Hot Stuff!

It seems that the prolonged hot spell in the UK has had a wide range of effects on wildlife. Natural history buffs has listed things that people can do to improve the survival chances of animals and plants (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jul/19/heatwaves-hot-weather-wildlife?INTCMP=SRCH). Some of this relates to attempting to limit the destructive effects of grass fires and preventing the drying of small ponds and streams but other suggestions include allowing wild plants to flourish for longer. Butterflies appear to be undergoing something of a recovery after a number of cool, wet 'summers', according to the annual butterfly count
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jul/19/butterflies-obsessives-elusive-purple-emperor).