www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

2012 has been a bizarre year by anyone's standards.

Late February and most of March was abnormally warm; April was atrocious; May was generally poor save one sole week towards the end of the month; June was a washout; July was ordinary; August was indifferent whilst September started gloriously only to descend into an atrocious state in the latter half of the month.

As ever, some butterflies have fared better than others, but what has been your own experience?

For me, the three biggest winners and losers have been:

Winners

1. Meadow Brown

I don't think I've ever seen so many, although they have had quite a compact flight season this year compared to what is usual. I guess the damp conditions have played into their hands and any bad weather during the larval feeding stage in April/May has actually benefited them, rather than worked against them.

2. Ringlet

Again, with a flight period broadly coinciding with Meadow Browns, Ringlets have turned up in significant numbers. This is a real damp and cool loving species, so I suppose it's no surprise that they've thrived this year

3. Red Admiral

They were more numerous than normal in Spring and have appeared en masse during the past month or so in numbers that are seemingly higher than what one would expect. Last winter was fairly benign, so this could have led more adult overwinterers to survive, whilst the latter part of August and early September has seen the best prolonged warm conditions of the entire year.

Losers

1. Small Copper

I think I've only seen 4 or 5 all year, which is appalling for a butterfly that can turn up practically anywhere. They didn't emerge sufficiently early to gain any advantage from abnormally warm conditions in late March, and with April and early May being both wet AND cold, those adults that DID emerge never really stood a chance which presumably had a knock-on effect on the 2nd brood.

2. Common Blue

Should be renamed 'Scarce Blue' after this annus horriblis. But for one gloriously perfect day on the Isle of Man, I haven't seen more than a dozen of this species all year.

3. Dingy Skipper

Another casualty of the atrocious April/early May conditions. I've only seen low double figure numbers this year, and I can't recall seeing a single report of a 2nd brood specimen.

Winner - Chalkhill blue

Loser - Adonis blue

I only really have the last 12 months to go on in any detail, so not much to compare to. During those 12 months I have observed the following :

Speckled Wood - So far, no where near as numerous as this time last year

Meadow Brown - Very numerous

Red Admiral - I saw my first of the year in the last week of June, since then they have been very numerous wherever I have been particularly the last month or so.

Small Tortoiseshell - I can not recall seeing any for several years locally. This year I have seen 8 in total. Not many but perhaps a sign of improvement. I have actually seen more Silver Spotted Skippers.

Perhaps at the end of next year I will be able to judge things better

A very interesting question and it must depend very much on what part of the country you are thinking about. The north west of Scotland had an amazingly warm and dry spring and summer and was still suffering from a drought right up until August. When the weather improved in July and August in England it didn't quite reach south-east Scotland. So, the weather here has been lousy since the beginning of April. We had two great weeks in March, though! Amazingly, I managed to complete my transect every week until last week.
Here the species that suffered were Orange Tips and the spring generations of Small Whites, Large Whites and Green-veined Whites. In March it looked as though we were going to have an amazing year for them, but they soon suffered with the rainy weather. Another big looser here was the Comma. I have only seen three this year - two in early spring and one two weeks ago.
The winners, strangely enough, were Speckled Woods and Wall Browns. Both species have only extended their range up here in the last two or three years and they have continued to expand this year.
We had hardly any Red Admirals earlier in the year, but plenty in early September.
Given the weather that we have had I have been astonished with how well the butterflies have done.
I fear that next year we may have very few Orange Tips. I found very few eggs and caterpillars and the area where they normally do well was flooded in July and again yesterday. It will be very interesting to see how they do next year.

I can only go on my own personal experience although reading other threads on UKB and looking at sightings on various BC sites has given me a good idea of what things were like in other parts of the country.

For me the following points are maybe worth mentioning. What I refer to as local is the area around Solihull in the West Midlands.

Winners

Locally, Meadow Browns have had a very good year with large numbers seen almost everywhere from July through to early September. At their peak there were hundreds at some sites.

Ringlets were also in very large numbers during July, even more so than Meadow Browns at their peak.

Red Admirals were regular in my garden from July onwards with a few seen on trips out.

In Dorset during the first week of September I witnessed hundreds of Red Admirals at Studland, apparently part of a major influx along that part of the coast.

