Butterfly breeding a flutter of good news

THE story of biodiversity in our countryside is often a depressing one. Corncrakes, for example, did not do well in 2008. We have to confront the fact that, despite massive efforts, they may be close to extinction as an Irish breeding species.

So it’s very refreshing when you come across a good news story. And I think the fact that four species have been added to the list of Irish breeding butterflies over the past few years is good news. Real’s wood white joined the club in 2000 but it’s certainly not a new arrival. It’s just that up until then it was mistaken for the common wood white. This is understandable because the difference between the two is minute.

JM Harding’s definitive new book on Irish butterflies states: “Both species are indistinguishable in the field but their genitalia are different and they are clearly different species.” Certainly a matter for the experts.