Conservationists have declared a “butterfly emergency” after a vast community survey recorded the lowest ever numbers of the insect.
The Big Butterfly Count, organised over three weeks in the summer, asked members of the public to spend 15 minutes recording the butterflies they see in a nearby green space, whether a garden, park or countryside.
But to their dismay, Butterfly Conservation, the wildlife charity behind the survey, found this year’s results to be the worst in the 14-year history of the citizen science project.
Volunteers spotted seven butterflies on average per 15-minute count, down almost half on last year’s average of 12.
On 9,000 of the total 143,241 counts, people saw no butterflies at all – the highest number in the history of the scheme.
It was the worst summer in the count’s history for common and holly blues, green-veined and small whites, small tortoiseshell, painted lady scotch argus.
It was the best summer for none of the species.
The charity said butterflies are a vital part of the food chain, and a key “indicator” species because their condition tells us about the health of the wider environment.
Its head of science, Dr Richard Fox, called the results “very disturbing”.
He added: “Nature is sounding the alarm call. We must act now if we are to turn the tide on these rapid declines and protect species for future generations.”
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The charity said butterflies were hit by a wet spring and cool summer – but warned that seasonal variations come on top of serious long-term declines.
The insects are under pressure from loss of habitat, pesticides, and extreme weather driven by climate change.
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And Dr Fox said intensive management of the countryside and gardens, including an “obsession with tidiness that’s just really bad for nature” was also having an impact.
Butterfly Conservation declared a “butterfly emergency” and urged the government to ban neonicotinoid pesticides, with no exceptions.
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The pesticides are well-known for their harmful impact on bees, and have been banned in the UK with emergency exemptions granted under some circumstances, but the nature charity is highlighting their impact on butterflies too.
Dr Fox said: “When used on farmland, these chemicals make their way into the wild plants growing at field edges, resulting in adult butterflies and moths drinking contaminated nectar and caterpillars feeding on contaminated plants.”
