The Small Tortoiseshell- under threat
The latest ‘Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey’ reveals that some butterfly species- notably the Meadow Brown- seem to have benefitted from last year’s wet summer, whereas others- such as the Common Blue and Small Tortoiseshell– were around 50% down on the previous year.
The Small Tortoiseshell was once prolific in Britain’s gardens, but it seems to have been one of the big losers in 2012. Last year’s weather is only partly to blame, as wider agricultural policies and practices are a key driver behind a longer term decline in butterfly species and numbers and parasitic flies may also be part of the story. Around three quarters of the 59 native British species are now in decline.
So what can gardeners do to arrest this trend?
1. Think about providing year- round sources of food for emerging and mature butterflies. Examples of plants which feed butterfly caterpillars are: Dill, Antirrhinum, Columbine, Berberis, Marigold, Ceanothus, Cercis, Cornus, Foxglove, Wallflower, Ivy, Hop, Holly, Jasmine, Honesty, Ragged Robin, Crab Apple, Oregano, Cowslip, Rudbeckia, Thyme, Nasturtium, Verbascum and Pansy.
Species which are food sources for mature butterflies are: Achillea, Anthemis tinctoria, Bergamot, Buddleja, Columbine, Coreopsis lanceolata, Red Valerian, Ceanothus, Marigold, Echinacea, Globe Thistle, Knautia, Lavender, Tobacco plant and Hop.
2. Try to plant butterfly-attracting plants in groups– butterflies prefer to visit stands of brightly coloured flowers.
3. If you have room, choose a quiet but sunny area of lawn where the grass can be left to grow long – some butterflies such as the Meadow Brown prefer to lay eggs in long grass.
4. Allow a small patch of nettles (Urtica dioica) to grow unfettered– these will provide food for some of the more common butterflies such as Red Admiral, Painted Lady and Milbert’s Tortoiseshell.
5. If you have fruit trees, don’t be too tidy about windfalls– leave some rotting fruit as a source of food for some butterflies.
6. Try to provide a shallow, muddy puddle in a sunny spot– many butterflies love to drink from these and they also provide essential minerals and salts.
7. Avoid using chemical sprays to deal with insect pests and weeds– many will harm beneficial insects and butterflies as well as the pests.
Groups of butterfly- friendly plants such as Bergamot are better than single specimens
Sources and further information:
‘Wildlife Friendly Plants’- Rosemary Cresser
Quizzicals- two more cryptic clues to plant, fruit or veg names:
- Our monarch continues to work hard
- Nasty spot causing urination problems
Old School Garden 
I’m so pleased I discovered your Blog. It’s most informative. I never knew bees are ‘red blind’ and to be honest I’ve never given much thought to the poor old moths! I always try to use plants that are attractive to insects but your recommendations have added a lot of extra ideas.
Hi Heather
Thanks for the comment, I’m pleased you found the items of interest!
My garden is full of bees in the summer but few butterflies. Are they attracted by the same plants? I shall certainly use your list to try and increase numbers.
Hello Marion- thanks for your comment. Your garden sounds very wildlife friendly! Rather like humans, different insects seem to favour different types of food! And of course they have different needs when it comes to the environment they favour for nesting, basking (e.g. butterflies like to do this on surfaces like warm paving or gravel paths early in the morning before they start feeding) and shelter. You might like to look at how windy your garden is, for example, to see if the boundaries/ shrubs you have provide the still air conditions butterflies need when visiting nectar-giving flowers.
Bees have strong colour vision (especially the ultra violet part of the spectrum), but tend to ignore red flowers because they are ‘red blind’. Butterflies tend to be attracted to flowers with strong colours, so you might want to check the range and positioning of these in your garden? As I said in the popst, it’s also important to group these plants together in clumps or ‘drifts’.
Scent is also important in attracting insects- bees tend to favour plants with delicate or sweetly-smelling flowers, whereas butterflies are often drawn to those with a heavier or spicy fragrance. And don’t forget moths (I’ll be doing a post about the latest survey from Butterfly Conservation later today) – so have some night-blooming plants in your garden too- e.g. Evening Primrose (Oenothera), Night-scented stock (Matthiola longipetala,subsp.bicornis) and the Tobacco plant (Nicotiana). Also, try to plant the simple, single- flowered forms of flowers which are richer in nectar and easier for the butterflies to access. Some good ones for butterflies (and togther provide food over a long season) are: Buddleja, Anthemis tinctoria, Asclepias,Aquilegia,Asters, Sedum, Red Valerian, Califorian Poppy, Ceanothus, Dogwoods (if you leave them to flower in the spring), Heliotrope and Knautia.
I hope this is of use and wish you well in your efforts to attract more butterflies to your garden! Nigel
While it is great news about the Meadow Brown, the decline in butterfly numbers is deeply troubling. Thank you for highlighting this problem and for taking the time to list really useful tips on creating butterfly-friendly gardens. Let us hope that things improve this year.
Hi- thanks for your encouraging comments. Glad you liked the post, hopefully you’ll return for more! Today’s post will be on ‘Winter Wonder plants’…
I thoroughly enjoyed your piece on the butterfly survey, I found it extremely useful and I can’t wait to put the seven tips in to practice in my small city garden!
When is the butterfly season?
Thanks.
Hi Sophia- glad you liked it and thanks for your comment! In general the life cycle of most caterpillars/butterflies begins in the Spring and ends at the end of summer, but if we have a mild autumn some can still be seen into October/ November- as happened last year in some areas.