Wildlife highs and lows of 2008

This year has been a mixed one for British wildlife, say National Trust experts. Reviewing 2008, they said the cold spring and wet summer made it a bad year for insects, however the large cabbage white butterfly benefited from having fewer predators.

The year was shaping up to be a good one for the purple emperor as well, until Britain�s second largest species of butterfly was hit by gale-force winds in late July.

Radio tracking of lesser horseshoe bats did not take place in North Wales during December because many were underweight as a result of low insect numbers. Experts warn that this might affect winter survival rates for all bat species.

The cold snap during the spring saw choughs in South Wales lay their eggs about a week later than average. Other coastal cliff nesting birds, such as kittiwakes and razorbills, bred late and reared few young.

There has been a remarkable and perhaps unprecedented scarcity of the common autumn cranefly this year, says the National Trust. Experts say the insects usually abounds in pest proportions but has been all but absent this year.

The wet summer also hindered wasps' nest development. Matthew Oates, the Trust�s nature conservation adviser, warned: �After two very poor years, we desperately need a good summer in 2009 or its going to look increasingly grim for a wealth of wildlife.