New Story - Butterfly Population in 2012

Butterfly population for 2012 in the UK

I am going to try and discuss a news story at least every 2 weeks. How much detail I will go to, will depend on how much time I have throughout the week.

My first news story is on the populations of Butterflies throughout 2012. 

Let's face it 2012 was a pretty dull year, we had few weeks or so of lovely weather in May but apart from that the rest was cold, wet and with not a hint of snow (but I think 2013 has made up that!). Last years summer was the second coolest since 1998 (first being 2011, but only by 0.2°C). The average temperature for the summer (Jun-Aug) last yes was -0.4°C below the average from the years 1981-2010, which may not seem like a huge deal, but this could be a huge problem for native insects and flora. Which then can lead to problems for birds and other animals that rely on them for food. As well as the drop in temperature there was a lot of rain! So much that the UK had a total of 371mm, this is wettest summer, bar 1912 (284mm), since 1910! 

So how did this effect the butterflies?

With the rain and the cold it became difficult for them to find food, shelter and mates. Here are some of that stats given in the story about certain butterfly species, the percentages the change in the population numbers when compared to 2011:

• Black Hairstreak (Satyrium pruni) fell by 98% 
• White-letter Hairstreak (Satyrium w-album) fell by 71%
• Brown Fritillary (Argynnis adippe) fell by 46%
• Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) fell by 60&

However, not all species suffered during this year. Some had a population increase, these include the Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina), whose numbers increased by 8893. This species along with Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus) and Marbled white (Melanargia galathea). This is believed to be because they are grass feeding species, with the dry start to the year followed by the heavy rains grass grew very well. Even though this a good sign that some species can cope it was only 4 out of 56 that saw an increase. 

The question is how will they fare this year? So far there has been cold snaps and a lot of snow that could prohibit or delay the growth of some the plants that the butterflies need. Even grass may suffer a little. It could be a case that many larvae have died throughout this time! Since many organisms base their biological clocks on the length of day (which remains pretty much constant each year) some may have hatched and not had any food. How the butterflies have coped will be worked out in annual surveys done by the leading organisations. 

My concern is that not only will our butterflies decrease in population size but other insects as well. The bees are already suffering, with honeybees having a lot of trouble at the moment. We need our insects to be in healthy numbers to keep all our ecosystems going and support all other forms of life. I am not sure on the situation for insects from around the world but I think it has got to the point were most speices need our help to maintain the populations. I know that not everybody is a huge fan of our 6 legged friends but I think everyone needs to know how important they are to our world. 

If you do want to get involved and do your bit there are several things you can do. If you have a garden and are keen to help you can plant insect friendly flowering plants that will keep you garden busy throughout the summer. You can also take part in the surveys, you don't have to be experienced there are identification guides to help. I will put some links below so you can go and investigate. 

Hope you enjoyed reading =)

Sources:

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/anomalygraphs/
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/2012/summer.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20983930

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21934075

Extra Reading:

UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (http://www.ukbms.org/Default.aspx)

Butterfly Conservation [I did a survey for these last year] (http://butterfly-conservation.org/)

The British Beekeeping Associatino (http://www.bbka.org.uk/learn/gardening_for_bees)

Chigwell Nursery (http://www.chigwellnursery.co.uk/Site/Bee_Friendly_Plants.html)

UK Flowering Plants (http://www.ukbutterflyplants.co.uk)