have a garden pond.
Remember it’s not other people that make a difference it’s YOU that makes the difference.
Ferret

[Deb London]

Originally Posted by Ferret

Not all doom and gloom last year was a good year for some species Duke of Burgundy up b 65%, Grizzled Skipper up 96% and Pearl-bordered Fritillary up 103% although summer flying species did not fare so well Record Spring Respite For Rare Butterflies - Butterfly Conservation
A massive difference could be made to all insects if we encouraged local councils not to mow park grass and roadside verges to within an inch of their life and maybe actually plant some wild flower areas, it even costs less to do this than it does to mow so cheaper council tax (well I can dream can’t I), lots of other thing that can be done as well i.e. encourage rotational coppicing of suitable woods by buying British charcoal for the barbeque and buying hazel fence panels instead of pine (they might by harder to find at the moment but that is just because nobody asks for them, garden centres and building supplies only stock what the customer asks for, so let’s all ask for them.
Encourage farmers to join stewardship schemes so that hedgerows, field margins and headlands are properly managed in order to link up all those well managed woods and reserves and thereby helping the gene pool mix and to help with re-colonization after local extinctions, which is why a lot of species are declining.
Buy one or two British organic vegetables or meats if you can, not sure if it will do your health any good (although I personally think it will) it will defiantly do the countryside some good.
And of course plant some of your garden with wildlife friendly plants and try to have a garden pond.
Remember it’s not other people that make a difference it’s YOU that makes the difference.
Ferret

I'm very interested in some of your ideas, Ferret.

I have recently been lucky enough to get to grow some of my own veg. (ORGANICALLY IF IT KILLS ME) therefore the cost of my "weekly shop" should go down and with the savings, I can look into buying more organic food. I have only realised in the last few years just how important for biodiversity and the environment this is.

I didn't know it was possible to buy British charcoal, but of course, it is.
BioRegional - HomeGrown - for better and greener barbeques and home fires

And any farmer that is a member of a stewardship scheme gets my vote.

Anyway, on a lighter note, I did see an Orange-tip in my garden again this year. I have no idea if they are interested in the Garlic Mustard that I planted for them, but I hope so.

However, I think it's true to say that I'd have to devote the whole of my garden to nettles if I wanted to help some of the Vanessids, and this is neither practical nor balanced. There is too much of this making things neat and tidy by Councils, as Mike (tigertom) suggests. Give me nettle patches any day of the week - part of the patch cut every so often to give the "right type of nettle" to lay eggs on (some butterflies are fussy about age and plant situation). Let the road verges grow with wild flowers, that's what I say.

I walk down a lane near here and someone in the area has been planting +/or encouraging wildflowers on the side of the road. In that little patch you can see various Whites and Browns displaying or squabbling over territory. I walk further, down to the fields and there I will only see a couple more butterflies on the whole of my walk. Until I get to a field left long, and only cut about once a year. There, in summer, I will see Skippers and Browns, and in a nearby fields, some Blues and Small Coppers too, very occasionally. I could stay here all day.

As a species we are not stupid. But I sometimes wonder if people can't tell the difference between a field buzzing with life, and a green field or verge mown to an inch off it's life. I seriously wonder if all people see is green, and therefore that must mean it's healthy. Well I'm sure the grass is healthy. But what about the rest?

We were at a location in Essex yesterday. My god, hands off the to people who manage that reserve. There were early butterflies, flies, ants and all manner of insects and invertebrates everywhere. They were obviously managing for one of our rarer species of butterfly. But the place was buzzing, and the number of different species that made up the ground flora was mind-boggling (so less doom and gloom and more bloom and boom ). Hats off to them! Let's see more of this, everywhere!

[Meadow5]

I think i only saw one colourful butterfly last year

There used to be a few of those white ones flying around and im sure i saw less of them too. Which is odd as the surrounding gardens are covered in bushes, greenery etc.