Butterfly lovers’ emotions tend to boom and bust like butterfly populations. Two weeks of sunshine in my part of the world and my heart’s lifted by plentiful orange tips, small whites and brimstones, while last summer’s peacocks gamely fly on. Alongside a decent abundance of common species there’s the exciting addition of 41 chequered skippers from the continent, now enjoying the warm glades of Rockingham forest, Northamptonshire.
The chequered skippers – males and females collected in Belgium – have been reintroduced as part of the Back from the Brink project, after the species became extinct in England following the hot summer of 1976. (A similar summer would be too dry for this species’ caterpillars, which need moisture to survive.)
One swallowtail doesn’t make a summer but I’ve seen my first on Strumpshaw Fen, Norfolk. There’s some curious phenology this year, with little sign yet of milk parsley, on which the females lay their eggs. And the swallowtail’s favourite nectar, including sweet william in nearby gardens, isn’t in full flower. It could be problematic if butterflies emerge too early for their food plants.
A fine May rarely seems to lead to a sunny summer, but for now butterflies are a joyous final adornment to our most beautiful month in all its glory.
