14 July 2011

Perfect time for a flutter: Get to grips with Britain's butterflies
This week sees the start of the biggest ever survey of Britain's butterflies. But don't worry if you don't know your Peacocks from your Red Admirals - Stephen Moss from The Indepentant gives his guide on how to wing it

It's been a great year for butterfly watchers. Fine, sunny weather during spring and early summer, especially in the south of Britain, has brought these winged wonders out in force. Admirals and peacocks, skippers and hairstreaks, blues and fritillaries, are all delighting us with their delicate shades and gaudy colours. My own garden in Somerset is currently awash with ringlets, green-veined whites and meadow browns, all classic butterflies of high summer.

So has it been a good year for butterflies? Given the previous paragraph this may seem like an odd question. But these creatures' life cycle is a complex one, and this glut of winged adults we have seen this year is not necessarily a reliable guide to the survival of eggs, caterpillars and pupae the "savings bank" which will ensure these butterflies' long-term fortunes.

Now we have a chance to help the experts to find out how Britain's butterflies are faring, at a time of great environmental change. This week Sir David Attenborough launched this year's Big Butterfly Count, the biggest survey of butterfly populations anywhere in the world.


Run by Butterfly Conservation, Europe's largest insect charity in partnership with Marks & Spencer it aims to provide hard evidence for the rises and falls in the fortunes of some of our best-loved wild creatures.

And there is certainly cause for concern. As Sir David notes: "When I first moved to my home in Richmond upon Thames 50 years ago, my buddleia used to be covered with beautiful butterflies. Now I'm lucky if I see a Cabbage White."

Taking part in the survey couldn't be easier. During the next fortnight, we're asked to spend just 15 minutes counting how many of each different kind of butterfly we see. This can be in our gardens, on a walk in the town or countryside, or at one of many hotspots up and down the country. If you need help sorting out the trickier species, you can download a handy identification chart from the Butterfly Conservation website.

Last summer saw the very first Big Butterfly Count, during which more than 10,000 people logged more than 200,000 individual sightings. This still has a fair way to go to reach the half a million regular participants in the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch. But that survey started on a small scale too, yet in 30 years that has become the biggest citizen-science project anywhere in the world.

Richard Fox, the Big Butterfly Count's organiser, certainly has high hopes, and urges us to take part as a way of getting to know these charismatic and beautiful creatures. But he also points to the event's more serious side.

"Butterflies are in severe decline in the UK, indicating a worsening of the environment for much of our wildlife," he says. "Three-quarters of our 56 resident butterfly species have declined over recent decades and many are threatened with extinction. By counting butterflies for just 15 minutes, anyone can help Butterfly Conservation's scientists to get a better understanding of how butterflies are faring."

The survey is particularly crucial this year, coming as it does after very wet summers for our butterflies during 2007 and 2008, followed by slightly better years in 2009 and 2010.

Although this year started off spectacularly well, with its fine spring weather benefiting early flyers such as the orange-tip, the continuing drought has threatened the plants hosting the caterpillars of future broods. June, however, was cool and wet, which was bad news for this year's high summer butterflies.

Matthew Oates of the National Trust who is known as "Britain's Mr Butterfly" stresses both the scientific and spiritual importance of the Big Butterfly Count.

"Butterflies are a superb route into the wonderful world of nature," he says. "They guide us into the heart of the most magical landscapes at the optimum times of year, and are spirits of the living sunshine.

"The more you learn about them, the more there is to learn which is why so many top scientists study them," he adds. "But they're unlikely to survive without our help. Their future is in our hands."

Oates's recent book, Butterflies, is both a handy pocket guide, and a paean to their sheer beauty, without whose presence our lives would be hugely diminished.

So whether you are an expert or a novice, surely it's worth giving up a quarter of an hour to help to save Britain's butterflies, and to reconnect with nature at the same time.

As Sir David Attenborough put it at the launch of this year's count: "If my heart is not going to be lifted by a butterfly because they have all gone, then my life will be very much the poorer."

For the full news article and to be taken to the website, click here