Every summer, I read despairing messages about the absence of butterflies on buddleias. These observations fit my own experience.
The buddleias from my Norfolk childhood in the 80s and 90s reliably contained a dozen nymphalids – brightly-coloured small tortoiseshells, peacocks and red admirals.
For five summers since returning to rural Norfolk, my buddleias have been mostly empty (I’ve planted 18 and cut some back hard in late April so they flower in late August when nectar is scarcer and more useful for butterflies).
Not this year. Several dozen peacocks enjoyed the late-July flowering buddleias. The peacocks retreat very early to hibernate and, by mid-August, they were superseded by red admirals. Now, 20 painted ladies feast on the flowers.
Scientific counts will not report until the autumn but this summer has seen a joyful bounty of these species.
Almost absent from my buddleias however, has been the small tortoiseshell, which has suffered a precipitous recent decline. The puzzle of its demise continues. What about the puzzle of the buddleia butterfly boom? I feared last summer’s drought would be disastrous but two hot summers appear to have helped many butterflies. Global heating should boost most warmth-loving species. Maybe, just maybe, it will.
