Butterfly Conservation is looking for volunteers to count butterflies in their gardens for the Garden Butterfly Survey
With temperatures due to rise this week, the first butterflies of the year should be appearing around now. Indeed, at least six species were seen in southern England during January, of which the most frequently-seen was the Red Admiral (see photo above).
Long-running studies mean we know more about the UK’s butterflies than any other insect group in the world, with information dating back hundreds of years. Monitoring work usually takes place in the countryside, where our more elusive and endangered species take refuge, but in response to recent declines among common butterflies, the spotlight has shifted. Charity Butterfly Conservation need your help to build a picture of where and when different species are occurring in the UK’s estimated 22 million gardens. The Garden Butterfly Survey simply asks you to report on the butterflies visiting your garden at least once every month. The online system makes it easy for you to log and track the species you have seen.
For full details of how to take part, see the Garden Butterfly Survey website.
Header photo by John Archer
