Summer butterflies

admin
, 15 August 2017
Summer butterflies
painted lady / Neil Fletcher

By Charlotte Owen

WildCall Officer

August is the peak season for butterflies and despite the less-than-summery weather we've been having lately, it's been warm and sunny this year and butterflies seem to be doing well. Hopefully this will be a bumper butterfly summer because last year was one of the worst on record. In typically British fashion one of the main problems seems to be the weather – or more accurately, our changing climate. We’re experiencing increasingly mild winters, and while this might sound like good news for butterflies the result tends to be the opposite, with increased reports of disease, predation and disrupted overwintering behaviour. Last year’s mild winter was followed by an unseasonably cold spring, which delayed emergence and gave butterflies even less time than usual to complete the important business of finding a mate and laying their eggs - not something that butterflies are keen to do on wet and windy summer days.

To find out exactly how the UK’s butterflies are faring, Butterfly Conservation coordinates an annual Big Butterfly Count and this year's survey has been the biggest yet, with more than 50,000 individual 15 minute surveys undertaken during July and August 2017. This simple citizen science provides valuable data about our butterfly populations and, because they are so sensitive to environmental change, it also helps monitor the health of our wider environment – a bit like the canary in the coal mine.

There are still plenty of butterflies on the wing and rarities like the Swallowtail and Camberwell Beauty have been spotted recently in Sussex. Whatever you spot, you can submit your sightings via our online recording form.

Leave a comment

Comments

  • Pete:

    I am not local but am a member of the Wildlife Trusts. Enthusiastic about butterflies, and heard a migrant Monarch has been seen in the summer on your nature reserve. How lovely, is it true and is the a photo of it?

    09 Oct 2017 09:03:40

  • Sussex Wildlife Trust:

    Hi Pete, yes a monarch was spotted at Rye Harbour nature reserve at the end of August & again in early September. You can see a photo here: https://sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/news/september-2017-rye-harbour-nature-reserve-sightings

    09 Oct 2017 12:49:51

Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1788367339.18750 [907] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1788367339.22810.0407Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1788367339.22830.0001Server address: 216.73.216.54
1788367339.22830.0001Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1788367339.22830Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/summer-butterflies
    [s] => summer-butterflies
    [1] => summer-butterflies
)
1788367339.22860.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1788367339.22990.0014 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1788367339.23240.0025 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1788367339.23320.0008INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1788367339.23690.0038 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=24727612
1788367339.23810.0011 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=24727612
1788367339.23910.0011 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-09-02 16:42:00' AND saleTo>'2026-09-02 16:42:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1788367339.2410.0018 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='summer-butterflies')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-09-02 16:42:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1788367339.24550.0045 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1788367339.24650.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=1394 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-09-02 16:42:00'
1788367339.25030.0038 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1788367339.25150.0012 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1788367339.25270.0012 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=49 LIMIT 1
1788367339.25370.001Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1788367339.25390.0003 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1788367339.25530.0014 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-09-02 16:42:00' AND postSlug='summer-butterflies'
1788367339.28620.0309Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1788367339.28680.0006 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1788367339.28870.0019Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1788367339.28890.0002 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1788367339.290.0011 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1788367339.29180.0018 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1788367339.29670.0049 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1788367339.29750.0008 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1788367339.30080.0033Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1788367339.30080.0001 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1788367339.30170.0008 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1788367339.30220.0005 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1788367339.30510.003 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1788367339.30620.0011 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1788367339.3070.0008 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1788367339.30960.0025 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1788367339.31090.0013 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1788367339.3140.0031 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1788367339.31440.0004Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1788367339.31450.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1788367339.31570.0012Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1788367339.31610.0004 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='summer-butterflies')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-09-02 16:42:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1788367339.31920.0031 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1788367339.31990.0007 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1788367339.3220.0021Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1788367339.32310.0011 [2] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=1394 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1788367339.40350.0804 [2] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1788367339.40430.0008Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1788367339.40450.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1788367339.40530.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1788367339.40640.001 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1788367339.40740.001 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1788367339.41090.0036 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1788367339.41180.0009 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1788367339.41490.003 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1788367339.41610.0012 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1788367339.41690.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1788367339.41740.0005 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1788367339.42130.0039 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1788367339.42210.0008 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1788367339.42490.0028 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1788367339.42810.0032 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1788367339.42940.0013 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1788367339.43020.0008 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1788367339.43410.004 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1788367339.43510.0009 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1788367339.43830.0032 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1788367339.44130.0031 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1788367339.44240.0011 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1788367339.44320.0008 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1788367339.44650.0034 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1788367339.44760.0011 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1788367339.45050.0029 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1788367339.45230.0018Request time: 0.2662
1788367339.45240Process time: 0.2661
1788367339.45240Memory: 1.6228