A worrying article about butterflies from the BBC. The TV naturalist Sir David Attenborough has warned that they are are facing “a vital” period following a worrying decline in their numbers.
He claimed some of the UK's most common species have suffered “significant declines” in recent years.
Apparently more than three quarters of the UK's butterflies have declined in the last 40 years, with numbers falling quicker in towns and cities.
Sir David, president of Butterfly Conservation, said that despite a warm summer last year, species like the small tortoiseshell, peacock, meadow brown and gatekeeper had seen numbers fall due to a warm winter and a subsequent cold spring.
“In the last decade our butterflies have experienced several poor years and although resilient, they simply cannot sustain repeated losses, especially if the habitats they need in order to rebuild their populations are also under threat,” added Sir David.