World’s biggest ever butterfly count reveals Britain’s top ten

08/09/2010 11:08:08
August 2010. The main results of the UK's first ever big butterfly count, based on a staggering 187,000 individual sightings, have revealed good news for small tortoiseshell and gatekeeper butterflies.

Sightings are still coming in, but the main results of the big butterfly count are already clear. From 24 July - 1 August 2010, the top ten most common species were the Small White, Large White, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Common Blue, Peacock, Green-veined White, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell and the Ringlet.

The big butterfly count is a national survey carried out by members of the public and is run by the charity Butterfly Conservation in partnership with Marks & Spencer. Over 10,000 people carried out more than 15,000 counts during this year's event. The count was designed to give scientists an overall indication of the state of the nation's butterfly population, particularly in gardens and urban areas.

Small tortoiseshell
Interesting results include an impressive number of sightings of the Small Tortoiseshell. This beautiful butterfly has been ravaged in recent years with numbers declining by 82 per cent in south-east England, perhaps due to the arrival of a parasitic fly called Sturmia bella. The big butterfly count results indicate strong signs of recovery. The Small Tortoiseshell was the ninth most common butterfly seen across the UK and did even better in garden habitats.

The Gatekeeper has suffered a run of extremely bad years but ranked as number three in the top ten list during the count. Credit Wildlife Extra.

Gatekeeper
The Gatekeeper's results also pleased conservationists. The Gatekeeper has suffered a run of extremely bad years but ranked as number three in the top ten list during the count. It was seen in greatest numbers in fields and other rural habitats, but this orange butterfly was also found thriving in major cities such as London and Manchester.

Moths
Although no day-flying moths made it into the top 10, the most common moth reported during big butterfly count was the Six-spot Burnet, followed by the Silver Y and then, some way behind, the Humming-bird Hawk-moth. The Six-spot Burnet came in 13th place overall, with just under 4,000 individual moths counted.

The full results of the count can be viewed online at www.bigbutterflycount.org.

Richard Fox, Butterfly Conservation's Surveys Manager said: "A big thank you to all who have made the big butterfly count the biggest ever weekly count of butterflies anywhere in the world! We were impressed by the Gatekeeper and delighted to see the Small Tortoiseshell in the top ten as it had become a scarce sight, particularly in the south. It's been a fantastic start and the big butterfly count will continue in 2011. With the public's help, we'll be able to compare how butterflies and moths have fared. We hope people from all over the UK will help us take the pulse of nature in years to come".

Total 1.      Small White 29,954 2.      Large White 29,893 3.      Gatekeeper 29,094 4.      Meadow Brown 13,876 5.      Common Blue 11,462 6.      Peacock 11,213 7.      Green-veined White 7,399 8.      Red Admiral 6,316 9.      Small Tortoiseshell 5,700 10.     Ringlet 5,061

Butterfly Top Ten The Small White was the most common butterfly overall, very closely followed by the Large White and the Gatekeeper. Over 29,000 of each of them were counted and it was a very close race for the top spot. Nearly half (47%) of all the butterflies and moths counted were of these three species

Despite the pleasing results for some species, scientists at the charity Butterfly Conservation, who are analysing this year's data, warn that most butterflies continue to face serious long-term decline.

Butterflies and moths are important as indicators, alerting us to underlying problems with the environment. If butterfly numbers are falling, inevitably other wildlife is also in decline.

The main factors causing the long-term decline of many butterfly species include the loss of crucial habitats such as flower-rich grassland and the intensification of farming methods. A lack of management is also causing problems in habitats such as woodlands. Butterfly Conservation is working with landowners and other conservation organisations to help reverse declines as a matter of great urgency. To find out more about the decline of butterflies and how you can help, visit www.butterfly-conservation.org

The Decline of Butterflies

The past three years saw butterflies in the UK hit an all-time low with almost half of them now under threat. To help bring an end to this, Marks & Spencer and the charity Butterfly Conservation have formed a partnership - ‘Making Butterflies Count', to take action and conserve these vital species.

Butterflies are one of the most threatened of all wildlife groups in the UK:
• Seven out of every 10 UK butterflies are declining and half are threatened with extinction
• Five species of butterfly are extinct in the UK, and the situation for moths is worse with over 60 species already extinct

Butterflies and moths are very sensitive to environmental change, which makes them very good indicators of the health of the countryside. They are essential for the pollination of plants, and caterpillars provide food for many birds and other wildlife. If the UK lost all of its butterflies and moths, the nation would see a big drop in numbers of other wildlife including birds and impacts on crop yields.

Small whites topped the list. Photo credit Wildlife Extra.

The M&S and Butterfly Conservation partnership

The partnership has seen M&S launch a scheme for all M&S farmers to be given advice on how to encourage butterflies on their farms, the big butterfly count, and a range of butterfly products with a donation of the profits made to Butterfly Conservation. The range includes plants that attract butterflies, butterfly adorned products such as t-shirts and Colin the Caterpillar sweets and cakes.

 

As part of the Butterfly Conservation partnership, M&S wants to engage all of its farmers in the UK to help protect the butterfly. Over the next 12 months Butterfly Conservation will visit key M&S farmers, and all M&S farmers will be given advice on how to encourage and maintain more butterflies on their farms. M&S has also provided additional funds for Butterfly Conservation to recruit an extra team member to support the campaign, as well as expert assistance on how to set up the big butterfly count.