2008 - A Butterfly Summer?
As a consequence of the very wet weather last year, which restricted chances for them to feed and breed, the UK’s butterflies suffered their worst year for over 25 years in 2007. And, very sadly, eight species had their lowest ever recorded numbers: the Small Tortoiseshell, Common Blue, Grayling, Wall, Lulworth Skipper, Small Skipper, Speckled Wood and Chalkhill Blue.
Other butterfly species that suffered badly included the High Brown Fritillary and Duke of Burgundy, which have both declined rapidly over the last ten years. These worrying statistics were collated by the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (operated by the charity Butterfly Conservation and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology) from data collected by thousands of volunteers each year. Sir David Attenborough, President of Butterfly Conservation warned "butterflies face mounting threats", and "some face possible extinction". Biodiversity Minister, Joan Ruddock recently confirmed the Government’s support and encouragement for those working to conserve them, stating that: “butterflies are a vital element of the British summer” and “their numbers indicate whether or not there are problems in the countryside”. As a leading environmental charity, GrantScape is passionate about the conservation of the UK’s threatened wildlife. Taking butterflies in particular, we have therefore awarded two major grants from our £8 million Biodiversity Challenge Fund to help reverse the decline of the Silver-studded Blue and the High Brown Fritillary as well as other important butterfly and moth species. |
