Blog Post: A bad year for Butterflies – but opportunities ahead
If you were asked to close your eyes and imagine a warm summer’s day in the UK, the picture in your mind’s eye may very well include the flutter of butterflies, dancing from flower to flower. Sadly for many of us this year, imaginary butterflies may have been the only ones we’ve seen. The results from the 2024 Big Butterfly Count are in, and things are not looking good.
Over three weeks in July and August this year, more than 85,000 citizen scientists counted the species and number of butterflies and day flying moths they saw in a 15-minute period across gardens, parks, schools and other green spaces. Whilst public engagement with the project flourishes, the average number of butterflies spotted per count is down by almost 50% compared to last year — from 12 in 2023, to just 7 in 2024. What’s more, 9000 counts recorded no butterflies at all, which is the greatest number of ‘zero’ counts in the 14 year history of the project.
This sharp decline in numbers is most likely linked to the very wet spring and the late arrival of the summer heat this year, but extraordinary circumstances aside, these results are well in keeping with the general trend of falling butterfly and moths numbers seen in the UK. As the climate changes, and weather patterns shift, UK species will almost certainly continue to struggle. Throw in the continued use of butterfly-killing neonicotinoid pesticides, and it’s no surprise that the wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation has declared a ‘Butterfly Emergency’.
But all hope is not lost!
Whilst 2024 has undoubtedly been bad for butterflies, there are things that we can all do to help turn things around next year. Gardening for butterflies and moths at home or in you local community is remarkably simple and rewarding: growing nectar-rich flowers, caterpillar foodplants and leaving even relatively small areas uncut and unkept to provide habitat throughout the year can go a long way to supporting butterflies, moths and a whole range of other invertebrate species.
You might consider signing the petition written by Butterfly Conservation calling for the government to declare a nature emergency and to ban the use of neonicotinoids under all circumstances, and even go one step further and write to your local MP directly, asking them to prioritise nature and take steps to help reverse the decline of butterflies in the UK.
Of course, another thing to do is to sign up for the ‘Big Butterfly Count 2025’ and help to collect the crucial data needed to keep track of butterflies and day flying moths in the UK. We’ve got all our fingers crossed for a bounce back next year!
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