More butterflies have been spotted thanks to a sunny May

This year is the first this century that so many different have been recorded by the end of spring, and ten more than the same date in 2019.

Stunning species including the Ringlet, White-letter Hairstreak, Silver-washed Fritillary and White Admiral, were all spotted around two weeks earlier than usual.

Dr Richard Fox, Associate Director of Recording and Research at the charity Butterfly Conservation, who compiled the figures, attributed the high numbers to the warm spring weather, capped by the sunniest May on record.

He said: “Over the past 20 years, we’ve typically received reports of 39 species by the end of May, so 53 this year is amazing.

“Last year, for example, only 43 butterflies had put in an appearance by this point and the only other year to come close to the current total was in 2011, when 50 species had started to emerge by 31 May.”

The sightings were all made by members of the public.

Displayed on Butterfly Conservation’s First Sightings web page, they show some extremely early dates for particular species this

spring.

The first Ringlet butterfly was reported on May 24, more than two weeks before it would normally be spotted, around June 8.

The White-letter Hairstreak was spotted on May 29, also around a fortnight before it is usually expected, on June 11. The Silver-washed Fritillary and White Admiral, classic butterflies of summer woodland in southern Britain, were both seen on May 30, two weeks earlier than usual.

The rare Large Blue, successfully reintroduced to Britain in the 1980s, made its earliest ever appearance this year.

Dr Fox said that while a trend of early emergences was a cause for concern, some butterfly populations were able to adapt.

A lack of rainfall since February, he said, could be a greater concern for some of the insects, as vegetation was parched, leaving caterpillars to starve.

He said: “Butterflies are able to adjust their emergence dates to suit the vagaries of the UK weather, indeed they need to do so to remain in sync with the plants that their caterpillars need to feed on.

“However, the trend towards earlier emergence of butterflies and moths in Britain over recent decades in response to climate change isn’t necessarily beneficial.

“Recent research shows that emerging earlier leads to larger populations of species that have more than one generation each year. In such species, the earlier emergence of the first generation leads to greater abundance in the second brood.

“However, for species that only have one generation each year, this positive effect on numbers was not found. Indeed, for some, more specialised species, there was a negative impact -- earlier emergence led to reduce population size.

“Prolonged dry weather is likely to be worse for butterflies that live in open habitats with thin soils, such as chalk downland. The Duke of Burgundy butterfly, for example, lays its eggs on the leaves of cowslips and primroses, which quickly become desiccated in dry weather.”

The figures come ahead of Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count, the largest citizen science project in the UK, which last year saw more than 113,000 people take part.

Dr Fox added: “This year will be particularly interesting. We will be looking to see if species that emerged early and have their second generation during the Count do particularly well, and whether single-generation species, such as Marbled White, are still about in July for all of our Big Butterfly Count participants to record.

“All of this helps us to ‘take the pulse of nature’ and understand the effects of climate change and human impacts on the health of our wildlife.”

Although many butterflies tend to appear in Scotland up to a month later than they do in England, the insects were also recorded much earlier than usual north of the Border.

The Big Butterfly Count runs between July 17 and August 9.