Over the past five years, 80 per cent of butterflies have declined in the UK.
Half of all Britain’s remaining butterfly species are now listed as at risk of extinction on the British Red List.
Despite the alarming findings of The State of the UK’s Butterflies 2022 report, released today by wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation, the report also shows that targeted conservation action can turn around the fortunes of threatened butterfly species.
Scientists at the charity are warning that time is running out for the UK’s butterflies, as long-term trends show that most butterfly species have declined in either abundance, distribution, or both since the 1970s.
Habitat loss across the UK has led to dramatic declines in those species that require flower-rich grassland, heathland, and woodland clearings to thrive.
These specialist species have, on average, decreased by more than a quarter (27 per cent decrease) in abundance and lost over two-thirds (68 per cent decrease) of their distribution since 1976.
Butterfly species that can breed in the farmed countryside and urban areas have fared less badly, but as a group they have still declined by 17 per cent in abundance and 8 per dcent in distribution.
However, despite the gloomy picture painted by the long-term trends, the report points to numerous examples proving that targeted conservation action can turn around the fortunes of threatened butterflies at site, landscape, and national levels.
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These include the successful recent reintroduction of the Chequered Skipper to England, a succession of long-term conservation projects driving up numbers of Wood White across the West Midlands, and peatland restoration on lowland bogs in Scotland benefitting the Large Heath population.
Butterfly Conservation is calling on the UK governments to step up and take the necessary action to protect habitats, help nature’s recovery, and prevent more species from being lost.
Julie Williams, CEO of Butterfly Conservation, said: “This report is yet more compelling evidence of nature’s decline in the UK.
"We are totally dependent on the natural world for food, water and clean air. The state of our species and habitats shows that the natural world is in trouble. We need swift and effective action on this.
"The decline in butterflies we have seen in our own lifetimes is shocking and we can no longer stand by and watch the UK’s biodiversity be destroyed.”
The State of the UK’s Butterflies 2022 has been produced by Butterfly Conservation working together with the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and British Trust for Ornithology. The report is based on nearly 23 million butterfly records, almost all of which were contributed by volunteer citizen scientists, that assesses the UK’s 59 species of breeding butterflies.
The full report can be found HERE
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