BRILLIANT BUTTERFLIES

Summertime means one thing: butterflies. Take to the skies and find out what makes these beautiful insects unique – and so important.

Enter the magical world of these bright and beautiful insects and discover how you can help them.

Welcome to butterfly season. Every summer these vibrant insects flutter their way through the countryside, gardens and parks, turning their new homes into a seasonal kaleidoscope of colour. Have you spotted any this year? Perhaps you’ve seen other signs of their arrival – the humped crawl of caterpillars pushing along a leaf or the insects’ dangling cocoons.

Beyond being some of the most beautiful of all insects, butterflies are very important. They play a central role in their home ecosystems (the community of living things that interact with each other). However, the 2020 Big Butterfly Count – a project in which volunteers track the number of butterflies they see over three weeks – found a sharp decrease in populations all over the UK. Fewer butterflies were counted than in any previous year, but thankfully there are things that everyone can do to protect their local insects. Want to find out how? Just read on.

Step outside

If you can, why not read this article outside and keep a lookout for any passing butterflies? With any luck, you might see some of the species shown on this

page. Peacocks and painted ladies are among the most common of the 60 or so British species and you probably already know them.

Worldwide, there are around 18,000 identified species of butterfly and each habitat has its own kind of fluttering residents. Luckily for you, one-third of British residents are at home in gardens or parks, so they’re easy to find. Others, like the ultra-rare large blue butterfly, rely on specific grassland areas to survive. Although there are fewer butterfly types in the UK than, say, garden birds, it can be quite tricky to identify some of them. If you need a bit of help, try Butterfly Conservation’s handy ID guide by visiting tinyurl.com/sn-butterfliesid

Moths vs butterflies

Of course, butterflies aren’t the only winged insects that can be seen fluttering around in the summer months. Their close relatives, moths, are also out and about just now. With 180,000 species worldwide, moths outnumber butterflies 10 to one.

How can you tell the difference between the two? Well, that’s easier said than done. Some moths are colourful and some butterflies are brown. Most butterflies fly during the day and most moths prefer

to come out at night, but some species break this rule too. Generally speaking, though, butterflies fold their wings vertically over their backs and moths keep them out flat. Moths also usually have feathery or saw-edged antenna and will be drawn towards light.

A life of changes

Butterflies have a unique four-stage lifecycle that begins with a tiny egg. Eventually, the larva (caterpillar) contained inside the egg munches its way to freedom. They are big eaters and will crunch and slurp through as much food as they can, swelling in size thousands of times.

You won’t find any ridiculously giant caterpillars in the UK but there are some almighty monsters elsewhere in the world. The North American hickory horned devil caterpillar, which transforms into the regal moth, can reach 14 centimetres long – about the size of a hot dog. Although most butterflies are herbivores, orange-tip larvae will eat other caterpillars they meet.

Once a caterpillar has reached its full size – and assuming it has avoided being gobbled up by a bird, mammal or spider – it is ready for the next stage of its life. The insect finds somewhere safe to hide and forms a protective layer around itself called the chrysalis. These are often well camouflaged because once inside, the caterpillar can do nothing to defend itself from predators. The chrysalis of an orange-tip butterfly – which can be found hidden in leaves – can change from green to brown to match the surrounding foliage.

Getting in a flap

After a few days or weeks, the butterfly itself is ready to emerge. Some species, like the painted lady, live for only two weeks, whereas others, like the Camberwell beauty, can live for a year. They will either hibernate during the coldest months or migrate to warmer habitats. The most famous migrants of all are monarchs, which travel from their summer homes in Canada and the northern US to Mexico each year, covering around 3,000 miles in the process.

Remarkably, the monarchs that leave Mexico in the spring to return home will never make it all the way back. The insects manage just a few hundred miles before they have to stop, lay eggs and make way for a new generation. Between four and five generations of monarchs will be born and die before the migration is complete.

Pollen pals

Adult butterflies play an important role in whichever habitat they call home. When they flit from flower to flower in search of nectar they carry pollen with them. Spreading pollen around allows flowers to reproduce and multiply, and it is what makes butterflies important pollinators, just like bees.

Pollinators are so crucial that flowering plants have evolved clever and colourful ways to attract them. Many butterflies are won over by vivid plants, like bright buddleia or blue cornflowers – both of which grow in full sunlight, which helps to keep the cold-blooded insects warm.

Vital visitors

Have you seen any butterflies flying past since you started reading this article? Hopefully you have, because the insects are a sign of a healthy ecosystem. If there is an abundance of butterflies, scientists know that there are good sources of wildflowers nearby. In turn, the butterflies support predators further up the food chain, like bats, birds and other insects.

Butterflies are also important as indicators of climate change (long-term changes in weather patterns). They are sensitive to small changes in the weather and temperature because these affect their lifecycle, reproduction rates and the food they eat. If the climate changes too much for them to flourish, this in turn has an impact on their ecosystem.

How to look for butterflies

If you haven’t seen a butterfly flutter by, look for other clues. Take a look underneath blades of wild grass or leaves – you might find clusters of colourful eggs, like the yellow ones laid by large white butterflies. Later in the year, look closely in bushes and tall vegetation for the brown, capsule-like chrysalises.

If you know anyone with a vegetable patch, ask them about the large white butterfly caterpillars. These are famous for chomping through gardeners’ favourite brassica vegetables (cabbage, kale and broccoli). To avoid being guzzled by greedy predators, these clever caterpillars release a mustard oil that gives them a foul taste.

Ways to help

Another reason you might not have seen a butterfly yet is that, sadly, their numbers are falling. Many species are under threat from habitat loss, the use of pesticides (chemicals that kill weeds or pests) and climate change. The lack of suitable habitats and chemical-free plants puts butterflies under pressure but there are many easy ways to help. You could make a butterfly feeder (see page 32) or put mashed bananas and overripe fruit in your garden or on a window ledge. These are popular because butterflies love the sugary sweet taste of fruit that has started to go off.

If you have a garden or a windowbox, why not plant some butterfly-friendly flowers? Colourful blooms like Verbena bonariensis (purple), echinacea (pink), cornflower (blue) and helenium (orange) are perfect for many species and will look lovely too. For a bigger project, you could make a butterfly house. The Woodland Trust has instructions for how to make one, which you’ll find at tinyurl.com/snbutterflyhouse. Just remember to ask a grown up for help.

Become a conservationist

Scientists are also looking for help in recording butterfly numbers across the country. If you’d like to keep track of the insects you see, visit tinyurl.com/sn-butterflycount to learn more about current surveys and studies, including the annual Big Butterfly Count that runs until 8 August.

Butterflies are more than just a welcome flash of colour, and small actions taken now could help to protect them for years to come. Keep a lookout for them this summer and, if you can, give them a helping hand. You’ll be boosting an entire ecosystem, as well as these remarkable insects.

Painted lady butterflies will emerge in August. When they’re caterpillars, large whites munch on cabbages. Peacocks use their eye-like markings to scare predators.

Orange-tips are very widespread in the UK. Monarchs can sometimes be found in warm parts of the UK.

The chrysalis of a comma butterfly.

Monarchs resting on their long journey.

An orange-tip butterfly egg.

Small tortoiseshell caterpillars on a nettle.

A hickory horned devil caterpillar.

A painted lady butterfly.

Fruit attracts many different species.