2012, the second wettest and dimmest year on record in the UK, was the worst year for the country's butterflies according to researchers at Butterfly Conservation and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH).

image expired

According to data from the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme, compiled by the two organisations, 52 out of the 56 species monitored in Britain suffered declines in 2012. The figures were released late last month. They reveal that some of the country's rarest species face extinction on UK shores, including fritillaries.

According to researchers, butterflies struggled to find food, shelter and mating opportunities in the summer downpours. Figures from the Met Office suggest Britain's weather is gradually shifting towards patterns observed in 2012, with rain falling less often, but in heavier, more concentrated downpours.

According to CEH, butterfly abundance plummeted to a record low as a result and 13 species suffered their worst year on record. Numbers of the critically endangered High Brown Fritillary fell by 46 percent, the vulnerable Marsh Fritillary was down 71 percent and the endangered Heath Fritillary saw its population plummet by 50 percent in the space of just one year.

Many species had already been in decline prior to 2012, but CEH researchers said the miserable conditions gave a serious knock to vulnerable species, increasing the threat of extinction. Hairstreaks fared particularly badly last year; Black Hairstreaks were worst affected, with a 98 percent reduction in population, whilst Green Hairstreak numbers fell by 68 percent and White-letter Hairstreaks fell by 72 percent.

Four species of butterfly enjoyed mostly moderate population increases, whilst many popular species were hit by similar or greater declines.

Dr Tom Brereton, Head of Monitoring at Butterfly Conservation, said, "2012 was a catastrophic year for almost all of our butterflies, halting progress made through our conservation efforts in recent years. Butterflies have proved before that given favourable conditions and the availability of suitable habitat they can recover, but with numbers in almost three-quarters of UK species at a historically low ebb any tangible recovery will be more difficult than ever."