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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Patrick Barkham

Britain’s butterflies bounce back in annual count – but only to average levels

Britain Richard Fox Big Butterfly Count Butterfly Conservation
A small tortoiseshell butterfly on a white flower
The small tortoiseshell bounced back from its worst-ever Big Butterfly Count result in 2024. Photograph: Kay Roxby/Alamy

Butterfly numbers have bounced back after the dismal summer of 2024, but the hottest summer on record delivered only an average number of the insects in the annual Big Butterfly Count.

More than 125,000 citizen scientists joined the biggest insect survey in the world this summer, counting an average of 10.3 butterflies in each 15-minute count in parks, gardens and green spaces across Britain.

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