456 – Small Tortoiseshell butterfly

Card no 456 - Monica 

Small Tortoiseshell 

Country Card Sent From: Sweden 

Place that Card Sender Lives: Borås 

Date Received: 26th March 2013 

Distance Travelled: 695 miles 

Time Taken: 7 days 

This Small Tortoiseshell butterfly photo was taken by Monica and the card was home-made but it looks very professional. I wonder how soon we’ll see a Small Tortoiseshell here. With snow on the ground it is nice to have a reminder that Spring is around the corner.

Sadly the Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) is very much in decline in Britain. When I was young it was the most common butterfly to be seen in the gardens of Merseyside. In the last ten years we haven't seen a single one in our garden. To quote from http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/ it "is one of our most-familiar butterflies, appearing in gardens throughout the British Isles. Unfortunately, this butterfly has suffered a worrying decline, especially in the south, over the last few years. This butterfly has always fluctuated in numbers, but the cause of the most-recent decline is not yet known, although various theories have been proposed. One is the increasing presence of a particular parasitic fly, Sturmia bella, due to global warming - this species being common on the continent."

These were the stamps - small boats (they look like tugs) and a Golden Oriole.

The frank missed the stamps. I have decided some franks are so attractive they are worth including. It says Happy Easter which was also the wish sent to our family.