The 2021 Big Butterfly Count is well underway, and experts from Butterfly Conservation are urging the UK’s citizen scientists to continue helping them understand how the year’s unseasonable weather is affecting some of our favourite insect species.
More than 100,000 butterfly counts have been submitted since the Big Butterfly Count launched on 16th July, but with a week of counting to go, more data is needed.
Butterfly Conservation’s current records show that many species of butterflies, including some well-known favourites such as the Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell and Comma are down in abundance following a cold and wet spring.
Dr Zoë Randle, Senior Surveys Officer at Butterfly Conservation, explains: “The weather can play a huge part in how our butterflies and moths fare.
“With the UK experiencing an increasing number of extreme weather events, which are likely a result of climate change, it’s important we learn the effect these changes have on our native butterfly populations in order to understand the likely long-term impacts on biodiversity.”
Butterflies and moths make excellent indicators of the impacts of climate change and other human environmental factors. This makes collecting data on their numbers through the Big Butterfly Count really important. With another week of the Big Butterfly Count left to run, there is still time for people to take part and contribute to one of the UK’s largest citizen science projects.
The Big Butterfly Count is in its 12th year and is Butterfly Conservation’s annual three-week citizen science event.
The UK-wide survey is open to everyone, of any age, living in towns, cities or the countryside. Taking part requires you to spend 15-minutes in any outdoor space (a great staycation activity) counting the amount and type of butterflies and some day-flying moths you see.
It is easy to do and the more people who do it, the greater the benefits to our understanding of nature and how to help it.
It’s easy to upload the results either through the free app or via:
You can do as many 15-minute counts as you like throughout the Big Butterfly Count period – which runs until Sunday (8th August).
Dr Randle is keen to remind people that it’s important to upload the results, even if you don’t see any butterflies. She says: “Negative data is important too. If you are in a place you would expect to see butterflies and there aren’t any, or there are only one or two, we need to know that.
“It all helps us with creating a clear picture of what is happening to our butterflies and moths. By taking part in the Big Butterfly Count you are making a real contribution to science and our understanding of how climate change and habitat loss are affecting these species.”
Butterfly species hard hit by changeable weather patterns
Where have the butterflies gone? Butterfly Conservation launches this year’s Big Butterfly Count with urgent appeal for public’s help after disastrous spring weather.
Chris Packham and wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation are launching this year’s Big Butterfly Count today by asking people to help find and record butterflies across the UK.
Butterfly Conservation’s current records show that many species of butterflies have had a poor spring or a delay in their emergence following 2021’s unseasonably cold and wet weather.
The Speckled Wood was particularly low in numbers this spring, but the Small Tortoiseshell, Comma, Green-veined White, Large White and Red Admiral were also all down in abundance compared with their 10-year average. How this will impact this summer’s butterflies is what the charity is asking people to find out, by taking part in the Big Butterfly Count.
The weather in spring 2021 has been very challenging for many of the UK’s butterflies and moths. Although April was the sunniest on record, it was also very cold with a record number of frosts. This was then followed by the wettest May for over 50 years. Butterfly Conservation needs the public’s help to measure how these conditions have affected our butterflies and moths.
The UK is experiencing an increasing number of extreme weather events, a likely result of climate change, and it’s important we learn the effect these changes have on our native butterfly species in order to understand the likely long-term impacts on biodiversity.
The Big Butterfly Count is Butterfly Conservation’s annual three-week citizen science event. The UK-wide survey is open to everyone, of any age, living in towns, cities or the countryside.
Taking part just requires you to spend 15 minutes in an outdoor space (a great staycation activity) counting the amount and type of butterflies, and some day-flying moths, you see. It is easy to do and the more people who do it, the greater the benefits to our understanding of nature and how to help it.
For those taking part in Scotland, a new species has been added to the Big Butterfly Count identification guide this year.
The Scotch Argus is common and widespread in Scotland but has declined in the southern part of its range, especially in England where it is reduced to just two isolated sites. Butterfly spotters in Scotland are encouraged to record their sightings of the Scotch Argus so that scientists might better understand changes in the population.
There were over 145,000 counts submitted to the Big Butterfly Count last year, more than ever before. Though worryingly, 2020 also saw the lowest average number of butterflies logged since the event began twelve years ago.
