Last year was one of the worst years on record for butterflies according to Butterfly Conservation data, which also shows that more than half of butterfly species are now in long-term decline. The figures come from the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS) which has asked volunteers to count butterflies across the country since 1976 and now monitors more than 3,000 sites, including transects on Barnes Common.
In total, 51 of the UK’s 59 species declined in 2024 compared to 2023, with just six species showing any increase.
Loss of habitat, climate change and the use of pesticides all contributed to this decline, with last year’s inclement weather making it particularly hard for butterflies and other insects to survive. There are ways to counteract this issue which was entirely caused by human action.
If you’ve got a garden, opt for native plants, and let your lawn grow long. Providing more habitat is the single most beneficial thing people can do to help butterflies. Even just reducing mowing to one or two per year (and none between April and September) can make a huge difference.
Long lawns don’t have to look shabby: the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) have developed a new “robust lawn” that is hard-wearing and only needs occasional mowing. The dog friendly lawn, developed by gardener Monty Don with the RHS for their Chelsea Flower Show garden, is full of daisies, clovers, dandelions, and a hard-wearing rye grass variety. Our community growers have more lawn tips here.
Butterfly surveys don’t just provide data about the particular species: as animals especially sensitive to changes in their environment, butterflies are indicator species, showing us the health of the wider environment. Monitoring and recording them helps inform conservation work and measure the effectiveness of conservation efforts.
One of the sites included in UKBMS is our Community Orchard, part of which was recently used as a site camp during the works and will now be restored with our management aiding natural regeneration to become a haven for butterflies and also for reptiles and other invertebrates. Of the 57 butterfly species resident in the UK, 30 species have been recorded on Barnes Common.
Ultimately, it is anthropogenic changes – habitat loss and climate change – that make butterflies ever more vulnerable, and we all should help efforts to combat these trends.