This year’s Big Butterfly Count, the results of which were published last week, reveals the lowest number on record, prompting Butterfly Conservation, the charity which organises the count, to declare a ‘Butterfly Emergency’. Compared to 2023, participants in the survey, which ran from 12 July – 4 August, recorded almost 50% fewer butterflies during a 15 minute period, down from 12 to seven of these beautiful creatures. The Big Butterfly Count citizen science project has been running for 14 years, with this year’s 84,000 participants spending the equivalent of four years worth of time counting in gardens, parks, school grounds and the countryside.
Dr Richard Fox, Head of Science at Butterfly Conservation, said:
“Butterflies are a key indicator species; when they are in trouble we know that the wider environment is in trouble too. Nature is sounding the alarm call. We must act now if we are to turn the tide on these rapid declines and protect species for future generations.“
As well as loss of habitat, the decline is caused by the use of neonicotinoid pesticides which kill butterflies as well as other pollinating insects. Dr Fox said
“When used on farmland, these chemicals make their way into the wild plants growing at field edges, resulting in adult butterflies and moths drinking contaminated nectar and caterpillars feeding on contaminated plants. Many European countries have already banned these chemicals, it’s time for the UK to follow suit and put the natural world first. If we don’t act now to finally address the long-term drivers of butterfly decline, we will face extinction events never before seen in our lifetime.”
The charity has drafted an open letter to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs calling for a ban on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides. As I write this on Sunday afternoon, over 19,000 people have signed the letter: do please add your voice to the campaign to reverse the sad decline in numbers.
My summer got off to a butterfly-themed start when I took part in a concert by Kew Gardens’ staff and volunteers’ choir. As an ad hoc volunteer at RBG, Kew (helping with the annual orchid festival, commenting on draft interpretation messaging and taking part in the recent bench audit) I just about qualify to be a member of this inspirational choir which rehearses each Thursday in the church hall attached to the historic St Anne’s Church, Kew Green. One of the numbers we sang was ‘Butterfly’, a lilting and wistful evocation of the ephemeral nature of the creatures which, until recently, we took for granted as a fixture in our gardens. Written by Alan Simmons, I don’t have permission to reproduce all the lyrics but here’s a photo of my fridge door where I stuck a print out of the chorus to help me learn the words.
Let’s see how some of the species listed in the chorus fared according to this year’s list of sightings across the UK:
Tortoise Shell: Down 74% since last year.
Painted Lady: down 66%
Meadow Brown: good news at last! Up by 6% since 2023.
Holly Blue: down 80% on last year, but an increase of sightings of 35.6% since the Big Butterfly Count began.
Red Admiral: down 82% since 2023 but an increase since the count began of 28.10%.
On the afternoon of 26 July, Ruth Brookes, Natural Habitats Supervisor at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, returned to Pensford Field for the second year running, to give a talk about butterflies. It was hot and sunny and when we ventured into the Field from the studio it was heartening to observe Meadow Browns cavorting in the wildflower meadow. Ruth explained that to date it had been a bad year for butterflies. Caterpillars need a deep cold winter to remain dormant, as opposed to the mild wet conditions last winter. This caused them to run out of energy before the end of winter.
Ruth was very complimentary about the habitats created across the Field to support the entire life cycles of butterflies. This makes it all the more sad that a couple of weeks ago, the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames notified the Pensford Field Environmental Trust that it intended to terminate its lease of the three acre site, embedded in a residential area of Kew, about half a mile from the Gardens. For 32 years, the Trust and its volunteers have managed the site, maintaining the woodland that surrounds an open meadow area, planting a productive orchard of apple, pear, quince and medlar trees and creating a wildlife pond. Two sets of local beekeepers occupy sites at either corner of the Field and a local primary school holds weekly forest school sessions there. There are regular talks there: already this year we’ve learnt about amphibians, bats and hedgehogs. I have to declare an interest here: as well as being a volunteer at the monthly work parties to maintain the Field, I’ve recently been appointed a trustee, and have given two talks there relating to gardening for wildlife and resilient gardening. To say that we are disappointed about Richmond’s decision is an understatement. We are deeply concerned that the valuable wildlife habitat provided by the Field for butterflies and many other species, might be compromised by future use of the site by an organisation for which conservation is not a primary object.
In light of the concerning news from the Big Butterfly Count, sites like Pensford with meadow planting of nectar-rich species for adult butterflies and areas of long grass and nettles for caterpillars, are vital to stem the decline revealed in the survey.
I fear that this post brings gloomy news on two fronts and want to redress the balance a little by showing some of the butterfly and moth sightings I’ve had this year (while they stayed still long enough to be photographed!).
Butterflies
Moths
Seduced by images of prolific yellow orange flowerheads and the fact that its common name is butterfly weed, I bought five tubers of Asclepias tuberosa this spring. Planted up in separate pots, as soon as new growth emerged it was consumed by slugs or snails. I succeeded in establishing one plant and its flowers lived up to my expectations. I didn’t see any butterflies visiting it, but I like to think that by growing it I’m improving the chances of increasing the bio-diversity in the garden. At RHS Wisley’s recent plant fair I spotted a vibrant cultivar called Asclepias Silky Scarlet. If I was a butterfly those vivid yellow flowers would certainly attract me in search of nectar. This genus includes the various species of milkweed which host the caterpillars of the Monarch butterflies which undertake the extraordinary annual migration from southern Canada to Mexico. Earlier this year I listened to a fascinating series on BBC Radio 4 about one woman’s quest to follow this migration marvel by bicycle.
I’m going to finish with a couple of paintings featuring butterflies which I’ve come across this summer. At the Queen’s Park Book Festival at the beginning of September, I saw art critic Laura Cummings being interviewed about her memoir ‘Thunderclap‘, where she showed a slide of this exquisite study by Adriaen Coorte of two peaches. The colourful portrait was one of the entries in the Herbert Smith Freehills Portrait Award 2024 at the National Portrait Gallery: Alain at Kew by Carl Randall, with the subject standing in front of verdant vegetation in the Palm House: spot the butterflies!
Do please follow the link to call for the government to ban neonicotinoids and give our butterfly population the chance to thrive once again. God forbid that the only place for future generations to see butterflies is on a gallery wall.
Kew Gardens, 22 September 2024
Fascinating post, especially to learn that caterpillars need a deep cold winter for their dormancy. I imagine that mild winters may become a big problem for them in future and that some species may have to move further north. Pensford Field sounds like a very important site, not just for butterflies, but for all insects, so it’s very sad that Richmond is giving up the lease – I do hope some good alternative can be found. And I hope that we humans can learn how important nature is before it is too late!