What Do Butterflies Do In A Drought in Portugal When Their Food-plants Are Dead?

How do Small Coppers and Meadow Browns survive a drought?



Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) Photo in Public Domain/Pixabay



As I walk the burning sandy path through local scrub and woodland here in Portugal I often wonder where do the remaining butterfly females lay their eggs? The once lush vegetation has been shrivelled in the heat of the ongoing drought and what is left is tinder-dry and