Butterfly Conservation invites Sutherland residents to take part in its Big Butterfly Count
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People throughout the UK are being urged to join in this year’s Big Butterfly Count, launched today by wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation.
The fine weather of spring 2020 has seen the earliest average emergence of butterflies for the past 20 years, according to Butterfly Conservation, and it has received thousands of extra enquiries about butterfly and moth from the nature-loving public.
Th Big Butterfly Count is an annual citizen science event which last year saw more than 113,000 members of the public taking part.
The UK-wide survey asks you to spend 15 minutes in an outdoor space counting the amount and type of butterflies (and some day-flying moths) you see.
There were 11,057 counts submitted in Scotland for the Big Butterfly Count last year with overwhelmingly abundant numbers of painted lady butterflies spotted – up 7541 per cent (141,649 spotted) from the previous year. Green-veined white and small copper butterflies saw declines of 56 per cent and 60 per cent respectively.
The project is backed by TV presenter and naturalist Chris Packham.
Chris said: “While so many of us have had a bit more time to appreciate the nature on our doorsteps during the lockdown period, and learning about the natural world has been a mindful distraction from uncertainty, this is a real chance to do something positive and contribute to conserving nature.
"Butterflies and moths are key indicators of the health of our environment and anyone can help contribute to our understanding of these incredible creatures by taking part in in the Big Butterfly Count.
“The sightings you submit will be used to map and measure populations and the geographic spread of species across the UK. We’re asking everyone who have been given a helping hand from nature this year to return the favour.”
Dr Zoë Randle, senior surveys officer at Butterfly Conservation, said: “We’re excited to find out the results from the Big Butterfly Count this year. The very sunny spring weather meant that almost all butterfly species have emerged early this summer, so we’re hoping for some interesting data. As our weather patterns change it’s more important than ever for us to be able capture this information.
“We’ve seen an incredible amount of interest from people who have been out and about in their gardens and local areas spotting butterflies for the first time – from children learning about the life cycle of a butterfly from a caterpillar found in their own back gardens to adults who have spotted a fluttering red admiral while exercising outside instead of at the gym.
"Nature has really shown its true value to us this year, but it is still under threat. Now, more than ever, we must all do our little bit to protect it.”
Visit Bigbutterflycount.org to find out more or download the free Big Butterfly Count app to enter your findings.
