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May 14, 2023 · The State of UK’s Butterflies 2022 contains, for the first time, separate species abundance and distribution trends, as well as multi-species indicators, for each UK country.
The longest lived adult butterflies live for nine months to a year, but the average lifespan for the majority of species is just two to four weeks. Multiple factors can affect a species' average lifespan. For example, monarch butterflies typically live between 2-6 weeks, but it varies from generation to generation.
- Contact
- Summary
- Habitat Specialists
- Species of The Wider Countryside
- Additional Wider Countryside Indices
- UK ‘All-Species’ Index
- Background and Methodology
- National Statistics Accreditation
- Web Links
Enquires on this publication to: enviro.statistics@defra.gov.uk Tel: 03459 335577 (Defra enquiries) Find out more about call charges at – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Lead statistician: Clare Betts Environmental Statistics and Reporting team, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Mallard House, Kings Pool, 3 Peasholme Green, York, YO1 7PX Webs...
This release covers 2 measures of annual butterfly population abundance in the UK: the first for habitat specialist butterflies (species strongly associated with semi-natural habitats such as chalk downland) and the second for more widespread butterflies found in both semi-natural habitats and the wider countryside. Both indices contain data back t...
Habitat specialist butterflies, which are vulnerable to semi-natural habitat loss and fragmentation, have not recovered from declines experienced in the late 1970s. These declines were mainly attributed to the knock-on effects of the drought conditions experienced in 1976. Analysis of the smoothed trend for habitat specialist butterflies shows a si...
The butterflies of the wider countryside index for the UK has not changed in either the long-term (1976 to 2022) or the short-term (2017 to 2022) (Figure 4.1). Individual butterfly species again fare differently within the overall trend. Species of the wider countryside showing the greatest long-term declines include wall; small tortoiseshell; and ...
Butterflies of the wider countryside on farmland Analysis of the smoothed trend for butterflies of the wider countryside on farmland over the long-term period (1990 – 2022) shows a slight decline. There has been no change in the abundance of butterflies of the wider countryside on farmland since 2017 (Figure 5.1). Individual butterfly species fare ...
The ‘all-species’ butterflies index for the UK shows significant declines in both the long and short term. This assessment of change is made on an analysis of the smoothed trend; long-term (1976 to 2022) and short-term (2017 to 2022) (Figure 6.1). Individual butterfly species fare differently within the overall declining long-term trend. Species in...
Assessment
Long and short-term assessments of the statistical significance of changes over time (since the time series began in 1976 and over the latest 5 years – 2017 to 2022) are based on smoothed data, with the analysis of the underlying trend performed by the UKBMS. Confidence intervals around the trend line are calculated and a statistical test is used to compare the difference in the smoothed index between the most recent year and the previous years in a series. See the accompanying technical docu...
Relevance
Butterflies are considered to provide a good indication of the broad state of the environment because they respond rapidly to changes in environmental conditions and habitat management, occur in a wide range of habitats, and are representative of many other insects, in that they utilise areas with abundant plant food resources. Butterflies are complementary to birds and bats as indicator species, especially the habitat specialists, because they use resources in the landscape at a much finer s...
Background
Although the UKBMS started in 1976, Butterfly Conservation, one of the main partners of this monitoring scheme, conducted additional analysis to examine butterfly occurrence before this year. The UK experienced a severe drought in 1976 and declines in butterfly populations were primarily attributed to the knock-on effects of the drought. However, the additional analysis revealed that 1976 was not an exceptional year (Figure 7.1). Figure 7.1 shows the combined indices of occurrence (with confi...
Defra is currently undergoing the process of obtaining National Statistics accreditation for these statistics: National Statistics are accredited official statistics following an independent review by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). To receive this accreditation, Defra has to fulfil 4 requirements as set out in OSR’s assessment report. ...
The State of UK’s Butterflies in 2015is available on the UKBMS website Further information about the UK Butterfly Monitoring Schemeis available on the UKBMS website Further information about the state of Britain’s butterfliescan be found on the Butterfly Conservation website The butterfly indicators included within this release together with additi...
Drawing from our world-leading recording and monitoring schemes, these influential reports set out the key results for butterfly species, highlight the implications of recent research and policy initiatives, and make recommendations for the conservation of UK butterflies and wider biodiversity.
The brimstone is long-lived compared to other butterflies: it can live for up to a year in its adult form. The adults travel to mate in the spring, and fertilised eggs are laid on the underside of buckthorn leaves.
Spotted a butterfly but not sure what it is? Here are some common British butterflies you might see in your garden, and how to identify them.
Using data for 14 seasons (2007–2020) from 7971 gardens with consistent butterfly monitoring, we present the first garden-specific, national trends for 22 widespread butterfly species (37% of all UK butterflies).
