The Butterfly Summer: From the Sunday Times bestselling author of THE GARDEN OF LOST AND FOUND and THE WILDFLOWERS

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Native wild flowers are often considered to be more suitable than non-native ones, but the real key is making sure there are nectar-rich flowers in bloom from April through to October

However, this good news is in contrast with what the long-term trends are revealing. Released for the first time this year, these show that since the Big Butterfly Count started 13 years ago, many species have significantly decreased. One thing to commend the author on – although others may disagree – is the limit she put on romantic affairs. For me there was just the right amount of reference to these relationships to provoke the feeling of heartbrokenness yet not to detract from the main storyline. Nina is also still missing the enigmatic woman who lived in the top floor flat of their house Mrs.Poll. Mrs.Poll was there when her mother was not she told her stories, cared for her and treated her like a daughter. A book called Nina and the Butterflies holds a special place in Nina’s heart and will be forever associated with Mrs.Poll. There is not a lot you can specifically say about this story without giving away crucial plot points. Surprises are thrown in when you least expect it and what you believed to be true you find yourself questioning at every corner. The author made excellent use of the past as an aid to explaining circumstances and events in the present and how characters came to be who they were or why they acted as they did. There was one character that shall remain nameless who just came across as an utter wimp with no guts or strength of character at all. This person was almost like a puppy wanting to do its best to please their new owner but the actions of said person in my mind left an awful lot to be desired and I felt Nina was too ready and willing to accept an explanation that was weak and which has led to unnecessary suffering. The “beast from the east” and chilly February and March may also have helped the survival of eggs, caterpillars and chrysalises, which rot or are parasitised in mild winters. The title refers to the fact that man can learn from the butterfly’s example: it is happy reclining on a stone, as happy as if it were a beautiful flower. Perhaps we, too, can stoically approach life in such a way: when given a less desirable situation, we can view it as sufficient and still be happy with our lot.To begin with The Butterfly Summer was exciting and refreshing, the cryptic storyline pulling you in and not letting go. However from the midway point it began to considerably slow down and become rather dull, stale. Nina is such an interesting character that, by contrast, the snippets (rather extensive ones) about Teddy’s past were difficult to plow through.

But we should remember that butterfly populations have always fluctuated from year to year, depending largely on the prevailing weather conditions. To assess these figures more carefully, we really need to look at the long-term trends, which are rather less positive. For many of Britain’s favourite summer butterflies, including the once-common and familiar small tortoiseshell, there has been a steady decline over the past 40 years or so. This is due to a combination of factors, of which the most serious are the intensification of farming, combined with a more general fragmentation and loss of habitat. Gatekeeper was next, with 222,896 sightings. This represents a 12% increase on last year and is a small, but welcome, boost for a species that has decreased by 28% since the Count began. Lepidopterists, specialists in butterflies and moths, are also concerned that the drought this summer could affect next year’s numbers, particularly butterflies such as the ringlet, whose caterpillars feed on grasses in late summer. “Egg-laying females might not have found anything suitable to lay their eggs on because their food plants were dry and desiccated,” said Randle. The drought of 1976 proved disastrous for many species, but the more recent drought in 2018 did not appear to have the negative impact that butterfly scientists feared it might. I liked that there were a lot of unforeseen moments and twists in the story. It was interesting to get to know all these different generations of Parr women and I really liked the inheritance fact of the story.Oh.my god. Just where do I begin? This was undoubtedly the most gripping, suspenseful, enthralling book i have ever read. I mean, the increasing sense of mystery and suspense was just amazing, incredibly, something I simply cannot get over. That and how spine-chilling it actually was! The mysteries and suspense just left you wanting to read more and more! I was up til late finishing it because it would've just drove me crazy if I had these major mysteries just hanging over me, I was determined to see them unfold and find out what this dramatic suspense would lead to!

The large blue, which was hastened to extinction by the dry summer of 1976, enjoyed its best year since being reintroduced in 1983 via caterpillars from Sweden, increasing by 58% on 2017. There are more large blues now flying in Britain than any other country. Grasslands are an incredibly valuable habitat for many of the UK’s moths and butterflies. Semi-natural grassland, pasture, arable land, urban parkland and any areas with rough unmanaged grass will all support a variety of butterfly species. In the height of summer these areas can be teeming with Skippers, Common Blues, Ringlets and Meadow Browns. Be sure to inspect any flowering plants (particularly thistles and knapweeds) as these can act as vital nectaring points for many butterflies. Pay close attention for the fast and subtle movements of smaller species as these can often disappear against such a busy environment. A prime example of this is the Small Copper which is notoriously hard to spot due to its minute size, fast flight and discrete colouration (when its wings are closed). LOOK OUT FOR:

Gardens

This is very different to what I’v read from Harriet before but it was a lovely surprise – a really unusual idea and I enjoyed getting to know all the women of the family.

At university I read Classical Studies, which is a great way of finding out that the world doesn't change much and people make the same mistakes but it's interesting to look at why. I was at Bristol, and i loved the city, making new friends, being a new person. I had actually guessed the answer to one of the mysteries before unravelling it, and was indeed spot on about it, which is just a wonderful feeling when you are reading a book and then suddenly you have this amazing realization come to mind, that is a real sign of a truly amazing book! That’s in sharp contrast to other groups of flying insects, such as moths and damselflies, of which several species have successfully colonised in Britain. Surely it is only a matter of time before those new butterflies join them. There were so many disturbing things that happened in the Parr history. I don’t understand how Keepsake affected the Parr women or what some of them did there. I especially don’t understand why they would willingly do that to themselves.. Letting part of your garden go wild, with nettles, thistles, grasses and other “weeds”, will provide a place for caterpillars to feed and pupate, ensuring you have a new generation of butterflies later onEssentially a story about the secrets (many of them hardly secrets at all) and obligations that, generation after generation, bind together the women of the Parr family. I'm afraid, especially in its earlier chapters, the characters from the differing eras yet to be established, I found the book confusing, the various strands to the plot unnecessarily convoluted which sadly meant instead of focusing on the story I found myself concentrating overly hard on just where (if anywhere) it was going. Prof Tom Brereton of Butterfly Conservation said: “There were not as many butterflies around as we might have expected given the fabulous weather over much of the butterfly season, and overall, 2018 ranked as barely better than average. In this article we have compiled a short guide on which butterflies you are likely to see outside this spring/summer, as well as some tips on the features by which you can distinguish certain species. Gardens Dr Richard Fox, Head of Science at Butterfly Conservation, explained: “One of the biggest threats butterflies in the UK face is habitat loss. While the weather certainly has an impact on numbers from year to year, butterflies, moths and many other species can generally cope with variable weather. What they can’t cope with is habitat destruction.