Tag: butterflies

One simple step can boost garden butterfly numbers by up to 93%, new study reveals

  • New six-year study proves that leaving areas of grass to grow long in gardens can increase butterfly numbers by up to 93%
  • This the first scientific evidence that wildlife-friendly gardening practices, such as having long grass and flowering ivy, boost the numbers and types of butterflies, particularly in urban areas and near farmland
  • The research is great news for gardeners and non-gardeners alike, proving the free and easy action of letting an area go wild can make a positive impact for butterflies

Letting parts of your garden grow wild with long grass can increase butterfly numbers by up to 93% and attract a wider range of species, according to new research from leading wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation.

The study, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, provides the first scientific evidence that having long grass in your garden increases butterfly abundance and diversity. Creating such wild spaces may help to reverse the decline of these beautiful insects.

Undertaken by Butterfly Conservation scientists Dr Lisbeth Hordley and Dr Richard Fox, the research analysed butterfly sightings from more than 600 gardens across the UK, collected by members of the public over six years through the charity’s Garden Butterfly Survey.

The results show that gardens with long grass had a significantly higher number of butterflies recorded, with a greater variety of species, than those without.

Importantly, the biggest benefits of these wild spaces were found in urban areas and intensively farmed landscapes. In highly arable areas, gardens with long grass saw up to 93% more butterflies, and those in urban areas showed an increase of 18%.

The potential to provide wild spaces for butterflies and moths to thrive is huge. Gardens make up more than 728,000 hectares in Great Britain – the equivalent of over a million football pitches.

If each of these gardens had a space that was allowed to go a little wild, with grass growing long, it would make a huge difference for butterflies and moths, providing spaces for them to feed, breed and shelter.

While the research specifically studied gardens, the benefits to butterflies of long grass and wild spaces are likely to extend beyond the garden gate. Public green spaces such as parks, school grounds, allotments, and road verges, could also provide vital spaces for wildlife, and enable more people to see more butterflies if allowed to go a little wild.

Dr Richard Fox, Head of Science at Butterfly Conservation and co-author of the study, said: “Nature is in crisis; 80% of butterflies have declined since the 1970s, so we need to take action now to protect them.

“We wanted to be able to give tried and tested gardening advice that will benefit butterflies as we know lots of people want to help. This study proves, for the first time, that allowing a patch of grass to grow long will attract more butterflies into your garden.”

The study also found that the presence of flowering ivy in gardens increased the number of certain butterfly species, such as the Holly Blue, Red Admiral and Comma, which use ivy as a breeding habitat or nectar source.

Butterfly Conservation is calling for everyone to create their own Wild Space, no matter how big or small, to help butterflies survive and thrive. Through its Wild Spaces programme, the charity aims to transform 100,000 areas across the UK to help support butterfly populations.

Dr Fox added: “The simple act of creating wild spaces by allowing a patch of grass to grow long, or a border edge to go wild is free and easy to do, and can significantly boost butterfly numbers, especially in urban and agricultural settings where they are most under pressure. The benefits of each individual wild space are small, but if thousands of people get involved the boost to butterflies could be huge.

“Whether you have a large garden, a small patch of grass, a community or school space, or a balcony or window box, anyone, anywhere can help. We hope that our Wild Spaces programme will inspire people across the UK to take action and help to create a national network of butterfly-friendly habitats.”

Wild Spaces can be created by anyone, anywhere – from gardens to shared community spaces, balconies, terraces, or patios. No matter the size or location, every Wild Space can contribute to the recovery of butterfly populations and support biodiversity.

To create your own Wild Space visit www.wild-spaces.co.uk

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80% of butterflies in the UK decrease as climate change affects species

The State of the UK’s Butterflies 2022 report, released today by wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation, has revealed the alarming news that 80% of butterflies in the UK have declined since the 1970s.

Decreases in butterfly populations on this scale are a huge cause for concern as butterflies are an integral part of the UK ecosystem and their precipitous decline is a clear warning signal of the wider biodiversity crisis.

In Scotland, butterfly species that require specialist habitats have greatly declined. But the figures show increases too, as many countryside-wide species have increased in Scotland. While this increase bucks the trend elsewhere in the UK, it’s a clear indicator of climate change.

