Energy & Climate
UK butterflies in decline
2024 officially one of the worst years on record for UK butterflies.
2 April 2025
Last summer, Britain’s butterflies sent an urgent SOS through Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count.
The wildlife charity declared a Butterfly Emergency after results revealed a marked and deeply concerning decline in butterfly numbers, which were the lowest in the Count’s history.
The 2024 figures followed a pattern of long-term decline as butterflies struggle against a backdrop of habitat degradation, climate breakdown and pesticide use.
That’s why this year Butterfly Conservation isn’t just launching a survey — it’s launching a nationwide rescue mission, and it needs everyone to get involved.
No lab coats. No science degrees. Just 15 minutes of your time.
Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count 2025 begins today (18 July), and thousands of everyday heroes, from school kids to grandparents, dog walkers, hikers and even office workers on their lunch break are being called to take part.
Worryingly, 80% of butterflies have declined since the 1970s. These delicate icons of summer respond quickly to environmental change, making their decline a powerful warning sign of a planet in peril.
The good news? There is hope. With just 15 minutes of your time, you can help protect UK butterfly species for future generations.
All you need to do is spend 15 minutes in any outdoor space and count the butterflies and day-flying moths you see. Then submit your sightings to help build Butterfly Conservation’s interactive map.
That’s it: just one small action will contribute to a much bigger effort to help save butterfly species and the ecosystems they support.
Whether you see a red admiral, a common blue or an entire kaleidoscope of meadow browns, your sightings provide vital data that help scientists understand where butterflies are thriving, struggling or shifting due to habitat loss or restoration.
By taking part you’ll be doing more than logging data — you’re standing up for nature. Your observations will help create a live map of UK biodiversity, visible in real-time through the Big Butterfly Count website and free app.
‘This is a chance to turn curiosity into conservation and make a real contribution to protecting butterflies in the UK for generations to come.
‘Butterflies are beautiful, yes — but they’re also incredibly important bioindicators. This means that as they continue to disappear, as they have over recent decades, it indicates something is going seriously wrong in our natural world. We need to heed that warning and take action before it’s too late.
‘If we lose butterflies, we lose more than beauty — we lose balance in our ecosystems and that will have serious repercussions for wildlife in the UK. Taking part in the Big Butterfly Count only takes 15 minutes and it’s something everybody can do. If you do one thing for nature this year, get out for the Count this summer! Every count really does make a difference.’
DR RICHARD FOX
Head of Science at Butterfly Conservation
With over 80% of UK butterfly species in decline, every single sighting counts.
Butterflies are early warning signs of environmental collapse — when they struggle, so do birds, bees and entire ecosystems.
Together we can reverse the trend by learning where and why butterflies are struggling and taking action to save them.
Butterflies are struggling because their habitat is being destroyed and the climate they thrive in is changing and becoming more unpredictable.
Populations may also be declining as a result of pesticide use, both commercially and in gardens.
Even insecticides and pesticides labelled ‘pollinator friendly’ can harm butterflies and other pollinating insects.
Employing more nature-friendly gardening methods, such as companion planting and allowing wild spaces to flourish within our gardens are two of the best ways to help butterflies thrive at home.
You can join the Big Butterfly Count by downloading the free Big Butterfly Count app or visiting bigbutterflycount.org.
Between 18 July and 10 August, spend 15 minutes in any outdoor space and count the number and type of butterflies you see.
Log your sightings on the website or app and help protect UK wildlife for future generations.
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