Extreme weather confuses butterflies

BUTTERFLIES and moths have been baffled by this year’s unpredictable weather, with many species appearing at unusual times.

Wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation said that while the hot, dry spring and one of the warmest autumns on record saw butterflies on the wing from early March all the way through to December, the cold damp summer saw many species struggle.

Its Big Butterfly Count this year revealed numbers of common species were down 11 per cent in the face of a miserable summer.

The poor results followed the unusually hot spring, in which species including the pearl-bordered fritillary and the grizzled skipper emerged weeks ahead of normal.

The warm weather returned in autumn, prompting the arrival of a number of migrant moths from as far as southern Europe.