  • While habitat specialists in Scotland have declined in abundance by 27%,  wider countryside species have increased by 26%.
  • Half of all Britain’s remaining butterfly species are now listed as at risk of extinction on the British Red List.*
  • However, the report also provides evidence that targeted conservation action can turn around the fortunes of threatened butterfly species.

Scientists at Butterfly Conservation are today warning that time is running out for UK’s butterflies as long-term trends show that most butterfly species have declined in either abundance, distribution, or both in the past five decades. The news follows the release of the new Red List of British Butterflies last May, which showed half of all the remaining species in Britain are now classed as threatened or near threatened.

Habitat loss across the UK has led to dramatic declines in those species that require flower-rich grassland, heathland, and woodland clearings to thrive. These specialist species have, on average, decreased by more than a quarter (27% decrease) in abundance and lost over two-thirds (68% decrease) of their distribution since 1976.

Butterfly species that can breed in the farmed countryside and urban areas have fared less badly, but as a group they have still declined by 17% in abundance and 8% in distribution.

However, despite the gloomy picture painted by the long-term trends, the report points to numerous examples proving that targeted conservation action can turn around the fortunes of threatened butterflies at site, landscape, and national levels.

In Scotland this includes conservation action for priority species such as Northern Brown Argus and Pearl-bordered Fritillary. But, while managed sites such as Mabie Forest in Dumfries and Galloway are showing increases in numbers, colonies are disappearing elsewhere in the landscape. This shows that conservation efforts and partnership working towards better land management in Scotland are important to our natural environment now, more than ever.

Alongside this, climate change appears to be a large factor in the increased abundance of some species in Scotland. For example, White-letter Hairstreak and Holly Blue have spread north from England and become established in Scotland, while other species, such as Ringlet, Peacock and Comma, have greatly extended their ranges in the country.

Tom Prescott Butterfly Conservation’s Senior Conservation Officer for Scotland said: “Scotland is the only UK country for which the all-species butterfly indicators show long-term increases in abundance and distribution.

“However, this hides the true picture, which is that those species requiring specialist habitat are in significant decline while those that live in the wider countryside are increasing as a result of climate change allowing them to increase their range.

“Thanks to tens of thousands of people who contribute sightings through projects such as the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme and Big Butterfly Count, we have amazing data to plot the changing fortunes of our butterflies.

“We use this to inform our conservation work and the work we have been doing to increase numbers of Pearl-bordered Fritillary at Mabie Forest Reserve in partnership with Forestry and Land Scotland is evidence that where conservation action has been carefully targeted and sustained in the long-term it has had real impact.”

Julie Williams, CEO of Butterfly Conservation, said: “This report is yet more compelling evidence of nature’s decline in the UK. We are totally dependent on the natural world for food, water and clean air.

“The state of our species and habitats shows that the natural world is in trouble. We need swift and effective action on this. The decline in butterflies we have seen in our own lifetimes is shocking and we can no longer stand by and watch the UK’s biodiversity be destroyed.”

The State of the UK’s Butterflies 2022 has been produced by Butterfly Conservation working together with the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and British Trust for Ornithology. The report is based on nearly 23 million butterfly records, almost all of which were contributed by volunteer citizen scientists, that assesses the UK’s 59 species of breeding butterflies.

The full report can be found HERE

*More information on the latest Red List assessment of butterflies can be found here https://butterfly-conservation.org/news-and-blog/half-of-british-butterfly-species-on-new-red-list

Facing extinction: Half of UK’s butterfly species on latest Red List

  • 24 species of butterfly are now listed as threatened – including 8 that are Endangered – representing a substantial increase compared with the previous assessment.
  • The risk of extinction is increasing for more species than decreasing.
  • There is some hope for species that have been the focus of intense conservation work and have been brought back from the brink of extinction.

Wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation is warning that time is running out to save some of Britain’s best-loved insects, with the latest Red List assessment of butterflies published today, revealing a 26% increase in the number of species threatened with extinction.

Using data gathered by volunteers through the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme and Butterflies for the New Millennium recording scheme, scientists from Butterfly Conservation have put together the new Red List, which assesses all the butterfly species that have bred regularly in Great Britain against the rigorous criteria of extinction risk set out by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The new Red List is published today in the journal Insect Conservation and Diversity.

Of the 62 species assessed, four are extinct in Britain (Black-veined White, Large Tortoiseshell, Large Copper, and Mazarine Blue) with 24 (41% of the remaining species) classed as threatened (8 Endangered, 16 Vulnerable) and a further five (9%) as Near Threatened.

