Last year was a “ mixed picture ” for the country’s butterflies, experts have said. Chequered Skipper, Brimstone and Large Blue all recorded their best year since the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme began in 1976. But Small Tortoiseshell had its worst year on record in England.Dr Richard Fox, head of science at Butterfly Conservation, said: “ Butterfly numbers fluctuate naturally from year to year, largely due to the weather, but the long-term trends of UK butterflies are mainly driven by human a