I've been thinking exactly the same!
My experience is similar to yours - my 'Butterfly bushes' usually attract a multitude of butterflys but like yourself I have only seen a few cabbage whites this year.
Quite worrying!
I have also noticed a lack of bees. I've seen a few but my garden is usually 'buzzing' with them.
Now I think about it - no wasps either!
Ladybirds started disappearing from the garden a few years ago. Used to be loads, only seen three this year.
Sue

Yep, the budlea's in bloom and I have seen only 3 or 4 butterflies but its been like that since 2002. As a kid I remember the budlea smothered in butterflies

same here. My butterfly bush is in full bloom and no butterflies, no wasps and hardly any bees. Not many ladybirds either. Hmm not looking too good.
Alison

Just been outside to count the bees and butterflies in the garden.
4 bees on the Lavender Bushes, 2 bees on a purple flowering Hosta and 2 bees and 1 Cabbage White Butterfly on the Butterfly bushes.
I remember seeing small Tortoiseshell butterflies very early in the year, not seen any since.
Seen a wasp today.......it stung my dog!!!
Sue

Its not looking good is it! very few butterflies here, very few of any sort of bug actuallyeven beatles seem few, havent seen hoverflies or dragons, only one or two damsels earlier, no blue bottles and the like either, no wasps, a few bees but not many as normal, i think the ealy spring and then a bad summer has caused a few problems, it might be worse next year with not many adults to breed.

I'm feeling a bit happier now!
Where I live I can walk to the end of my road and be in the woods.
Today(this afternoon)we decided to take a different route through the woods to a large area of boggy 'wetland'. Because of the lack of rain it is now mostly dry and accessible.
It's full of grasses, rushes, wild flowers, thistles etc. and as we walked through we saw LOTS and LOTS of butterflies.
The 'downside' is that none were of the type we normally see in the garden. (Red Admiral, Tortoiseshell, etc.)
Sue

Only one peacock so far this year, but we have had loads of damselflis of various colours and dragonflies. I tried to find some information on the web about butterly numbers this year and what influences numbers, but not much luck so far, other than the use of pesticides in local farms can cause lower numbers in nearby gardens--with or without buddliea. My guess is that it is very localised so if the conditions are right then they are there in abundance.

Sad that the conditions are not right in so many places, and there is not much we can do to influence that.

It could be too much rain. We had a spell several weeks ago of torrential rain for a few days with a couple of inches falling in a short period. I too have not seen any national publicity about their scarcity. The replies to this message come from devon, yorks, N Ireland & the fens, all with the same story, hardly any butterflys other than cabbage whites!

I often wonder why Buddliea is called a butterfly Bush because I never see any Insects on Mine !
I have Tortoiseshells visiting my Quince Bush every year, Cabbage whites are always here and I have a Orange & Black caterpillar collection every year on the Oxford Ragwort just before it Flowers. I cannot trace it in my butterfly/Moth books.
I've had most of the flying insects this year but not Damsels or Dragons.
Dave

I was just thinking that today too!

Can anyone identify this ?
Dave

Here is a link that might be useful:

Could it be a Cinnabar Caterpillar (a moth), the link is to a website that has over 800 species. The plant looks similar too.

Or am I just being hopeful? If it is a Cinnabar caterpillar, they leave a nasty taste in a bird's mouth!

Here is a link that might be useful: Is this it?

That appears to be the one.
If you look at photo 56 That is the way they appear when they first hatch out.
The plant is oxford Ragwort as it is in the link.
Many Thanks
Dave

That caterpillar becomes a bright red moth with black markings. There's a place where I walk my dog where there are hundreds of these caterpillars. I'm hoping to see the moths this year - missed them last year.

In the garden, we have lots of bees, bumble bees, ladybirds. Lots of birds, more than I've noticed before. However, not so many butterflies. Not a lot of wasps either.

