Big Butterfly Count ends 9th August

The Big Butterfly Count started 17th July and ends Sunday, 9th August

As has been mentioned in earlier articles, the importance of butterflies cannot be overstated; they are excellent pollinators. Sadly, the deterioration of habitats and overuse of pesticides means they are becoming a rarer sight in gardens around the country and so Britain's butterflies need your help.

The Big Butterfly Count is a UK-wide survey aimed at helping Butterfly Conservation assess the health of our environment simply by counting the amount and type of butterflies (and some day-flying moths) we see.

So far throughout the United Kingdom, in this year's survey, 95,589 counts have been recorded, undertaken by 80,801 'citizen scientists'. Have you already contributed? If not, we have until Sunday to record our findings. Multiple counts can be recorded; maybe at different sites or on different days.

The identification chart shown here (Click photo to enlarge) along with the full details of how to submit your count, can be obtained by CLICKING HERE.

The Top 5 Butterflies counted so far throughout the United Kingdom are:
1. Large White 190,652
2. Small White 181,148
3. Gatekeeper 138,098
4. Peacock 128,574
5. Meadow Brown 117,019

It will be interesting to see if this ranking is reflected in the numbers in Tattenhall.