The record-breaking weather of 2011 bamboozled our butterflies and moths with many species appearing much earlier and later than in a typical year. The hot, dry spring combined with the second warmest autumn on record saw butterflies on the wing from early March to mid-December.
Threatened species such as the Pearl-bordered Fritillary and Grizzled Skipper benefitted from extended flight periods by emerging weeks ahead of their normal dates as spring temperatures soared. The endangered Black Hairstreak typically emerges in June but was seen in May - the earliest emergence on record, and the Lulworth Skipper, which is restricted to southern Dorset, was also on the wing seven weeks earlier than normal.
Read on...
No comments:
Post a Comment