Also in Dorset, Adonis Blues seemed to be doing very well, I saw hundreds at Ballard Down, Durlston CP and Bindon Hill.

Losers

Hedge Browns have not been around locally in the same numbers as last year. They have still been present at most sites visited but I have not seen any mass emergences like I did last year.

Common Blues have certainly suffered locally, my first this year was 4 weeks later than last year and I have only seen 1 or 2 each visit at local sites.
I did see first brood Common Blues in good numbers in the dunes to the north of Great Yarmouth when I was there in late May.

Small Coppers seem to have suffered locally, I only found them at 1 out of 3 sites where they were last year. I did see more whilst out and about further afield and they seem to have done better in some parts of the country.

Hanging in there

Speckled Woods have been in my garden and local areas in roughly the same numbers as last year.

Orange Tips had a very good year last year and numbers locally seemed to hold up well this year.

Holly Blues of both spring and summer broods passed through my garden in good numbers, possibly slightly down on last year.

Small Tortoiseshells showed up more than last year with my son Chris seeing 5 at once at one local spot.
I was happy to see good numbers of STs at Lulworth Cove in Dorset in early September, more than I have seen for years.

Interesting to note that some species seemed to be doing badly and then had a late emergence when they appeared in good numbers e.g. Green-veined Whites, Peacocks and more recently Red Admirals for example.

Cheers,

Neil F.

I can also only go on what I've seen in the spots I tend to visit every year (my local patch, Denbies, Box Hill, Botany Bay and Aston Rowant)...

Numbers down
The most noticeable poor year was for Adonis Blues at Denbies in the second brood (mirrored here by lower numbers of Common Blues as well). Green Hairstreaks were also down here (and very late, too). Locally, the latter part of the Small Heath season was well down on the earlier part - the reverse is usually true - and no Small Coppers were seen at all. Fewer Purple Hairstreaks than usual. White Admirals at Botany Bay were nearly non-existent on my visits.

Numbers holding
Marbled Whites seem to be doing well at all sites. Wood Whites at Botany Bay didn't seem too bad on my spring visits. Against the trend, Common Blues local to me maintained reasonable numbers, as did Gatekeepers, Orange Tips and Brown Argus. Silver-spotted Skippers at Aston Rowant, Box Hill and Denbies appeared up to their usual levels.

Numbers up
The Chalkhill Blues at Denbies were a delight and in very large numbers, and I would say numbers were up at Aston Rowant as well. Red Admirals were consistently numerous throughout the season near me, seen from February onwards. There were many more Meadow Browns around here this year, too - hundreds instead of just a handful. Though hardly numerous, more Small Tortoiseshells were seen than for several years.

Dave

Hi guys,
From East Anglia and SE England,it seems:
Losers were Whites-very few caterpillars on foodplants,Green and Purple Hairstreak,Common Blue,Duke of Burgundy,White Admiral,Purple Emperor and Silver-washed Fritillary.
Winners-not many! The outstanding winner was Chalkhill Blue! Small Torts have done slightly better than recent years,Red Admiral,Comma,Meadow Brown,Wall and Small Heath.

View from the South Coast
 
Losers
Green and purple hairstreaks – last year didn’t give a green hairstreak a second glance – this year just a handful.
Small tortoiseshell – whilst they seemed to be being spotted all around very few locally for me.
Gatekeepers – a flush at the start but generally very low numbers.
Peacocks – where did they go this autumn?
Duke of Burgundy – definitely down and really struggled to emerge during appalling weather was more like winter during the normal emergence period.
 
Unsure?
Purple Emperor only managed one male on the ground at my local site compared with 2/3 a day last year – However did see good numbers at the territories and good numbers of females –
Small heaths were very numerous for the first brood but almost non-existent for the second.
White admirals – probably down but some trips revealed good numbers
Small copper – good numbers first brood – but only one at year end – really could have been knocked by the deluge?
Marbled Whites – my perception is that I did not see so many this year
Holly blues – definitely not as many as last year but probably back to normal numbers.
 
