Numbers of one of the UK’s best-known garden butterflies have plummeted this summer despite the record-breaking hot weather, results from the Big Butterfly Count have revealed.
The small tortoiseshell suffered its worst summer in the history of the Big Butterfly Count with sightings falling by 32 per cent compared to last year, says Butterfly Conservation.
Just 23,000 small tortoiseshell were counted by participants across the UK during the three-week recording period which coincided with the joint hottest summer on record.
The population of the once common and widespread small tortoiseshell has collapsed by 75 per cent since the 1970s and there are now growing concerns among scientists for the butterfly’s long-term future.
Reasons for the ongoing decline are being investigated with climate change, pollution and parasites all possible culprits.