Beautiful BUTTERFLIES

Pretty and ephemeral, butterflies add swirls of colour to summer days. Discover the UK’s most popular species and how to encourage them into your garden

- CHRIS MORLEY

Butterflies are a vital cog in our ecosystem, pollinating plants as they flit between flowers to drink nectar. Both adults and caterpillars are also important food sources for birds and bats. Alarmingly, over three-quarters of the UK’s 59 species are in decline, victims of habitat loss and changing weather patterns. Yet there are glimmers of hope – the extinct Large Blue was successfully reintroduced in 1992, while recent warm summers have resulted in some species, such as the Orange Tip, fluttering back in record numbers.

Peacock

One of our most dazzling butterflies, the Peacock has red-brick wings and mesmerising ‘eyespots’ designed to bamboozle predators (upside down, it looks uncannily like an owl). It feeds on dandelions, bluebells and buddleia, and lays up to 500 eggs on nettles. The caterpillars spin a protective silk nest over themselves while they feed. Adults emerge in July or August and prepare for hibernation by nectaring and converting blood sugar into a type of anti-freeze.

Small Tortoiseshell

Although widespread, numbers of this small butterfly are in decline. Its marmalade wings are covered in patches of black, yellow and white along the front edges, and blue spots on the dark fringes. The adults can be spotted around May and June feeding on bramble, thistles and knapweeds.