Record low numbers of butterflies have been spotted so far in an annual citizen science survey, as a charity warns the weather this year may have affected the insects.
People taking part in Butterfly Conservation's Big Butterfly Count are seeing just over half the number of butterflies they were spotting this time last year, the charity said.
And it is not just the weather this year that is a problem, with 80 per cent of butterfly species declining in the UK since the 1970s, mainly due to habitat loss, pesticide use and climate change. And he said:"The lack of butterflies this year is a warning sign to us all. Nature is sounding the alarm and we must listen.
The reserve covers the western half of Prees Heath, a registered common that extends to some 126 hectares. The old airfield runway runs down the middle of the reserve and the airfield control tower still stands near the northern end. On the blocks of arable land, the sandy sub-soil has been brought to the surface so that heathland and grassland can be re-established by seeding.
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