2012 weather was great for slugs, bad for mammals – What thrived and what struggled?

Wild weather leads to the ‘Year of the Slug'

January 2013. Unsettled, unpredictable and at times chaotic weather has meant that this year has been hugely challenging for wildlife, according to experts at the National Trust. Whilst birds and insects have struggled, slugs and orchids have done well throughout Britain in our special places.

Matthew Oates, wildlife adviser at the National Trust, said: "This has been a highly polarised year, with wildlife in the places we look after doing either remarkably well or incredibly badly. In general, plants and slugs were the big winners and insects the big losers. But even in this wet summer some insects did surprisingly well, at least in a few places. Our wildlife, farmers, horticulturalists and rural tourism and recreation industries are all long overdue a good summer, having suffered poor ones since 2006. Surely we are due a good one next year?"

Drought and floods
It was a spring of two halves with the warmest March since 1910 and the implementation of drought orders across England followed by the wettest April on record.

The April downpour had a detrimental impact on fruit harvests in the autumn as the spring rains washed away the blossom resulting in a very bad year for English apples across the board and autumn fruits and berries such as sloes and holly berries.

Wet summer
Another poor summer has hit British wildlife hard as it struggled to cope with the very wet conditions and a distinct lack of long dry summer days though some species have gone against the flow and thrived.

It was a bad summer for the insect pollinators and even those flowers that were pollinated have struggled to set fruit in the ongoing we weather with a knock on affect for birds and animals that depends on these crucial food sources.

Bees, butterflies and hoverflies also suffered a set back this year because of the mixed weather becoming generally very scarce, though there were welcome exceptions in some places where the Chalkhill blue and dark-green fritillary did spectacularly well.

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/2012-weather-wildlife.html

Wet weather delaying and confusing butterflies

Wild spring baffles butterflies

May 2012. This year's wild spring weather has baffled UK butterflies with some species emerging earlier than usual while others have been delayed by the deluge. A warm March saw a number of spring specialists emerging very early, but these butterfly-friendly conditions were followed by the wettest April on record.

The wet weather continued well into May and delayed the typical emergence periods of many species. Cold, damp weather makes butterflies less active - reducing feeding and mating activity. If the wet conditions persist they could affect the breeding success of some species later in the year.

Small blue
Butterfly Conservation records emergence dates each spring. This year the Small Blue was one of the species to benefit from the mild winter and warm March.

The butterfly was seen on March 30th on the Isle of Wight - one of the earliest dates ever recorded for the species. The Small Blue typically emerges in mid-April in warmer years and early May when conditions are cooler.

Wood white, Common Blue & Brown argusThe rapidly declining Wood White was seen on April 10th in Surrey - the species normally emerges in late April or May. The threatened Pearl-bordered Fritillary was also recorded earlier than usual. But these early emergences soon slowed to a trickle as April became a record-breaking washout. The Common Blue and Brown Argus, which are seen in mid-April in warm years, were not reported until early May.

Read on:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/butterflies-2012.html