FARMLAND butterflies thrived last year after benefitting from the best summer weather for seven years, a survey has revealed.
Typical farmland species such as the brimstone, common blue, small copper, small skipper, large skipper and small tortoiseshell all bounced back in 2013 after experiencing a crash in numbers during 2012.
The Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey (WCBS), which assesses the fortunes of common and widespread species, found that many farmland butterflies flourished as a result of long periods of warm, sunny weather last summer.
The annual survey, running since 2009, counts butterflies in more than 850 randomly selected 1km-squares across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to assess the health of butterfly populations across the wider countryside rather than at nature reserves.
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