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Posted: 15th September 2023

Butterfly count reveals increase in numbers
The Gatekeeper had 222,896 sightings, a 12 per cent increase on the previous year.
The average number of butterflies was the highest for four years.

Butterfly Conservation has announced the results of this year’s Big Butterfly Count, which shows an increase in butterfly numbers this summer.

The conservation group has revealed that over 1.5 million butterflies and day-flying moths were recorded from 14 July 2023- 6 August 2023.

This means that butterfly counters were seeing an average of 12 butterflies per count, compared to an all-time low in 2022 of nine butterflies per count.

In 2022 the UK saw a heatwave and drought, prompting Butterfly Conservation to call for citizen scientists to investigate the effect this extreme weather had on butterflies.

This year’s Big Butterfly Count saw 95,000 citizen scientists conduct 136,719 15-minute counts in gardens, school grounds and the countryside.

The most commonly spotted butterfly was the Red Admiral, which was recorded 248,077 times by participants of the count. This is a 338 per cent increase compared to last year, which the group believes is due to climate change.

The second most common was the Gatekeeper, which had 222,896 sightings – a 12 per cent increase on the previous year.

This was followed by the Large White (216,666 sightings) and the Small White (190,506 sightings).

However, the group say that this good news is in contrast with concerning long term trends, which has seen many species significantly decrease.

In the 2023 count, several species saw a decline in numbers, including the Ringlet, Common Blue and the Green-veined White, which saw the most severe decrease at -61 per cent.

The conservation group say that butterflies, which form an important part of the food chain, are significant indicators of environmental health.

Dr Zoe Randle, Senior Surveys Officer at Butterfly Conservation, said: “It’s wonderful that so many people have been out enjoying spotting butterflies. We had huge support for the Big Butterfly Count this year, and thanks to the many people who went out during those sunny intervals, we now know that the effects of last year’s drought were not as bad for butterflies as we had feared.

“The mixed weather this year has helped as there has been an abundance of green food plants available for caterpillars, and plenty of nectar-rich flowers for adult butterflies. However, while the number of butterflies recorded this summer has been the highest since 2019, the longer-term trends show worrying declines for some of the UK’s most common butterfly species.”

Image: Dr Zoe Randle & Gatekeeper (male) © Andrew Cooper, Butterfly Conservation



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