[Archive – 13-07-2022]
2022 was the last year in which Aglais urticae still appeared in relatively abundant numbers in my study area. The population began to decline drastically in May, 2023, after a promising start in April, and was only seen once in June. No observations have been made since then, supporting observations from other people that report a steady decline of this species across the continent, particularly Western Europe. It still is unclear what is causing this decline, yet for my region I can confirm that the 2022 drought had a delayed and a rather minor effect on A. urticae – in fact, this year is much wetter, yet it has not made a single appearance so far.
One oddity, however, is that all stinging nettles at exposed spots and in my rather-isolated yard were starting to show signs of nutrition deficiency in May, while those close to streams and ponds grew to twice of their usual sizes. There's a similar oddity among other nectar plants usually preferred by certain butterflies that outright were avoided by them and I'll elaborate those particular observations in future due to a strange pattern.
#lepidoptera #butterfly #smalltortoiseshell #aglaisurticae #germany #canoneos700d