Join the Big Butterfly Count

Every year Butterfly Conservation coordinates the Big Butterfly Count, a nationwide citizen science project inviting participants to count butterflies in their gardens and local green spaces. It is the world’s biggest survey of butterflies and has been taking place every summer for the past 15 years.

Tens of thousands of people across the UK take part to monitor butterfly populations and help understand the health of our environment. Butterflies are good environmental indicators due to their short life cycle and quick response to environmental changes. Declining numbers of butterflies seen in the results of last year’s Big Butterfly Count led to the Butterfly Conservation charity declaring a nationwide Butterfly Emergency so it’s more important than ever that people take part in 2025.

There are 20 species of butterfly found in Guernsey and Herm and another 10 migrant species have also been found. Monitoring the trends in all butterflies found in Guernsey is essential in understanding how the changing climate may be impacting the range of wildlife. Last year 61 people in Guernsey took part in the Big Butterfly Count, with 89 counts and a total of 962 butterflies. The information drawn from this is hugely valuable, so we are encouraging everyone to get out for the Count!

Angela Salmon, Head of Operations and Education at the Nature Commission is encouraging people to take part: “The Nature Commission would love lots of people to count butterflies for the Big Butterfly Count in July and August. In 2024, 61 people took part in this survey and it would be amazing if more people were involved this year. People love seeing butterflies and we want to keep seeing these beautiful insects for many years to come but last year some species were in serious trouble. Gathering information on Guernsey’s butterflies is vital to understand if our local species are declining or thriving.”

Pictured: Peacock Butterfly. Credit: Angela Salmon