Butterflies and friends leaving!

David Attenborough recently remarked that we may well be moving into a post-butterfly world, which is by any standards a depressing thought from a man not normally given to unnecessary scare-mongering. True, the abysmal weather has not helped this summer, but there seems no reason to doubt that they are becoming less common. Those who focus their studies on butterflies, moths and insects are called entomologists, and they have recorded an astonishing 170,000 species of Lepidoptera around the world, about 90% of which are moths, the remainder butterflies. Butterflies are day-flying, normally brightly-coloured and with clubbed antennae, with their wings folded together over their back. Moths are more diverse, with both day and night flying species; their antennae do not have clubbed tips, but are feathered or filamentous and most have bristles at the base of their wings.

The fossil record traces butterflies back to about 40 million years ago and moths to about 100-140 million. Go back another eon to 250 million years ago and you find the emergence of the caddis fly, a winged insect very precious to the Cabragh Wetlands, and which is perhaps a link-species in the evolution of butterflies and moths.

Lepidoptera emerged alongside the first flowering plants, and many species of butterfly are still closely linked to particular plant species. At Cabragh Wetlands we are very conscious of the close association of the brimstone butterfly to the rare buckthorn tree; the female lays her eggs on the shoots of the buckthorn, and when the caterpillar emerges ten days later, it can feed on the fresh young buckthorn leaves. A month later they pupate while attached to a stem by a silk pad, and after another 14 days the new adult butterfly emerges. If the buckthorn is chopped down, the brimstone's survival is threatened. Similarly that 'unsightly' nettle patch in your garden is probably home to red admiral and peacock butterflies; the red admiral migrates from Europe in late spring and its caterpillar makes a shelter by drawing nettle leaves together with silk, eats them and moves on. The peacock lays its eggs on the underside of young stinging nettles, and its caterpillars rear up at you if you disturb them. Over-tidy your garden by spraying your nettles, and you reduce the chances of the delights of swarms of butterflies. Plant buddleia bushes (named after the collector the Rev. Adam Buddle, 1660-1715) if you want to attract in hundreds of butterflies and infuse your garden with scent and colour. It is not called the butterfly bush for nothing.

The symbiosis between butterfly and plant is crucial, and not only must the plant be present for the butterfly to flourish, it must also develop at the right moment in the year. One of the signs of climate change is that spring is coming earlier, and it is not easy for butterflies, moths and other creatures to adapt their lifecycles to a new set of man-made timings. We are interfering with natural systems that have evolved in beautiful natural harmony over millions of years. There is a web of life that links all species; all are interconnected and interdependent. Butterflies have been compared to canaries in the coalmines; when something is not quite right with the environment, they are seriously affected. We wrote recently about the serious predicament facing bees; now it is the turn of the butterfly. Man also needs a harmonious and healthy natural environment, and take time to ponder on the recent World Health Organization's prediction that by 2020 mental illness will be the most common health problem facing us. Getting back in harmony with nature and all of creation is vital for us as individuals as well as for man as a species.

Talking of entomologists, this is a sad week for Cabragh Wetlands. For four years we have relied hugely on the dedication, expertise and energy of Marlene Harney to get our educational programmes up and running, writing worksheets, collecting specimens, making displays, helping school groups, giving a wonderful lecture on pollination, pond dipping, advising on décor, and countless other contributions. She deserves a full-page spread to herself. Sadly for us the time has come for the Harney family to migrate back to South Africa. We are immensely grateful for all that she has given to the Wetlands, not least in her professionalism and scientific thoroughness, but also in terms of friendship and simple human generosity. Fair winds and bon voyage, Marlene, and we wish you, Dirk and the boys the very best for the next phase in your globe-trotting lives. Auf wiedersehen.