Summer without butterflies wouldn’t be summer at all, as hedgerows and country lanes across the UK are brought to life each year by these colourful insects. Created by the Hertfordshire & Middlesex branch of Butterfly Conservation and packed with photos by butterfly expert Brian Sawford, Bright Wings of Summer: Hertfordshire’s Butterflies is a new exhibition that explores the intense environmental pressures facing butterflies and moths in Hertfordshire. This exhibition opens at the Walter Rothschild Zoological Museum, Tring, on 10 March and runs until 22 April 2007. (Brian Sawford is author of The Butterflies of Hertfordshire.)

‘We are delighted to host this new exhibition,’ said Alice Dowswell, the Museum’s exhibition officer, ‘which highlights the importance of recording butterflies and moths. Many species can be used as indicators of the quality of the environment – including butterflies – and the more of us that know about their decline, the greater chance we have of saving them.’

Butterflies abound in the summer and can be seen in the garden, while out walking or even from the car. The changing seasons may be taken for granted, but many species could be disappearing for good, not just for winter. Those with a keen interest can help by keeping track of what they see in the local area and then sending any sightings to Butterfly Conservation. Over the past 40 years, Hertfordshire has lost several species of butterfly and some are currently close to extinction in the area. The diminutive but striking grizzled skipper is one of them, and can be found at only a handful of sites in the county. Butterfly Conservation is working to ensure its survival in Hertfordshire. One success story is the spectacular but elusive purple emperor, a species many believed no longer existed in Hertfordshire. Thanks to the hard work of dedicated volunteers it is now known to be present in several woods in the area.

To coincide with the exhibition, there will be butterfly mobile-making and a butterfly walk for families during the Easter holidays, as well as an illustrated evening talk by Brian Sawford for adults on Thursday 19 April.

Registration required:

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Free:

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