The butterfly effect

With native butterflies in serious decline - and some facing extinction - Martyn Cox suggests steps you can take to attract these delightful creatures to your garden

- Martyn Cox

THE whirr of a lawn mower, the gentle drone of a bumblebee and house martins performing acrobatics in the sky overhead are some of the sights and sounds of summer in the garden. Yet for me, nothing sums up this season more than watching butterflies flitting gracefully between flowers in search of nectar.

In the past, my garden has welcomed common blues, peacocks, red admirals and small tortoiseshells in fairly large numbers – I once counted 20 or so commas on a clump of Verbena bonariensis. However, in recent years I’ve noticed that the variety of species and numbers have fallen significantly.

According to a report by Butterfly Conservation ( butterfly-conservation.org), close to three-quarters of our native species are in decline and several are in danger of extinction. The slump has been blamed on intensive farming methods, changing weather patterns and the loss of wild habitats, such as hedgerows and flower-rich meadows.

These beautiful insects have been in decline since 1976, when monitoring began. Experts consider 2012 to be the worst year ever on record for these beneficial insects, with 52 out of the 56 species being monitored by scientists suffering a slump in their population numbers during wet summer weather.

The good news is that gardeners can do their bit to stem the tide. Adding plants with flowers that are rich in nectar, and providing places for them to roost and rest will make plots much more attractive to them. Relaxing the way outdoor spaces are maintained is key to helping populations flourish.