Fickle, unpredictable and not-quite-as-good-as-hoped for – it’s been a typical British summer and a typically topsy-turvy butterfly season.
The year began brightly with large numbers of overwintering brimstones, but the next generation didn’t make its presence felt in midsummer. It is a bit of a mystery why so few peacocks emerged, because their caterpillars were plentiful on nettles: some may have gone straight into hibernation, but it’s likely that others fell victim to parasitic wasps and flies.
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Source: Guardian Environment