2024 roundup part 5.
Small Heath had bobbled along since they first appeared in the spring, but they definitely swelled in numbers at their third brood.
The late emerging Surrey Heathland Grayling showed well and gave me plenty of behaviour to record
Silver-spotted Skippers on the other hand basically collapsed at all the places I normally see them. Half a dozen in a day was the best I managed
I pretty much completely missed the Adonis first brood but caught up with them in modest numbers at a few sites during their second brood.
Small & Large Whites had been pottering along assumedly for most of the season only to explode with a mass invasion in September
Walls were definitely a winner. I found them in decent numbers on their first and second brood and then in very memorable numbers on their third brood.
They provided a nice consolation, flying deep into October as they did, for not managing to find two species that I’ve grown to think of as dead certs for the season along the south coast: Clouded Yellow and Long-tailed Blue.
A few other species which had been almost non existent for most the season also recovered thanks to their ability to squeeze in third broods in my part of the country, Common Blue, Brown Argus and Small Copper.
Obviously, there’s been plenty of discussion as to what happened last year and likely is a lot more complicated than can be discussed in a few paragraphs. There will never be a year that’s perfect for every species, the vagaries of our climate will always see to that. It certainly wouldn’t have escaped anyone’s attention that summer never really got going, it may have been warm, but factor in the damp conditions then you end up with the perfect conditions for microscopic pathogens that immature stages will be especially prone to.
It's notable that most spring species didn’t really seem too badly affected. Their seasons tend to be more closely governed by the previous season but as 2024 continued to be warm and wet more species seemed to be hit, species that would be larvae during wet conditions. Large and Silver-spotted Skippers, Common Blue, Small Copper, Brown Argus all had very poor seasons. Many Lycids actually had decent seasons but looking at their lifecycle they were either species that have close associations with ants (Silver-studded, Large, Chalk Hill Blues) or who’s larvae live in trees, a more airy environment so perhaps less exposed to microscopic pathogens.
Theres always going to be exceptions, many Satyrids seemed to cope, Wall’s certainly weren’t bothered, and Ringlets tend to thrive in wet summers.
Anyway, as I said it’s likely far more complicated and probably quite species specific in many cases and I have little doubt that, given the opportunity, those species that did poorly last year will surge this year.
+ a taste of proper winter too.
