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

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It was a vintage year for the “cabbage whites”, with large whites up by 118%, small whites increasing by 155% and green-veined whites rising by 63%. In the UK there are currently 57 resident species of butterfly and two regular migrants. Of these, it is estimated that 76% have declined in abundance, occurrence or both over the past 40 years. Almost all of these losses can be attributed to man-made changes such as habitat destruction and pollution, along with larger patterns of weather and climate change. We would also expect that, as average spring and summer temperatures continue to rise, new butterfly species will cross the Channel, adding to our paltry total of fewer than 60 species (compared with almost 500 in Europe as a whole). 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!

But the dry weather affected caterpillars that feed on grasses that withered and died prematurely in the hot, dry conditions. The gatekeeper, small skipper and Essex skipper all fell by more than 20% on the previous year. Research by scientists at Butterfly Conservation confirms that the long-term population trend of some of our most charismatic insects is indeed downward, with more than three-quarters of the UK’s butterflies and two-thirds of larger moths in decline. Persuading butterflies to choose your garden is relatively simple: provide plants that produce the nectar on which the adults will feed

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I was born in London and grew up there. I was very bookish, and had a huge imagination which used to cause me to get rather anxious at times. Now I know it's a good thing for a writer to have. I loved musicals, and playing imaginative games, and my Barbie perfume making kit. Most of all I loved reading. I read everything, but I also read lots of things over and over, which I think is so important. The American poet Robert Frost (1874-1963) was a contemporary of the modernists, but he rejected their focus on free verse and preferred to write more directly about the world of nature and his own place within it, using rather than dismissing traditional forms.

Dr Zoe Randle, Senior Surveys Officer at Butterfly Conservation, said: “It’s wonderful that so many people have been out enjoying spotting butterflies. We had huge support for Big Butterfly Count this year, and thanks to the many people who went out during those sunny intervals, we now know that the effects of last year’s drought were not as bad for butterflies as we had feared. The most-seen species this year was the Red Admiral, with 248,077 recorded - an increase of 338% on last year’s Count and the first time the species, which is increasing in the UK as a result of climate change, has taken the top-spot.

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The book had been moving along at a slow enough pace for me as there was a huge amount of setting up to do and then all of a sudden an event turned everything on its head and finally we got to the heart of the matter and I began to take more of a an interest in what was going on. Nina discovers there is a legacy, a heritage to which she has a right to as she is near to turning 26. Nina hears of the house Keepsake which is now rightfully hers, the question is does she really want it and all that it brings or is she happy to meander along in life a little bit lost and not quite happy with everything going on? Nina wasn’t a character that I especially warmed to, I felt she expected all the answers to be there right in front of her fairly straight forward and requiring no thought process. I wanted more of an element of discovery and uncovering the past on Nina’s part. It felt too dragged out in the present and bits of Nina’s so called journey went over my head. In my mind the story only got going when the past began to come to light. 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. It is a further warning sign that nature everywhere is in crisis – butterflies, as well as forming a vital part of the food chain, are considered significant indicators of the health of the environment.