The wet winter that nurtured a bumper crop of wildflowers seems to have dramatically diminished the butterfly population, according to UC Davis zoology professor Arthur M. Shapiro. In both number and diversity, this spring's butterfly count ranks among the three lowest in the 22 years that Shapiro has been monitoring butterfly numbers regionally. Numbers of species flying in valley and foothill locations are running at one-half to two-thirds of last year's counts, but he predicts a better butterfly turnout above timberline in the Sierra Nevada range. Shapiro attributes the low numbers to a wet winter and an especially cloudy, cool and moist spring, which together exacted a heavy toll on caterpillars and pupae by facilitating fungal and bacterial diseases. As a result, fewer adults are emerging. Waiting for their warmer weather cues, their appearances are also tardy. Shapiro has spotted only 12 painted ladies -- one year after the biggest flight in 20 years. Monarch counts are also down dramatically.