After 40-year decline, blue butterfly’s back

THE common blue butterfly is making a comeback after 40 years of decline – thanks to the hot weather, according to a charity.

And the July heatwave and Met Office forecasts for above average temperatures in August might mean the species has its ‘best ever summer’, Butterfly Conservation says.

It has been ‘struggling for the last 40 years’, according to the charity, but common blue populations increased by 104 per cent in the summer of 2018 compared with the previous year thanks to warm weather. The top of the male common blue’s wings are bright blue and unmarked, whereas females have orange crescents and dark spots near the edge of their wings which vary from purple to dark brown, with a tinge of blue near to the body.

The charity wants people to help monitor the species by taking part in the Big Butterfly Count, which runs until August 11.

They are asked to spend 15 minutes in the sun counting every butterfly they see and report sightings online.