Butterfly Influx

It was expected that 2013 would be a disaster for many of our butterflies,
following the wet, cold summer followed by the long, cold winter of the
previous year. Surprisingly, for many species, just the opposite has occurred,
with some appearing to have had a bumper year. It has been a particularly
good year for some of the migratory species such as Painted Lady, and
Clouded Yellow and even a few Swallowtails being seen on the South East
coast.

Out on our reserve at Grain we are lucky if we see a single Clouded Yellow
in a summer, but this year it has been very different. On 11th August
in excess of thirty were recorded. They seemed to be concentrated on two
small areas of seawall which were sheltered from the wind, with most of
the insects being males searching out females.

The reserve is a particularly good habitat for insects, being kept as
unimproved marsh for many years. It is an important stronghold for the,
nationally endangered, Shrill Carder Bee, as well as Moss & Brown
Banded Carders.

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