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Conservationists are warning of a “butterfly emergency” after a butterfly census recorded the lowest numbers on record.
The Big Butterfly Count, run by wildlife conservation organisation Butterfly Conservation over three weeks in the summer, encourages the public to take 15 minutes to record the butterflies they see in their gardens, parks and countryside.
But this year’s results were the worst in the survey’s 14-year history, with participants finding an average of just seven butterflies per survey, almost half last year’s average of 12 and the lowest in the survey’s history.
There were also 9,000 counts recorded in which no butterflies were seen – the highest number in the history of the citizen science scheme, which asks people to submit results even if they don’t see a single insect in a 15-minute count.
Butterfly conservation groups said it was the worst summer in the count’s history for butterflies including the common white, common holly, mountain white, small white, small tortoiseshell, swallowtail and Scotch argus.
Additionally, butterfly numbers this year compared to 2023 were lower for four-fifths (81%) of species.
The charity says the butterflies have been hit by a wet spring and cool summer, but warns the long-term, severe decline is compounded by natural fluctuations in insect populations which are affected by weather.
Butterfly Conservation’s head of science, Dr Richard Fox, said the decline was due to habitat loss caused by cultivation and building in the 1970s and 1980s, continued degradation of the landscape due to pesticide pollution and other factors, as well as extreme weather caused by climate change.
He said the intense management of countryside and gardens also plays a role, particularly the “obsession with tidiness which is really bad for nature”.
Butterfly Conservation has written an open letter to Environment Minister Steve Reid, calling on the government to declare a “nature emergency” and ban neonicotinoid pesticides without exception.
These pesticides are well known for their detrimental effects on honeybees and are banned in the UK, subject to emergency exemptions in certain circumstances, but conservationists are also focusing on the effects of the pesticides on butterflies.
Dr Fox said: “When used on agricultural land, these chemicals find their way into wild plants growing on the field edges, where adult butterflies and moths drink the contaminated nectar and their larvae eat the contaminated plants.”
He said the UK must ban the chemicals, warning that “if we do not act now to address the long-term causes of butterfly declines we face extinctions the likes of which we have never seen before.”
He said banning neonicotinoids alone would not reverse insect declines, but it would have a positive effect on insects.
Butterflies are an important indicator species: when butterflies are at risk, we know that the wider environment is also at risk.
A total of just over 935,000 butterflies and daytime flying moths were recorded across the UK between 12 July and 4 August, down by more than a third on the 2023 figure.
The lowest number of butterflies observed in a single survey to date was in 2022, when an average of just nine were observed per 15-minute survey. This year was the worst year on record for a third of the common butterflies and diurnal moths surveyed.
“This result is consistent with wider evidence that the summer of 2024 was a very poor one for butterflies,” Dr Fox said.
Data collected by the public also showed that common butterfly populations had declined over the 14-year survey period, with numbers of small copper and common blue butterflies falling by more than half, and green-veined white butterflies declining by almost two-thirds (65%).
Overall, the 14-year trends show a decline in 11 species, about two-thirds of the species included in the count, and an increase in only three species: the Red Swallowtail, Holly Blue and Small Copper.
Dr Fox said: “Butterflies are an important indicator species – when butterflies are at risk we know the wider environment is also at risk.”
“Nature is sounding the alarm and we must act now to reverse the tide of rapid decline and protect species for future generations,” he warned.
He said participants counted butterflies this year and saw zero, which changed perceptions and made people realise the need to take action.
And while he called citizen scientists “amazing” for monitoring nature, he added: “At some point, we have to say, are we just going to keep counting these things until they’re all gone, or are we actually going to do something about it?”
He said anyone with an outdoor space could contribute by creating areas for butterflies and their caterpillars, but he also called on the government to take action.
