THE small tortoiseshell butterfly has continued to fight back against long-term declines this year, an annual survey has revealed.

The familiar butterfly, which has lost three-quarters of its populations since the 1970s, saw its numbers increase by more than a fifth on last summer’s figures in the Big Butterfly Count.

It was the second good year in a row for the species, despite an “August autumn” with the country experiencing the coldest August in 20 years and was the fourth most commonly seen butterfly in the count.