
Pictured: small tortoiseshell, Aglais urticae
200-year trend in Cambridgeshire: Slight decline.
Modern records
Today this species is still widespread across Cambridgeshire and the rest of the UK. However, numbers may have dipped a little since Jenyns’ day, with the species now being slightly less common throughout gardens in the county. A parasitic fly has appeared in recent years, which probably spread from the continent along with a suite of other colonising species helped by climate change and accidental human importation. This caused a noticeable drop in numbers, but some resurgence has subsequently occurred thanks perhaps to natural selection for resistance.
National records map
Small tortoiseshell national records map: https://species.nbnatlas.org/species/NHMSYS0000501034