FLICKR, KENTONFORSHEE
The United Kingdom is experiencing the wettest April on record since 1910, which has impeded the flight and foraging behaviors of many insects. April is considered flying season for many rare butterflies, which are likely to now have “poor breeding success due to the bad weather,” Richard Fox of the Butterfly Conservation told BBC News.
Unless the weather markedly improves in the next few weeks, “their opportunity to breed may be very limited and we may see population crashes later in the year or next spring,” he added. While bumblebees are expected to withstand the vagaries of British weather, the nonnative honeybee may have more difficulty building up the food stores in their hives.
Snails and slugs, on the other hand, are expected to do great.
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