Ulster's butterflies are breaking emergence records - thanks to the
remarkably warm spring weather.
Insect experts say five of the butterfly species found in Northern Ireland
were spotted earlier than ever before as the Province enjoyed a balmy April
that was warmer than most Mays.
The colourful insects are emerging weeks ahead of schedule - and it could be
a sign of global warming.
Fourteen species of butterfly have already been spotted in the Province this
year and there wasn't a month when a butterfly wasn't seen, according to
Trevor Boyd, the Butterfly Recorder for Northern Ireland.
And five species have broken records for early sightings, he said.
The peacock butterfly was first seen in January, with unusually early
sightings of the speckled wood, the green-veined white, the small copper and
the holly blue, all in April.
Other species are also showing up ahead of schedule, including the small
tortoiseshell, seen in January and February, the large white, first spotted
on April 16, and the orange tip, which were seen in their masses in April.
There has even been a sighting of a huge migrant moth which usually doesn't
arrive at these shores from Spain until June, Mr Boyd said.
A hummingbird hawk moth was recorded in Lisburn on April 3.
"One of the reasons is that April has been so warm this year, three
whole degrees Celsius above the average. There has never been an April
nearly as warm. The average was 11.3 degrees and it's usually 8.3 degrees,"
Mr Boyd said.
"We never had an April before that was any warmer than 9.5 degrees -
it's warmer than an average May.
"Butterflies respond very quickly to environmental conditions. They are
a very valuable indicator of environmental conditions. They are very
susceptible to pollution or change of habitat. You can't say that one warm
April says global warming but it's certainly very strong evidence in support
of it."
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