BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine’s annual wildlife survey has revealed that butterfly sightings in the UK decreased again in 2021, with significant decline in regular sightings of every listed species.
The findings show that Peacock (main image) butterflies have dropped in just one year by 6%, and Painted Ladies (below) are down 10% in one year.
The annual review asked respondents which types of butterflies they had seen most regularly in their garden in 2021:
- 20% of respondents stated that they saw Large and Small White butterflies in  their garden in 2021 down by 6% from the previous year
- 33% had seen Peacock butterflies in 2021, down by 6% from the previous year
- Sightings of Painted Lady butterflies have almost halved in the last two years, with only 16% of respondents stating they had seen one in their garden, down 10% from 2020, and down from 31% in 2019
- Small Tortoiseshell (below)Â sightings are down to 38%, compared to 48% in 2020, another drop of 10%
As part the magazine’s 2021 Put Pollinators First campaign, readers pledged to encourage wildlife and pollinators, including butterflies:
- 54% of respondents reported creating an uncultivated area in their garden in 2021, an 11% increase from the previous year
- 44% of respondents have a wildflower area, up 5% in the last two years.Â
However, there are more areas to focus on when encouraging butterflies into our gardens: Kate Bradbury, the magazine’s Wildlife Editor, tells us what we can do to help butterflies at all stages of their lifecycle in 2022 including:Â
- Grow more caterpillar food plants, such as cuckoo flower, nettles, buckthorn, and native shrubs such as hazel and hawthorn
- Let areas of grass grow long and do not cut it all back in winter, so caterpillars have places to hunker down
- Try not to clear up autumn leaves or cut back dead honesty and sweet rocket stems, from which orange-tip chrysalides might be hangingÂ
BBC Gardeners’ World’s Monty Don also reveals why we must take urgent action and what we can do, even in the smallest garden:Â
- Grow flowers with an open structure, like opium poppies, which can sustain a broad range of insects
- Plant buddleias (above) which attract long-tongued insects such as butterfliesÂ
BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine’s Annual Wildlife Survey polled 2,356 respondents between 22nd October and 11th November 2021.Â
Images from Pixabay
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