The Bottom Drops Out of British Butterflies

The UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme has looked at the data for 2022. Common species, like the Small white; Small tortoiseshell; Peacock; Green-veined white and Brimstone had good or average numbers in the Spring and early Summer of that year. Their late Summer broods were, however, greatly reduced (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/30/fears-for-uk-butterfly-numbers-after-die-off-in-2022-heatwave). There was a widespread drought in late Summer of 2022, killing many of the food plants used by butterfly larvae. Adult butterfly numbers were consequently reduced, making population rebounds in 2023 highly unlikely. One must emphasise that butterflies are bright, easily observed, day-flying insects. Declines in their numbers are very obvious to numerous butterfly enthusiasts. Damage to other populations of insect pollinators will, however, be much less obvious. Insectageddon (a general loss of insect species) is happening and climate change is an exacerbating factor in this phenomenon.