The sensation of summer is perfectly captured in the relaxed flutter of a butterfly on the wing.

There are 60 species of butterfly in the UK, around 40 of which can be found across our three counties. Yet that’s nothing compared to their cousins the moths, which comprise an impressive 2,500 species – and are far more challenging to identify!

While moths have a reputation as elusive brown spectres of the night, this completely sells them short. Many moth species are active during the day, and they boast vibrant colours and intricate patterns to rival butterflies. 

It looks to have been a good year for lepidoptera – the group of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. It’s too soon for the latest population data, but we’ve seen a lot of them on the wing.

Lepidoptera are ectothermic (cold-blooded), and this summer’s record-breaking heatwaves provided the perfect conditions for them to get on with searching for nectar, finding mates, and laying their eggs. But that’s not the full picture.

Heatwaves and droughts, which are increasing as a result of human-caused climate change, aren’t as beneficial for our plants, most of which are looking brown and shrivelled before their time. Before butterflies are butterflies, they’re caterpillars. And caterpillars need plants to feed on – usually very specific plants. With many caterpillar food plants dying back early, we’ll need to look beyond this year to see the full impact. 

One charismatic creature that’s emblematic of a changing climate is the hummingbird hawk-moth. It gets its name from its resemblance to the small American birds, as it flaps its wings more than 80 times per second, allowing it to hover over flowers and lower its proboscis (a cross between a tongue and a straw) to suck up the nectar.

Journeying here from Southern Europe, it’s usually a niche favourite of nature-enthusiasts, but has been propelled into the mainstream this year due to the sheer abundance of sightings. 

Why have there been so many? Experts put it down to the heat. The strong winds and warmer temperatures associated with the heatwaves have pushed more of them across the channel, and it’s possible their foodplants back on the continent have been badly affected by the heat and drought. I had only ever seen one once before this year, and they’re now a near-daily sighting – but my excitement is tempered by a concern for a species that’s forced to adapt to a rapidly changing climate.

A similar story may be true for the clouded yellow, a lemon-and-lime-coloured butterfly which also journeys from Europe and Northern Africa. The species is famous for ‘clouded yellow years’ which see higher numbers reach our shores than usual, so it’s unclear whether the increased sightings this year are beyond the usual fluctuations.

I saw my first clouded yellow when visiting a BBOWT chalk grassland nature reserve on the Chiltern Hills, though it was too active to pose for my camera. More recently, I spotted a flash of yellow shortly after leaving the house, and saw one calmy perched on the grass verge of a suburban estate – a reminder that nature always has the capacity to turn up when we don’t expect. 

While nature is full of surprises, and is resilient and adaptable in the face of change, we can’t ignore its limits. At BBOWT, we manage our nature reserves to provide foodplants for caterpillars, nectar for moths and butterflies, and the right habitat for them to lay their eggs. We also advise landowners across the landscape on how they can provide spaces for nature. 

But this year has made it clearer than ever that butterflies and moths don’t have boundaries, and their future depends on action for nature and climate beyond our countries.