Head of Science for Butterfly Conservation, Dr Richard Fox, says: “Shockingly, half of Britain’s remaining butterfly species are listed as threatened or Near Threatened on the new Red List.

“Even prior to this new assessment, British butterflies were among the most threatened in Europe, and now the number of threatened species in Britain has increased by five, an increase of more than one-quarter.

“While some species have become less threatened, and a few have even dropped off the Red List, the overall increase clearly demonstrates that the deterioration of the status of British butterflies continues apace.”

While land-use change remains the most important driver of decline, the impact of climate change on butterflies is also evident in the new Red List, with all four British butterflies with northerly distributions, adapted to cooler or damper climates, now listed as threatened (Large Heath, Scotch Argus, Northern Brown Argus) or Near Threatened (Mountain Ringlet).

Both the Large Heath and the Grayling have moved from Vulnerable to Endangered, and seven species have moved from Near Threatened to threatened, including the beautiful Swallowtail and Adonis Blue.

Two new species have been added for the first time, Scotch Argus, which is listed as Vulnerable, and Dark Green Fritillary, listed as Near Threatened.

It isn’t bad news for all butterfly species though, with some improvement in status for those that have been the focus of concentrated conservation effort, offering hope for other species.

The Large Blue, which became extinct in Great Britain in 1979 and has been the subject of an intensive, ongoing, and highly successful reintroduction programme, has moved from Critically Endangered to Near Threatened.

The High Brown Fritillary, also formerly listed as Critically Endangered, has moved to Endangered; likely to be the result of intense conservation work from Butterfly Conservation alongside other organisations.

The Duke of Burgundy and Pearl-bordered Fritillary, which have also benefitted from much targeted conservation effort, both moved from Endangered to Vulnerable.

Dr Richard Fox adds: “Where we are able to target conservation work, we have managed to bring species back from the brink, but with the extinction risk increasing for more species than are decreasing, more must be done to protect our butterflies from the effects of changing land management and climate change.

“Without action it is likely that species will be lost from Britain’s landscapes for good, but Butterfly Conservation is taking bold steps to improve key landscapes for butterflies and reduce the extinction risk of many threatened species.”

The production of the new Red List of British butterflies has been led by Butterfly Conservation with input and funding from Natural England.

The full scientific paper can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1111/icad.12582

Alan Titchmarsh calls on people to create a Pit Stop for Pollinators

TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh calls on people to create a Pit Stop for Pollinators this spring, providing butterflies and moths with the plants they need for survival.

Wildlife is in crisis – 76% of butterflies in the UK have declined since 1976 – which is why Butterfly Conservation has joined forces with TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh to encourage people to create pit stops for pollinators this spring, and help insects get from one area of habitat to the next.

Pit stops of all sizes are needed, which means everyone can get involved, no matter how large or small the space they have available is. Even a small plant pot on a doorstep or balcony could help provide butterflies and moths with an important foodplant or nectar.

Whether you live in a city or village, everyone can contribute to support our vital pollinating insects, and have butterflies and moths in your garden day and night.

Alan Titchmarsh, who is Vice-president of wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation, says: “By providing a pit stop for pollinators, you will be doing your bit for the insects that allow us to survive.

“Without them, we are gone. Plants aren’t pollinated and crops don’t grow. We need pollinators and we need to look after the planet for them.

“A really good pit stop for pollinators will have open flowers, which are needed for adult butterflies and moths to feed on, and also some plants on which butterflies and moths can lay their eggs, and for caterpillars to feed on. Something as simple as a bunch of nettles in a sunny corner is one good way to provide this.”

Sarah Hancocks, Marketing Projects Manager of Vivara, official partner of the Pit Stops for Pollinators campaign, said: “Back gardens can provide essential pit stops for insects. Whatever space you have, make it inviting to wildlife whilst enjoying doing your bit to help nature thrive on your doorstep.

“We’ve developed a range of new wildlife borders designed to help you give a corner of your green space back to wildlife, and even have one specifically to encourage butterflies. It includes an array of butterfly-friendly plants including Black-Eyed Susan, Lavender Hidcote, White Coneflower, Garden Catmint, Verbena bonariensis and White Dwarf Buddleja.”

What to plant for an insect-friendly garden:

Nasturtiums provide a foodplant for the caterpillars of both the Large and Small White butterfly.

