Butterflies

Category

No Mow May – why we need butterflies, bees?

  No Mow May is the UK charity Plantlife’s annual campaign calling all lawn owners not to mow during May. Let your wildflowers grow this summer, they state. We’ve lost approximately 97% of flower-rich meadows since the 1930’s and with them gone are vital food needed by pollinators, such as bees and butterflies. What are the benefits of NOT mowing your lawn? A healthy lawn with some long grass and wildflowers benefits wildlife, tackles pollution and can even lock away...

Richmond birdwing butterfly is threatened

The Richmond birdwing butterfly, the largest subtropical butterfly in Australia, is closely related to several other birdwings from northern Queensland and New Guinea. It is protected in Queensland, where it is classified as a threatened species at risk of extinction. Richmond birdwing butterfly populations have declined in Queensland since the 1920s following the loss and fragmentation of their habitats, mainly rainforests. Clearing and burning of understorey vegetation, invasion of riparian native vegetation by weeds, and mining of rainforest valleys for...

butterflies in a real flap

People in the UK recently held The annual Big butterfly count – results from 2021 big butterfly count Small white: 252,151 – 1.88 (-5%) Large white: 229,218 – 1.71 (-16%) Meadow brown: 197,060 – 1.47 (33%) Gatekeeper: 133,726 – 0.99 (-30%) Red admiral: 75,394 – 0.56 (-10%) Ringlet: 63,311 – 0.47 (81%) Peacock: 61,668 – 0.46 (-63%) Small tortoiseshell: 38,543 – 0.29 (32%) From a World view,  there was bad news about an iconic species – the monarch “Migratory monarch...