After an excellent 2006 for insects, 2007 had a hard act to follow and failed it did, miserably!
The only real highlight of the year in terms of butterflies was April. A record 10 species were recorded including the first Brimstone on the Whins for 3 years on 2/4.Spring butterflies had a good year including Orange Tip and Holly Blue.
Speckled Wood did particularly well and could be seen almost continuously between April and October. The latest ever flight date for this species was 14/10, almost a month later than normal.
By the time summer arrived and the rain set in, butterfly watching became more and more difficult. Many larvae and caterpillars were drowned and as a consequence many summer flying species had a very poor year.
The butterfly walk on the 28th July produced 14 species, some 4 down on our record 2006 walk. Considering how the weather continued into August we were rather fortunate to have a window of reasonable weather for the walk.