I've had a few cabbage whites, but nothing else and I've got 2 buddlea in full bloom at the moment. Usually they're covered in peacocks & red admirals by now. Also, very few bees, but loads of ladybirds (which probably explains why I'm not plagued by aphids this year!)

Strangely, I've had loads of wasps & hoverflies, but they've all been round the pond. A lot of them have been landing on the duckweed. Is this normal? Why do they do this? Have also had to rescue lots of ladybird grubs that have found their way onto the duckweed. Very strange.

I have discovered all the vanished butterflies in my pond, they have metamorphised to yellow jelly like globules! mike

By the way, it is quite normal for an animal population to go through extreme changes in numbers - population explosions which are followed by declines in numbers etc. Very few species have stable numbers. I am concerned about the changes brought about by human over-population and pollution, but one year which appears to be low on butterflies is not necessarily cause for panic.
On the upside: there were reports of a decline in the number of sparrows - round here they've been plentiful this summer.

We saw this same cinnabar caterpillar today for the first time. It was wonderful to come across something and actually know what it was.Lol. ( and that was only because I had read this thread !! )
We had been out for the day to a place called Formby on the west coast which has a nature reserve with the lovely red squirrels. We also saw a ladybird that we had never seen before called an eyed ladybird. A huge spider was on a plant as well. It had such long legs. I have never seen anything like it, so it was a wonderful experience.
Alison

Loads of flying ants here!

Had one of those weird mini deers in the garden today. As for butterflies, a couple of the white ones but thats about it. I saw one lone wasp all summer so far thank god, there a quite a few bees about though. No hoards of hoverflies like last year yet. Oh yeah there's been lots of those big flying cockroach type bugs around at night but I think they're quite cool so they don't bother me as much as they freak other people out.

Saw a red admiral and a peacock yesterday!!

First ones this year

My buddlia bush has nearly finished flowering and no butterflies on it.The little white ones have been hovering but have landed on my watercress and primrose willow in the pond instead. I saw my first wasp today.
Alison

...since my posting about wasps landing on pond & not understanding why, have discovered that in summer they collect water to take back to nest.

I have just been searching for anyone elses confirmation of these observations. No honeybees at all and only cabbage white butterflies. The garden sounds erie at the moment. I have seen a number of hoverflies and bumble bees. I hope this is temporary.
Geoff

A full year on from the beginning of this thread and similar sightings again. My Buddlia has only had cabbage whites and last night the frogs ate them, so that was a bit unfortunate. We have been out and about at Nature Reserves this week on our holidays and seen quite a few butterflies though so they are out there.
Alison

Here is a link that might be useful: Alisons pond and garden

According to a BBC news report recently, the hot weather was supposed to be good for the Butterfly population. I only caught the headline because I was shooting off to work. Did anyone see it?

Personally, I've had a few Cabbage Whites, small Whites and a couple of Commas as well as three that were either Painted Ladies or Red Admirals. They wouldn't settle for me to have a closer look. The two Buddlia's near my pond don't seem to have attracted much this year. When it turns dusk, the moths come out to play on the flowers, which is something, I suppose.

Dragonfly/Damselfy-wise, I've had less this year, except one of the Damselflies appeared to be one that is meant to be in Europe. I had a beautiful green Emperor swooping around my garden one evening. It was having a ball wiping out my midges. Ta, buddy!!

We saw a couple of peacocks the other day and my son who lives in Catterick North Yorkshire said that his neighbour has a buddlia bush and it is covered in Peacocks and red admirals.

I'm surprised by everyone's lack of butterflies as we've (Essex) had loads of Painted Ladies, Red Admirals, Peacocks as well as many unusual moths in the hot spell. One tip is to prune your Buddleia hard and fairly late (I did mine in late April)then the first and best flowers are around when the butterflies appear. If you prune in March the first flush can be over before the butterflies arrive.

That's a great tip Calypso I will try to remember to prune later in the year.
Alison

Me, too. Thanks!