On 08/08/2018 10:42, Martin Brown wrote:
Although it has been very warm this year there has been a real shortage
of interesting butterflies in North Yorkshire with many cabbage whites
and hardly any tortoise shells, red admirals or peacocks.

In a normal year we would expect the ratio to be tortoise shells as the
most common followed by cabbage whites and a good number of everything
else. I haven't seen any rarer butterflies or moths this year

A hummingbird hawkmoth has been seen recently here though not by me.
I grow Pink Valerian (Centranthus ruber) to attract them. It is a bit of
a thug but it brings in plenty of butterflies as do the budleias.

exactly the same here in low lying North Staffordshire. I also find it a
puzzle.