The Guardian, Thursday 3 July 2014 21.30 BST
This week I saw a small tortoiseshell in my garden. In the recent past, it would have been absurd to make news out of such a sighting. This pretty butterfly with tortoiseshell patterned wings was once one of our commonest species, but it has suffered a bewildering decline, so its return is exciting and encouraging.
Numbers of small tortoiseshells were up by 232% last year on the worst-ever butterfly summer of 2012, but they were still below the long-term average for this species – a sign of how rare it's become.
The tortoiseshell hibernates as an adult butterfly, and large numbers survived the mild winter: it was the most-seen species this spring. We're currently witnessing the offspring of those hibernators, the first 2014 generation, which are now mating and laying eggs. This week I found 50 tiny caterpillars on a single nettle leaf, so even bigger numbers could emerge in August.
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