From badgers to bumblebees: how drought is affecting Britain’s wildlife

Because bumblebees have furry coats – an adaptation to flying and feeding in cool conditions – they are unable to forage in very high temperatures. Photograph: Susan Walker/Getty Images

While warm summer days may seem like good news for Britain’s wildlife – and indeed they can be for some warmth-loving insects, such as dragonflies – for many species of bird, mammal and insect the current drought conditions are far from ideal.

The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) has warned that some of our best-loved garden birds are already struggling, as they try to raise their second broods of young. Blackbirds, robins and song thrushes need regular summer rainfall, as this creates the damp conditions that bring earthworms and other soil-dwelling invertebrates to the surface of garden lawns.