The wet California winter that nurtured a bumper crop of wildflowers seems to have dramatically diminished the state's butterfly population, according to UC Davis zoology professor Arthur M. Shapiro. In both number and diversity, this spring's butterfly count ranked among the three lowest in the 22 years that Shapiro has been monitoring butterfly numbers in Northern California. 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 promoting fungal and bacterial diseases. As a result, fewer adults emerged. One year after the biggest flight in 20 years, painted ladies are relatively few in numbers. Monarch counts are also down dramatically.