Small copper butterfly in ‘inexorable decline’ according to survey

Once-common butterfly joins a growing list of shrinking species, suggesting climate change is having greather impact than previously thought

A tiny but unmistakably dazzling butterfly, the small copper, suffered its worst ever year last summer according to the annual scientific survey of Britain's butterflies.

The bright ginger butterfly joins a growing band of once-common butterflies in apparently inexorable decline despite no discernible habitat loss in recent years and conservationists are warning that climate change is having a greater than expected negative impact.