As usual, this summer I participated in the citizen science survey that is the Big Butterfly Count.
SS15 wildlife watching: The Big Butterfly Count has started!
Butterfly Conservation has now released data on the number of butterflies and some day-flying moths recorded across this UK during 2022’s Big Butterfly Count which ran from 15th July to 7th August.
Detailed results can be found here .... Butterfly Conservation - Results of this year's Big Butterfly Count revealed
The Gatekeeper was the most spotted butterfly during the 2022 Big Butterfly Count. This is welcome news since the Gatekeeper experienced its second worst Big Butterfly Count result in summer 2021 and it is the first time since 2017 that this species has had the top spot overall.
Photo: Gatekeeper at St. Nicholas Church, Laindon, Essex
It was good news for the blues as well with both the Common Blue and the Holly Blue species faring well in the 2022 Big Butterfly Count. Having had their worst results in 2021, both these species bounced back with the numbers reported increasing by 154% for the Common Blue and 120% for the Holly Blue.
Photo: Common Blue at St. Nicholas Church, Laindon, Essex
Photo: Holly Blue at Noak Bridge Nature Reserve, Noak Bridge, Essex
Another winner in the 2022 Big Butterfly Count was the Comma that saw an increase of 95% compared with last year. The Comma has been making a slow comeback from its low point in the 1910s and expanding its range rapidly northwards.
Photo: Comma at St. Nicholas Church, Laindon, Essex
An increase in range as a result of climate change accounts for many of the sightings of these species in the north of the UK. The Holly Blue butterfly, for example, had only occasionally been recorded in Scotland prior to the 2000s, but after becoming firmly established in Edinburgh from 2006 and in Ayr from 2008 the species has subsequently spread across swathes of Scotland.
Overall, the trend for butterflies across the UK remains a declining one, with the results of the 2022 Big Butterfly Count showing an average of just under 9 butterflies seen per count, which is once again an all-time low in the 13 years since the citizen science project began.
Species that saw a worrying decline from last year include some well-known favourites such as Red Admiral, Small White and Meadow Brown.
Photo: Small White at Noak Bridge Nature Reserve, Noak Bridge, Essex
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