Nature experts warn of ‘butterfly emergency’ with record lows in annual count - Big Butterfly Count citizen science project sees the lowest number of butterflies per count in its 14-year history.

Wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation has today declared a national ‘Butterfly Emergency’, with results of this summer’s Big Butterfly Count showing a marked and hugely concerning decline in numbers.

A nature reserve has seen numbers of a rare species of butterfly reach record highs. One count recorded 1,714 silver-studded blue butterflies at Studland and Godlingston Heath in Dorset - the highest since monitoring began.

There has been a “marked and hugely concerning” decline in butterfly numbers in Northern Ireland, following the 2024 Big Butterfly Count. More than 840 people took part in 1,475 counts in the annual citizen science project,

The Big Butterfly Count, organised by wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation over three weeks in the summer, gets members of the public to spend 15 minutes recording the butterflies they see in their garden,