2024 was officially one of the worst years on record for UK butterflies, new figures from the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme show 🦋📉. In a record dating to 1976, it was the fifth worst year to date. Many common and wider countryside species had their worst year on record including the Small Tortoiseshell, Small Copper, Large Skipper and Green-veined White. Butterfly numbers always fluctuate annually, and last year's low numbers are largely the result of a wet spring and relatively cool summer ☁️. However climate change and other human activity including habitat loss is leaving species more vulnerable, meaning depleted butterfly populations are finding it harder to recover from poor years. Dr Marc Botham, butterfly ecologist at UKCEH said: "These deeply concerning results from the UKBMS emphasise just how important it is to monitor and record our wildlife so we can target conservation efforts and protect our beloved species. "Butterflies in particular are valuable not just in their own right but also as indicator species, meaning they can tell us about the health of the wider environment, which makes the UKBMS data invaluable in assessing the health of our countryside and natural world in general." The UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme is managed by Butterfly Conservation, the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). 🙏🏼 Thank you to the thousands of skilled volunteers who monitored butterflies last year at more than 3,000 sites as part of the UKBMS, as well as the 300 volunteers who are recording both birds and butterflies at the same locations. See our news story: https://lnkd.in/e_dWzkeq See the official statistics: https://lnkd.in/ewEp6zj4 #biodiversity #nature #BiologicalRecording
