That’s right, the spring and summer butterflies brightening up the days! Now, there is always a lot of doom and gloom about species being in decline….but sadly it’s true, and we have to face facts to fix it. Luckily our bright little butterflies have a helping hand in the UK with Butterfly Conservation; a charity presided over by the great man himself, Sir David Attenborough.

Butterfly Conservation has saved our lovely ‘Large Blue’ after it was made extinct in 1979 – it has been successfully re-introduced and numbers are growing – hurrah!

But why bother I hear you ask – everybody loves the big mammals its true, and yes, everything possible should be done to conserve say the Snow Leopard and the Orangutan…but let us not forget the tiny beings amongst us who are actually an indicator of ecosystem health. To put it plainly, declining butterfly numbers indicates the health of the environment we’re living in is also declining: action needs to be taken to bring it back into shape ready for our children and grandchildren to head out into it.

‘Peacock’ – Jim Asher, Butterfly Conservation

But what of the moths? These little beasties come out at night and are generally less pretty and less cared about by people, even though they can be MORE important than butterflies by providing a food source for birds, other wildlife, and as pollinators. So moths certainly need a helping hand as well…

Step forward eco-warrior Izzy at Sky2Sea International! As an Environmental Biologist she gets to help her eco-buddies save the planet when she gets some time away from helping plan exciting expeditions for you! Izzy spent a few days with Butterfly Conservation in Dorset, helping survey ‘Dingy Mocha’ larvae (that’s a very rare UK moth species by the way, and UKBAP Priority species) and survey areas of land ready for conservation.

‘Dingy Mocha’ – Butterfly Conservation

“Dingy Mocha larvae live in sallow trees, so to find them we needed a big sheet underneath a suitable tree, then by beating the tree (causing no damage!) we could catch all the caterpillars and see if we’d managed to get some ‘Dingy Mochas’. We didn’t find any on the sites we searched in, but might have better luck next time. During the separate habitat classification survey, patches of land already recognised as significant for the wildlife there had species of plants and trees recorded. This will lead to increased protection for these important sites.” Izzy Jones

‘Holly Blue’ – Jim Asher, Butterfly Conservation

This work is so vital, we have already lost 5 of the 60 resident species in the UK and two thirds are in decline. In a world dominated by commerce and consumerism it is often difficult to see the significance of such small members of our ecosystem that we all have to share – however, surely looking at the bigger picture it is important to send our children and future generations off into a world still possessing summer days with butterflies fluttering…but please don’t forget the moths as they’re very cool and important too!

Butterfly Conservation really really relies on volunteers to help out – Izzy will continue to help when she can, but they could do with a lot more people taking an active role, even if it’s only a small one…as Tesco says “every little helps!”

For more information and ideas about how YOU can get involved…check out the Butterfly Conservation’s website www.butterfly-conservation.org and you can download more info on ‘Dingy Mochas’ here! (http://www.butterfly-conservation.org/uploads/dingy_mocha.pdf)

‘Large White’ – Jim Asher, Butterfly Conservation