Silver Studded Blue Butterfly

August is renowned as butterfly month. As you wake up to a sunny morning or relax in the garden on a warm evening, there is nothing nicer than seeing butterflies flying around amongst your flowers and plants.

During the August season around 59 species of butterflies can be found roaming around our back gardens, fields, lakes and rivers.

However this is on the decline as more and more butterflies – particularly the rare species – are in danger of becoming extinct.

A campaign called the Big Butterfly Count launched last month encouraged the public to help track the UK’s butterfly populations in a bid to understand which species is in need of the most help.

Almost 75 per cent of the 59 species found in Britain are in decline. Butterflies such as the Holly Blue and Gatekeeper were once a common species yet are now believed to be joining the list in need of protection.

The campaign encouraged adults and children to stand in their gardens, woodland areas, fields or parks for just 15 minutes and make a record of the butterflies and day-flying moths that they could see.  

The campaign finished on August 1^st and the results are eagerly awaited to help scientists get a better picture of the fortunes of UK butterflies.

The past three years have seen a huge decline in butterflies due to lack of hot weather as well as the development of gardens and the practice of cleaning up parks and roadside verges.

Holly Blue Butterfly

The Holly Blue is thought to of moved north amid the rising temperatures, while the Blue Butterfly – once only common in the south – has started to colonise in Edinburgh over the past few years.

Richard Fox, surveys manager at Butterfly Conservation, said, “Reports suggest numbers of the many garden species and common or widespread species are down so far this year but the warm weather will have benefited them.

“This year by recent standards we had a long hot spell for the whole of June which, compared to the last few summers, was amazing and will have benefited the butterflies that were out and about at the time.

“I am sure that the various fashions for gardens not being green have not helped. For example the building of houses in gardens but also the trend for gravel or decking and paving over gardens for parking space.”

If you want to do your bit to help bring beautiful butterflies into your garden, there are a few simple steps you can take to attract numerous butterflies to your garden each day. The whole process is simple and the rewards are truly stunning as you do your bit to help protect endangered species and the environment.

• Caterpillars that morph into butterflies need specific types of plants that they can feed on. Monarch caterpillars for example love butterfly weed – often called milkweed which can be found through members of the Asclepias family of plants.
• Swallowtails love herbs such as fennel. A bronze fennel is a truly gorgeous plant that can grow into massive plantings as well as parsley and rue. If you can, plant as many native plants in your garden as well. Doing this automatically establishes a habitat garden that is good for butterflies as well as bees and songbirds.
• Adult butterflies need nectar plants to feed upon. Annuals such as pentas, petunias and zinnias work perfectly. Perennials such as Black and Blue salvia and coneflowers are also ideal. Coral and blue porterweed tender annuals in many locations and can bring beaucoup butterflies as well as hummingbirds.
• Butterflies need various sources of moisture. Place a shallow dish of water or a birdbath which can give them the minerals they need.
• Add fruit such as bananas, melons and grapes that are too ripe for you to eat to entice them into your garden.
• Butterflies only live a few weeks so make their lifespan as long as you can by keeping your garden as organic as possible without using pesticides and toxic chemicals which can kill them.

Butterfly Blue Small PVC Bag by Ulster Weavers

If you truly are a butterfly lover and miss having the dainty creatures in your garden, why not take a trip to UlsterWeavers.com the online home textiles store which has just launched a beautiful Blue Butterfly range to their already extensive collection. The bright and beautiful design of tropical blue and gold butterflies will really stand out in your home. With linen tea towels, coasters, placemat, gauntlet, pott mitt, tea cosy, small and large trays, cotton apron, an oven glove, packable bags ranging from shoulder to reusable bags, the Butterfly Blue is a fantastic blend of fashion and homeware for every age.

For more information visit Ulster Weavers.com.

Tags: Ulster Weavers

This entry was posted on Monday, August 16th, 2010 at 4:13 pm and is filed under New Ulster Weaver product ranges. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.