Thursday 26 June 2025
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National Insect Week (23–29 June 2025) offers an opportunity to reflect on the value of insects in ecosystems and to highlight the delicate relationships many of them depend on to survive. One such example is the symbiotic partnership between Adonis blue butterflies (Polyommatus bellargus) and ants.

The caterpillars of the Adonis blue produce a sugary secretion that attracts ants. In exchange, the ants protect the caterpillars from predators and parasites. This form of cooperation, known as myrmecophily, is essential to the butterfly’s development and survival.

These interactions depend on the health of chalk grassland habitats, which are among the most species-rich ecosystems in the UK but are increasingly under threat. Conservation efforts by the White Cliffs Countryside Partnership (WCCP) and the Romney Marsh Countryside Partnership (RMCP) are helping to maintain and restore these habitats. Their work includes managing grazing, controlling scrub, and promoting native wildflowers - actions that support both the butterflies and the ants they rely on.

By protecting these habitats, we help sustain the complex ecological networks that underpin biodiversity. Insects support countless other species as pollinators, decomposers, and food sources, so their presence has wide-reaching effects. National Insect Week is a reminder of how even the smallest species, and their relationships, play a vital role in the natural world.
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