Pot Marigold will provide nectar for adult butterflies

Buddleia is known as the ‘butterfly bush’ for a reason! The long purple or white flower heads are very attractive nectar sources for butterflies like Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell.

Verbena bonariensis is an excellent alternative if you don’t have space for a large Buddleia. It sends up tough, thin stems topped with masses of purple flowers that are a magnet for insects. It also seeds itself, so you will see it popping up in new places around your garden year after year.

Lavender ‘Hidcote’ is regarded as one of the best lavenders for the British climate. Butterflies and moths with shorter tongues can access the nectar inside its small flowers. A good plant for pots in sunny places as it prefers dry conditions.

Ox-eye Daisy is the UK’s largest-flowered native daisy with beautiful white petals and a yellow centre that is very inviting to butterflies. It will enthusiastically self-seed.

Viburnum davidii is a great shrub for a variety of situations in the garden. It can be grown in full sun or in partial shade. The white, shallow flowers come out in May and will be visited by smaller butterflies and moths, as well as short-tongued bees and hoverflies.

Field Scabious is a herbaceous perennial with blue-violet flowers that attract a large number of pollinators. Likes full sun but tolerates partial shade.

Honeysuckle is a plant that will twine through a tree but needs some support to grow up a fence. This native climber is an attractive and sweet-scented night-time source of nectar through the summer months for Privet and Elephant Hawk-moths. It is also a foodplant for Early Grey and Twenty-plume moth caterpillars.

For more of Alan’s top tips for creating a pit stop for pollinators, you can download a free guide, at www.butterfly-conservation.org.

Dobbies Garden Centre: Lupins set to be Edinburgh’s most popular bloom this spring

Spring it on with Dobbies!

With spring well and truly here and the gardening season in full swing, research from the UK’s leading garden centre retailer, Dobbies, has found that 65% of Edinburgh locals are looking forward to doing more gardening this spring. 

The research, from Independent Media News, looked into this year’s gardening trends, attitudes towards gardening, garden centres themselves and some of the misconceptions about the UK’s favourite pastime.

Dobbies’ Edinburgh store has had a great start to the season and looking at customer trends from last year and this year to-date, General Manager, Jenna Bavidge, predicts Lupins will be the most popular plant for Edinburgh gardeners this spring.

Perennial Lupins, a favourite cottage plant, is a haven for bumblebees and butterflies with striking, tall bright blooms that come in a variety of colours and shades. These are wonderful pollinators and will inject gorgeous colour into the garden right the way through spring and summer and will continue to bloom year on year.

Research from Dobbies shows that just under half of Edinburgh residents are hoping to encourage more wildlife into their garden, and Lupins are the perfect plant to do that.

Dobbies’ Horticultural Director, Marcus Eyles, encourages Edinburgh residents to Spring it on this year by sharing his top tips on Lupins and why they are so popular in East Scotland: “Lupins is a great addition to any garden, no matter the size or shape of your borders.

“We recommend planting Lupins in early spring to maximise their flowering potential and mulching well with peat-free compost to encourage strong growth and good moisture.

“These hardy blooms thrive in a bright spot that benefits from partial shade. If you don’t have a garden space, Gallery Lupins have been bred to be smaller and can flourish in a balcony space.”

For more information on what’s in stock at your local Dobbies’ Edinburgh store, visit www.dobbies.com.

If you would like to explore Dobbies full SS22 range, you can do so via their digital Look Book and Look Book Video.

Council stops cutting the grass …

… but only to support our wildlife, of course!

Changes to the management of grassy areas in Edinburgh are helping butterflies cope with the impacts of climate change …

As the climate warms, more species are able to move north into new areas that were previously too cold for them, but they still need the right habitat to survive.

For three species – the Small Skipper, Wall Brown and Speckled Wood butterflies – areas of long grass are just what they need. Caterpillars of all three species feed on these grasses, but they are easily wiped out if the grass is cut too often.

Initiatives from the City of Edinburgh Council and other partners in the Edinburgh Living Landscape programme, which is led by the Scottish Wildlife Trust, have helped these species move into the city, and have even given them a stepping stone into south Fife where all three are now being seen for the first time.

The Council has helped by naturalising 264 acres of amenity grassland, which only get cut at the end of summer, through Edinburgh Living Landscape’s Nature in your Neighbourhood project and by sowing wildflower meadows. These are changes which boost populations of bees and other pollinators. With more insects around, animals like birds and bats will also benefit from the changes.

