Recent very butterfly-unfriendly icy winds remind me of an insect that endures horrendous weather every summer. The mountain ringlet is our only montane butterfly, meaning that you have to climb a mountain – or at least 400 metres up a Lake District fell – to see it.
Some mountain ringlet caterpillars may live for two years so slowly do they grow, chewing grass in the most capricious British conditions, while the butterfly itself only survives for a few days in June and July.
The mountain ringlet can endure wet and cold but is struggling as the climate warms. It’s disappeared from almost 40% of its locations since the 1970s and has moved 150m higher in recent decades. Scientists believe this is probably because temperature rises affect critical periods of its lifecycle.
Now there’s a new crowdfunding campaign for a joint study led by RSPB scientist Dr Steven Ewing to investigate how mountainsides can be better managed to help the mountain ringlet adapt to global warming.
As fickle as hilltop weather, this butterfly is probably the hardest in Britain to find, but Ewing has already observed 80 egg-laying females, measuring the composition and structure of the nearby grass species to learn more about what makes a mountainside hospitable for mountain ringlets.
By learning more about this secretive species, we may be able to tailor upland sheep grazing to its needs – and counteract some negative effects of climate change. For instance, one way to help mountain ringlets survive climate change might be to create cooler microclimates by allowing longer grass in some locations.
It’s laborious, heroic, fascinating science, and hopefully Ewing’s project will get the support it deserves.
