Wildlife experts warn of 'butterfly emergency' after count reveals record low numbers

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2024-09-20 05:30:07

Butterfly Conservation slams "obsession with tidiness" in British gardens and green spaces that is "just really bad for nature", after the public counted record low butterfly numbers this summer. But that's not the only reason the insects are declining, it said.

Conservationists have declared a "butterfly emergency" after a vast community survey recorded the lowest ever numbers of the insect.

The Big Butterfly Count, organised over three weeks in the summer, asked members of the public to spend 15 minutes recording the butterflies they see in a nearby green space, whether a garden, park or countryside.

But to their dismay, Butterfly Conservation, the wildlife charity behind the survey, found this year's results to be the worst in the 14-year history of the citizen science project.

It was the worst summer in the count's history for common and holly blues, green-veined and small whites, small tortoiseshell, painted lady scotch argus.