Winners
Definitely red admiral.
Had very good numbers of WLH at one site.
Adonis blues have returned to a local site where I haven’t seen them for three years – so whilst low numbers a winner for me.
Dingy skippers – very numerous once numbers got up – by far the commonest species in my early trips to the South Downs – no second brood though.
 
Stable
Brimstone – nice and steady at the beginning to end of the year.
Meadow Brown – aren’t there always dozens?
Silver studded Blue – saw usual numbers at known sites.
Common blues seemed to be normal at the sites I usually visit – saw 7 last weekend at a very small site including two very fresh males..
Small Blue may have been slightly up on last year.
This makes an interesting contrast to some over the other views with some real variation Small Torts & Common Blues? – although there are also some common themes – Green hairstreak..
Mark
______________________________________________________________________

Hi all,
I concur with everything Nick Morgan said in his posting concerning South East Scotland. I am stationed just south of Nick in Berwickshire..and well...the weather was no better here either. As Nick said Wall and Speckled Wood seemed very unaffected by the weather. Speckled Wood were flying long before anything else most days where temperatures struggled. Wall Brown showed another leap in expansion and numbers, especially the second brood...very numerous and frequent.
Northern Brown Argus numbers were down...but not seriously. Small Blue expanded range slightly, numbers very high at times of sunshine. Dark Green Fritillary and Small Pearl were late but reasonable numbers flying on the rare sunny days. Large Skipper numbers down...but by no means out. Small Skipper showed good numbers and range expansion. Common Blue were very good on core sites only. Small Copper were very local in spring time with very large emergences late in the season. I would suggest they were unaffected at least on my patch. Nick pointed out Orange Tip as a potential disaster...its probably true...but they will bounce back....you would be surprised at there resilience. Large Heath very late, Grayling slow and average numbers. Comma as Nick mentioned were poor, however I did manage to find them quite frequently in early spring. Comma tend to be harder to find than most butterflies.
The striking thing about this season were the Buddleia bushes bereft of butterflies in late July August...unheard of!! No Peacock or Small Tortoiseshell, hardly a Large White to be seen. Small Tortoiseshell were sporadic, Peacock left it very late indeed. Meadow Brown and Ringlet were very average along with the Small Heath that has now had a number of poor seasons.

From what I gather here in the South of Scotland nobody can say that this was a famous season for butterflies. But a good example of local blips to that mantra occured on the 14th of August at a small site near Melrose in the Scottish Borders. On my first visit to the site earlier in the month I found just 1 Scotch Argus...I put it down to a poor season. On the 14th I returned to count 100 butterflies no less, on a site that has in the past had 30 counts max....timing is everything. Butterflies clearly took advantage of any breaks, no matter how short, in the weather and emerged on mass. This was seen quite often this year giving the impression initially of an increase in butterfly numbers, were the reality was that there season was compacted into a few days.

Lets hope for better next year.

Iain.

IAC wrote:Hi all,


From what I gather here in the South of Scotland nobody can say that this was a famous season for butterflies. But a good example of local blips to that mantra occured on the 14th of August at a small site near Melrose in the Scottish Borders. On my first visit to the site earlier in the month I found just 1 Scotch Argus...I put it down to a poor season. On the 14th I returned to count 100 butterflies no less, on a site that has in the past had 30 counts max....timing is everything. Butterflies clearly took advantage of any breaks, no matter how short, in the weather and emerged on mass. This was seen quite often this year giving the impression initially of an increase in butterfly numbers, were the reality was that there season was compacted into a few days.

Lets hope for better next year.

Iain.

Interesting stuff, Iain.

I suppose Scotch Argus in your part of the world is akin to Ringlet in the south of the country, i.e. a cool and damp loving butterfly that thrives when vegetation is lush and green.

NE Somerset - not much has done well this year though I do recall one day in the lanes with hundreds if not thousands of Meadow Browns along the hedgerows, quite unprecedented for the location. The losers are a long list - the lycaenids and summer skippers faring the worst. I haven't seen a single Brown Argus or Purple Hairstreak this year, and very few Small Skipper, Essex Skipper, Small Copper or Common Blue. Small Blue numbers have dropped, but not dangerously. The Chalkhill Blue colonies on Mendip have done badly - certainly compared with the rest of the country - but I think this is local factors at play; I understand the colony on the Poldens has had a good year. Peacocks and Small Tortoiseshells have just been late this summer; as ever around here, there seem to be far more Small Tortoiseshells on the Levels than in the higher land to the north.