Chris Packham, Vice-President of Butterfly Conservation and wildlife broadcaster, says: “Biodiversity and climate crisis is an urgent issue and it can be overwhelming to think about what we can do as individuals to really make a difference.
“Because butterflies and moths make excellent indicators of the impacts of climate change and other human environmental factors, collecting data on their numbers is really important. So, something as simple as recording a butterfly spotted in your garden, at your local park or on your window box can play a part in vital research into a global problem. It’s a really valuable contribution everyone can make.”
Dr Zoë Randle, Senior Surveys Officer at Butterfly Conservation says: “The Big Butterfly Count, along with our other research work, is already showing us changes in the populations of our butterflies and moths. Climate change and other human-led impacts are causing some species to be found in new areas, while others are becoming harder to find in the UK at all.
“We really need the public’s help to understand what is happening to our butterfly and moth populations. It’s a small but crucial thing everyone can do. This information will not only help us to protect these species, but also to inform what effect the changing climate is having on our biodiversity.”
Taking part in the Big Butterfly Count is something anyone of any age or ability can do, in any outdoor space. It provides a real contribution to science and our understanding of butterfly and moth populations in the UK.
This year the Big Butterfly Count is sponsored by garden wildlife specialist Vivara and the DFN Foundation, a commissioning charity focused on influencing sustainable change in special needs education, supported employment, healthcare and conservation.
Bastiaan de Jong, COO of Vivara said: “Back gardens can provide essential pit-stops for insects and are perfect locations for butterfly spotting.
“Whatever space you have, make it inviting to wildlife and enjoy doing your bit for nature on your doorstep. So join in and ‘get out for the count’ to see just which butterflies love your garden!”
David Forbes Nixon OBE, Chairman of the DFN Foundation, said: “We are once again thrilled to be the official co-sponsor of the Big Butterfly Count and look forward to continuing our work with Butterfly Conservation to identify trends in species that will help us plan how to protect butterflies from extinction.
“Last year saw more submissions to the Big Butterfly Count than ever before and it was wonderful to see this engagement even in the midst of the pandemic. Now, as we continue to follow the roadmap out of lockdown, we have a huge opportunity to build on this momentum and engage with even more people of all ages across the country on connecting with nature in a positive and meaningful way. The Covid-19 pandemic has brought into even greater focus the need to help improve our whole environment for wildlife and enrich the lives of people now and in the future.”
This year’s Big Butterfly Count runs from the 16th July to the 8th August.
For more information and to take part simply visit www.bigbutterflycount.org or download the free Big Butterfly Count app.
Wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation has released data about the number of butterflies counted in this year’s Big Butterfly Count (17th July – 9th August).
Worryingly this summer’s Count has seen a reduction in the average number of butterflies logged per count of -34% in comparison with 2019 and the lowest average number of butterflies logged overall since the event began eleven years ago. In all, during this year’s Big Butterfly Count, over 1.4 million butterflies were counted across the UK.
Dr Zoë Randle, Senior Surveys Officer at Butterfly Conservation said: “Unfortunately, this summer has not seen an abundance of butterflies, across the UK. We do see peaks and troughs of butterfly numbers each year (last year for example we saw a huge influx of migrant Painted Lady butterflies), so the data from the Big Butterfly Count is an important snapshot which, along with our other monitoring schemes, helps our understanding of the rates of decline of butterflies and moths.
“Coming so shortly after the recent WWF and UN reports on the global biodiversity crisis these 2020 results illustrate the perilous state of wildlife in the UK. However, the fact that so many people take part in this exciting citizen science initiative is encouraging and makes a huge difference to our understanding of how the natural world is responding to the crisis it is in.
“Now we need to see initiatives both here and across the world to put nature on a path to recovery.
“The fall in butterfly numbers this summer may be due to a number of factors. An unusually warm spring led many species to emerge earlier than usual. So we may have only caught the tail-end of the flight period for many species during this year’s Big Butterfly Count. It’s important to look at butterfly trends over longer periods, so our scientists will be using these results alongside our other datasets to get a clearer understanding of what is happening.”
Encouragingly, 2020 also saw the highest number of butterfly sightings ever submitted by the general public with 111,628 participants submitting a record-breaking 145,249 counts this year, an increase of 25% on 2019.
It seems that, in a very dark and challenging year, the opportunity for getting out into nature and helping as citizen scientists was very welcome to people who were able to participate in the Count this year. Butterfly Conservation is thrilled the event was enjoyed by so many people.
