Fragile flyers still tempted out

Butterflies can be remarkably resilient creatures in spite of their seeming fragility.

But they do suffer in the kind of summer we have had this year with its winds and heavy rainfalls, and the numbers of most species appear to be down, not just in Yorkshire, but in many parts of the country.

Then, just as the season is turning and autumn is upon us more quickly than we would wish, a cluster of warmer days brings more of them out.

Given further spells of good weather, that could continue well into October.

In fact, after a summer when the buddleias seem to have been largely empty, my garden has been host to at least 10 species in recent days.

The miniature patio buddleia which I fell for on a garden centre visit last week, because it was just coming into flower, has proved its worth, in spite of its small size.

We have been delighted by the presence of red admirals, small tortoiseshells and even a brimstone which is unusual in our part of the world.

But it remains a fact that summer butterfly numbers are considerably down and as that will lead to fewer eggs and fewer offspring next year, the downturn could continue for some time.

I am reminded of the case of the peacock. In the 1860s and again in the 1880s, a series of really cold winters knocked it back so much that it virtually disappeared from the North of England.

It seems difficult to imagine today when this is one of our best known garden butterflies with its four big eye patterns on the wings.

It began to reappear in Yorkshire in the early 1900s, but only as an occasional rarity. It took more than 50 years to recover and become a common northern butterfly once again, at least in lowland areas.

Then, in more recent years it has extended its range into ever higher areas.

The comma had similar population crashes around the same times but has taken longer to recover.

However, since the 1980s it has expanded steadily, quickly colonising Yorkshire and already expanding into Scotland.

Unlike many other species it has developed a strategy to protect itself against poor summers.

First it hibernates through winter, then emerges in spring to mate and produce offspring.

Some of those caterpillars, cleverly disguised as bird droppings, will feed quickly and become butterflies in time to produce a second generation in high summer.

Others will feed up more slowly and become butterflies in the autumn.

If bad weather causes one group to fail, chances are that the other one might succeed.

In good years you can sometimes find first and second broods flying together in the autumn.

You can distinguish them by colour. The high summer individuals are a paler golden brown, while those which emerge in September or even October are a darker orange brown.

As it is likely that the summer brood fared poorly this year, I would expect there to be fewer pale examples still flying.

Commas are naturally woodland or edge of woodland butterflies and in the North of England usually lay their eggs on wych elms.

In the autumn they wander around in search of nectar plants and decaying fruit in order to build up their strength for hibernation.

That’s when you may spot one in your garden. One way to attract them is to put out rotten fruit.

I usually use plastic containers for tidiness and fill them with plums, apples, pears or any other fruit which is past eating, including any cores or bits of fruit.

This will of course also attract insects including wasps so is best placed away from doors and windows. If there are commas or red admirals around they will beam in on your offerings in no time at all.