Sadly, this was an extremely bad year for most of our butterfly species. Kinson Common data has, on the whole, matched up with the trends witnessed across the UK in general.

The ‘Whites’ had a very poor year, with numbers falling throughout the country. It was good to see healthy numbers of Red Admirals, but results were disappointing for the Peacock, Comma and Small Tortoiseshell.

I did not record a Large Skipper, but the Small/Essex Skippers totalled more than in 2011 which was very pleasing.

The Speckled Wood was unable to pick up on last year’s disappointing numbers, dropping by just five individuals. Sadly this species continues to decline here.

The other ‘Browns’ did well, with the Grayling improving slightly on the last two years, and the Gatekeeper enjoying its best year since I began recording here in 2005!

The Meadow Brown population increased massively on Kinson Common, with a best performance since 2008, moving it up to first place above other species. Numbers were well up across the U.K.

Although it prefers warmer weather, this butterfly is able to cope without any difficulty on overcast days.

2012 was a disastrous year for the Holly Blue and Common Blue, and not so good for the Small Copper.

So, generally, a poor year for the species we expect to see on Kinson Common, with two main exceptions: The Gatekeeper had a fantastic year, and 2012 was also very good for the Meadow Brown.