A total of 4,188 counts were submitted by 3,207 participants in Scotland. The most widely counted butterfly in the Big Butterfly Count in Scotland was Small Tortoiseshell, almost 5,000 individuals were seen, giving it pole position in the rankings.
Small Tortoiseshell generally fares better in Scotland and Northern Ireland than other UK countries in the Big Butterfly Count. On average, participants in Scotland saw three times as many Small Tortoiseshells per Count than people in England.
A recent study has shown that in each of the last four years, a substantial majority of Small Tortoiseshells are in hibernation well before the end of the Big Butterfly Count in south-east England. This suggests that climate change may be having an impact on this species in the south.
While the decline of ecosystems across the world is a cause for great concern, it’s also possible to see the power of joint positive action in this year’s Big Butterfly Count.
As more and more people take an interest in nature and submit their sightings Butterfly Conservation can continue its research and work to protect butterflies, moths and the environment through closer understanding of the issues they face and finding the solutions to help.
Butterflies and moths are incredibly valuable indicators of the health of our environment. Their declines show not only the effects of human behaviour on the world around us but also the changing patterns of our weather.
As well as being important and beautiful creatures in themselves, they play key roles in the ecosystems of birds, mammals, invertebrates and plants as food, population controllers and pollinators. Their conservation is vitally important.
Julie Williams CEO of Butterfly Conservation says: “A huge thank you to everyone who took part in the Big Butterfly Count this year. This important data is so valuable to our ongoing and vital research helping us to understand what is happening to our butterflies and moths so we can take focused action to protect these fantastic insects and conserve them for future generations.”
Could nature reap the benefits of people holidaying at home? New wave of citizen scientists join His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales in this year’s Big Butterfly Count
The Big Butterfly Count, the world’s biggest butterfly survey run by the wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation, is well underway and more people than ever before took part in the first five days with the average number of counts submitted over double that of 2019 at 9,132 per day.
The Big Butterfly Count, which asks people to simply spend 15 minutes in any outdoor space recording the butterflies they see, has seen its best initial response from the general public since the project began over 10 years ago.
Dr Zoë Randle, Senior Surveys Officer at the conservation charity said: “The Big Butterfly Count has fallen at a time this year when so many of us have spent more time living and working in our homes and exercising in our local areas than ever before.
“We’re taking note for the first time, of just how abundant the nature is around us and how important it is to our wellbeing. We’d love this new wave of nature-conscious people to continue to give a little something back to our environment which has been a comfort to us all through the last few months.
“After all the sunny spring weather recently we saw almost every butterfly species emerge earlier than ever before in April and May. This means that those butterflies such as the Large and Small Whites, which have two generations in one season, will now be on their second generation and that’s why there’s so many out there to spot right now, along with plenty of other beautiful species.”
However, the charity is also urging people to keep counting as the more data that the general public can submit the better.
Zoë continues: “Butterflies are key indicators of the health of our environment and as factors like changing weather patterns and other human activity affect our local habitats and ecosystems, we need to understand what this means for nature.
“By understanding our butterfly populations, we are taking the pulse of nature.
“There’s no limit to how much data we can collect and we’re urging everyone to get involved, not just from gardens and parks, but from your window boxes, in our city streets and on your camping staycation holiday!
“So why not continue to take part while you holiday in the UK and see how your counts compare to ones taken at home?”
Completely mobile and a great activity for children as well as adults, counts can be submitted from anywhere in the UK and as many times as you like in as many places as you like using the free Big Butterfly Count app or website Bigbutterflycount.org. The Count runs until 9 August.
His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales has already taken part in this year’s Big Butterfly Count, spotting Peacock, Holly Blue and Comma butterflies among others from his gardens at Highgrove and posting support for the Count on Twitter and Instagram.
Chris Packham, Vice-President of Butterfly Conservation said: “It’s really encouraging to see so many people recognising the importance of looking out for butterflies and our wider environment, but we need more counts so please do take part.
“The butterfly counts you make will truly contribute to science and help us understand how to conserve and protect our fantastic wildlife. My garden is brimming with butterflies this year, and once you’ve done one count, it’s hard to stop!”
This year the Big Butterfly Conservation is sponsored by B&Q as part of their sustainability programme as well as the DFN Foundation, a commissioning charity committed to influencing sustainable change in special needs education, supported employment, healthcare and conservation.