One of the most striking examples has been at Silverknowes Park on Muirhouse Parkway, which is now home to 14 different species of butterfly.

This tiny park has been worked on by Council staff and volunteers from Butterfly Conservation through the Helping Hands for Butterflies Project for a few years now, and the list of species there keeps growing.

The most recent finds were of Small Skippers (above), a species that only arrived in Edinburgh four years ago. This species only lays its eggs on the flower stems of tall grasses, so the habitat at the park is perfect for them now.

Projects to create and maintain wildflower meadows throughout the city have helped encourage the spread of these butterflies.

At the nearby National Museums Collections Centre in Granton, staff have brought about changes to the management of the site that have seen numbers of butterflies and moths increase dramatically in just two years.

Further along the coast, work through the Edinburgh Shoreline project is helping to create yet more coastal grassland.

All of these projects work to create a series of stepping-stones that help butterflies and other insects move through our urban landscape and on into new areas in the countryside. This was demonstrated by the fact that the first sightings of the Small Skipper and Speckled Wood in south Fife were around North Queensferry, and Wall Brown butterflies have been seen near Dalgety Bay.

Climate change is one of the greatest threats to nature and connecting habitats is more important than ever to allow wildlife to respond to changing temperatures.

The City of Edinburgh Council’s Culture and Communities Convener Donald Wilson said: “We’re very proud of our parks and greenspaces and our Biodiversity Action Plan is designed to help us enhance their quality and natural heritage.

“Under the strategy we’ve undertaken many projects to open up our environment to nature and provide a welcoming habitat for a wide variety of plants, birds and insects, including encouraging native wildlife to urban settings and allowing the public to reap the benefits and get involved.

“It’s a sign of success that these areas are now home to these new species of butterflies. These beautiful insects are not only an indicator of the health of our environment in the Capital, they are essential as pollinators and food for other species.”

Culture and Communities Vice Convener and Thriving Greenspaces Champion Amy McNeese-Mechan said: “This is a fantastic new approach which ensures that these beautiful insects are at home in the Capital.

“Working collaboratively with partners like Butterfly Conservation through the Helping Hands for Butterflies Project and community involvement are key components of our strategy.

“Together we will work to raise awareness of the rich biodiversity in Edinburgh, enable others to take positive action to protect and enhance our natural environment, and influence other plans, policies and strategies relating to Edinburgh’s open spaces.”

Anthony McCluskey, Project Officer with Butterfly Conservation said: “Some butterfly species move quickly in response to climate change, so the spread of so many new species in Scotland shows us how much change there has been already.

“Initiatives like this to provide more land for them to breed can help populations move through the landscape, helping to secure their long-term future.

Dr Cathleen Thomas, Living Landscapes Programme Manager, Scottish Wildlife Trust said: “It’s really encouraging to see how quickly these butterflies have colonised the city thanks to the new habitat that Edinburgh Living Landscape partners have created.

“This is a great example of how creating new green networks in Edinburgh can help tackle the climate and nature crisis by helping wildlife adapt to change.”

Help to create a Butterfly Meadow in Granton

Here’s a chance to help with the creation of a wildflower meadow in Granton Crescent Park, organised by Butterfly Conservation Scotland!

We are creating a new meadow at Silverknowes Park to support local butterfly populations, and need volunteers to help out. On this first event, we will be raking back some of the grass and sowing seeds of a wildflower called ‘Yellow Rattle’. In future events we will be planting wildflower plug plants and sowing more seeds, and in the summer we’ll come along to see what butterflies are there.

This event is suitable for all, but children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.  Even if you can only make it for an hour or two, you are still welcome to come along to help out.

Registration is essential: contact Anthony on amccluskey@butterfly-conservation.org to book your space.

Date and Times: Monday 11th November, 10.30am – 2.30pm

Location: Granton Crescent Park, Edinburgh (full location details will be sent on registration)

This event is part of the Helping Hands for Butterflies project, which is generously funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Scottish Natural Heritage and members of Butterfly Conservation. It is being kindly supported by City of Edinburgh Council.

Starts 10:30am on Monday 11 November, but make sure to book a place if you’re interested: https://butterfly-conservation.org/events/granton-crescent-park-edinburgh-wildflower-meadow-creation