Six remarkably dry and sunny weeks coinciding with the coronavirus lockdown have given us a spring containing more butterflies than I can remember since childhood.
Peacocks in particular seem to be booming, and so are orange tips. More thrilling are arrivals from the continent. Along the east coast from Yorkshire to Suffolk there has been a smattering of large tortoiseshell sightings. This big but enigmatic butterfly probably became extinct in Britain in the 1970s after Dutch elm disease decimated its major food source, but it has thrived in the Netherlands recently and easterly winds have brought it here. There’s also an influx of red admirals in western areas.
Butterfly numbers build with a succession of favourable summers and so this summer (following 2019, which was the best butterfly year since 1997) could be superb. But fine weather can only do so much.
Unfortunately, judging by the volume of mowing in my neighbourhood, lockdown will not boost butterflies.
People are gardening more intensively, and chemical farming continues, unaffected by coronavirus. Fields near me stink of sprays that are a cause of the long-term decline of many insects.
We can’t just rely on sunshine; we need to change our ways if butterflies are to bounce back for good.
