Fading butterflies remind us that the autumn is coming
This turbulent summer has proved boom time for butterflies. More than 50 Long-tailed Blues (a fast-flying migratory butterfly from the Mediterranean once considered an extremely rare visitor) have been seen in southern England along with hundreds of their eggs.
Experts believe record summer temperatures explain the population explosion, with global warming helping the brightly coloured insect shift much farther north of its historical range.
Painted Ladies have also been reported in significant numbers, leading some to wonder whether 2019 might be considered an “irruption year” for the species. It is not known exactly what causes the butterfly to arrive in huge numbers as, for example, in 1996 and 2009, but good breeding conditions in its African homeland are certainly a factor.
Now the summer blooms are nearing their end, the Painted Ladies are preparing to return across the Sahara Desert in what is one of the great migratory journeys of any species. I watched them fluttering about the hedgerows of the Llyn Peninsula in Wales earlier this week and noticed the orange lustre of their wings was beginning to fade like old lace.
The colour of butterflies is the product of tiny scales – which aid their flight – covering their wings. One hopes the Painted Ladies keep enough to get them back across the continents.
As with the now rapidly yellowing trees and darkening nights there is no surer sign that the warmest months are behind us. After last week’s record-breaking heat the weather will start to look distinctly autumnal in the days ahead. There will be sunshine, showers and a distinct chill in the air which never fails to remind me of the first day back at school.
Like birds, like butterflies, like men; September is looming upon us and with it the sense of something new and something coming to an end.