David M wrote:I suppose Scotch Argus in your part of the world is akin to Ringlet in the south of the country, i.e. a cool and damp loving butterfly that thrives when vegetation is lush and green.

It seems so David. This was a very new butterfly experience for me this year having failed so far to find them further east in Berwickshire VC 81 where they once used to be...maybe still are. Very Ringlet like with a dash of Meadow Brown thrown in. Beautifully black when fresh with those splashes of rich tangerine orange eye spots.On this site the Scotch Argus massively outnumbered the Ringlet and Meadow Brown. The habitat was quite simple wet grassland flushes at the base of the Eildon Hills. A fair bit of shelter in the shape of plantation pine. Notable key plant was the Meadowsweet that blanketed the wetter areas. Purple Moor Grass was quite frequent, probable foodplant. Site was very close to the town and bordered the local golf course. The weather during that period was pretty awfull, but on the day I visited it was overcast, muggy with thundery rain...yet....they where quite unperturbed and flew quite openly. The butterfly is said to be retreating northwards and westwards and upwards in altitude as the climate warms...I am stilll waiting for the climate to warm...

Iain.

IAC wrote: The butterfly is said to be retreating northwards and westwards and upwards in altitude as the climate warms...I am still waiting for the climate to warm.

Me too, Iain.

Since I moved to south Wales the three summers I've experienced have been singularly appalling.

Where is it getting warmer I ask?

The problem is that it's all averaged out, so a mild winter, a warmish spring and a warm autumn might more than compensate for an indifferent summer. One other unregarded aspect are the night-time temperatures - if these are consistently higher than average, then that makes a big contribution too, but we don't take much notice as we're asleep. Unfortunately, a warming climate doesn't seem to equal more long hot sunny days in June, July and August - very frustrating.

Dave

This year I've tried to Visit the same places on the dates taken from previous visits when I've seen the species I wanted to shoot and been reaonably successful, for instance I went to Gaits Barrow in early June, middle of July and August. June was to see Duke-of-Burgandy, July PBand SPB, August HBF and DGF. What I noticed there was a shortage PBF down for certain on previous years, last year for family reasons I couldn't go up so this is based on 2011 for them, so for me they are my losers.

Winner of course was my White Pearl Bordered which I'm told was changed because of severe weather conditions, so I'm hoping with this horrible weather we've been having maybe there'll be more next year

Has for me the winners here in my part of the north have to be STS and Peacocks the losers Painted Ladies,I've yet to see one where there have always been lots, also the Red Admiral up to now, if October is better maybe we'll see more.
Whites have been scarce, CB'S late, Gate Keepers very low in Numbers as with Meadow Browns, yet at GB they were plentiful.

Wall's I've seen none but other's have but not many. With the awful weather we've had I'm suprised anything as survived. Goldie

Interesting to note in 'Butterfly' magazine's review that second brooded species whose first emergence is in spring have been worst affected by this year's appalling late spring/early summer conditions.

The big losers for me have been Speckled Woods, Common Blues and Large Skippers. Also no sighting for me this year of a Painted Lady.

I can't say there were any real winners - although Ringlets seemed to do OK and there were lots of Peacocks in August for a time.

In Gloucestershire this year the winners were ringlets, meadown browns, and marbled whites all seen in good numbers at Prestbury Hill and Rodborough Common, small heaths, seen in good numbers in the spring. Chalkhill blues did really well on most of the local sites (Swelshill Bank, Crickley Hill, Prestbury Hill) and were seen in good numbers from the end of July till late August. It was also pleasing to see good numbers of Adonis blues at Swelshill Bank and for the first time ever at Prestbury Hill in the masts field in early September.
The species that did badly were common blues, small tortoiseshells, commas, green veined whites, brimstones and small coppers, I saw very few of these this year. The common blues and small coppers and commas were most conspicuous by their absence. Of the rarer ones the marsh fritllary did badly at Strawberry Banks and I did not see any wall browns at all this year at Crickley and Leckhampton Hill in August and very few at those sites in the spring and much less than in previous years.