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Missing garden visitors

purplerallimpurplerallim LincolnshirePosts: 4,633
in Wildlife gardening
Has anyone noticed the lack of bee and butterflies in their gardens since the start of the hot weather? I had plenty of bumble bees and wild honey bees but few butterflies, only the odd cabbage white and little blue. Now hardly any even though the garden has plenty of the right sort of flowers. 🤔
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Posts

  • ObelixxObelixx VendĂ©e, Western FrancePosts: 28,567
    They come out in the evening here - not much cooler but sun a lot less fierce after 8pm.  Also the wind has usually calmed a bit by then.  Very blustery at the mo.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • PosyPosy Isle of Wight.Posts: 3,601
    To be honest, no. There are bees everywhere. We are down on butterflies, but I had thought that was due to the hard winter and late spring.
  • JellyfireJellyfire SuffolkPosts: 1,139
    Id actually say there are more than usual here now, butterflies in particular have come out in force in the last week or two, seen lots of species and more numerous than usual from memory. The big Butterfly count usually runs in July/August, thats when you tend to see larger numbers rather than earlier in summer 
  • herbaceousherbaceous OxfordshirePosts: 2,313
    All the doors and windows open so I keep rescuing them from the kitchen. This buff-tail was near total exhaustion - gave him some sugar water and off he flew, I was so happy  :)


    "The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
  • purplerallimpurplerallim LincolnshirePosts: 4,633
    My garden is shaded in the morning right up till 10ish, that's when I tend to potter in the greenhouse before it get too hot. Usually I see plenty then and then again on the evening like you Obelixx so my numbers are down.
  • BurtsnestBurtsnest North westPosts: 174
    I have been seeing lots of bees over the past month however butterflies only over the past couple of days. I have a small bowl of water I keep topping up in the garden for anything that needs a drink.  Do you think popping in a little sugar for the bees may help or would you just leave it as water? Thanks. 
  • purplerallimpurplerallim LincolnshirePosts: 4,633
    Is it at ground level or where others might drink, like birds or hedgehogs, Not sure sugar would be good for them.
  • BurtsnestBurtsnest North westPosts: 174
    No it's about 2 ft from the ground level @purplerallim hmm think just water may be I'd hate to harm anything. 
  • BijdezeeBijdezee BPosts: 1,484
    Lots of hoverflies, reasonable levels of bees, LOTS of beetles good and bad but less in the way of butterflies. Its extremely windy here which im sure cant be good for them. 
  • Alan Clark2 in LiverpoolAlan Clark2 in Liverpool Posts: 1,983
    Bees don't actually have much sense of taste because a weak sugar solution is of no use to them. There are plenty of flowers around anyway.
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