Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Grass-feeding butterflies defy wet summers, survey shows
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jan/17/grass-feeding-butterflies?intcmp=122
More than 18,500 meadow browns were counted in 2012 – more than any other species – in the survey by the Wider Countryside butterfly survey. Photograph: Jim Asher/Butterfly Conservation
The UK's second wettest year on record was disastrous for sun-loving butterflies but at least three grass-feeding species defied the gloom.
Almost twice as many meadow browns were counted in the UK in 2012 compared with the previous year, and the gatekeeper and ringlet also increased, according to the Wider Countryside butterfly survey (WCBS).
What this brown trio lack in charisma they make up for with their tenacious ability to fly on the darkest of summer days. Their caterpillars also thrived on the luxuriant grass growth promoted by last summer's deluges.
More than 18,500 meadow browns were counted in 2012 – more than any other species – in the WCBS, which involves volunteers searching for butterflies in more than 700 randomly generated 1km squares of the UK countryside.