Get Busy Spotting Butterflies

Butterflies are uniquely placed to act as indicators of the changing environment as their quick lifecycles are highly sensitive to changing conditions.

The data collected is used to track trends to support research and conservation in a variety of ways and full records can be read on the UKBMS website.

We began an ambitious programme of landscape restoration at the Essex Country Parks to boost biodiversity and strengthen habitats for rare, declining and protected species - including butterflies - for the future.

Thanks to funding from the government's Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS), the teams at Belhus Woods and Hadleigh Country Parks as well as Weald, Thorndon, Marsh Farm and Cudmore Grove, have been busy restoring habitats to allow rare butterflies to thrive (along with many other species).

At Belhus, the team began a habitat management programme of the woodlands, wood pasture and grasslands, as well as some wetland works, to to protect and enhance the environment for the future.

Thanks to this work, the team have seen target species such as the purple emperor at the park.

During April the Belhus team start their butterfly survey. Every year - and on a weekly basis throughout spring, summer and autumn - staff and volunteers walk a set route and record butterfly numbers, which are then fed into the national data.

In 2023 they noticed a small increase in diversity of species, against a national decline. New recordings of small copper, small blue, brown argos and purple emperor were made, however there were no sightings of the painted lady, small tortoiseshell or white admiral.

Discover all of the works that have taken place over the course of a year at Belhus Woods.

At Hadleigh, the team have been clearing dense scrub from an area that was once a valuable grassland habitat. Wildflowers like bird’s-foot trefoil, essential for common blue butterfly caterpillars, are already starting to flourish.

The team have also replaced old, damaged fencing with new livestock fencing. This allows a variety of animals, such as red poll cattle and Cheviot goats, to graze the grasslands as part of a natural land management method, which also provides an ecological benefit.

In fact, as part of the fencing work, a special enclosure has been created to protect elm trees, which are vital for the white-letter hairstreak butterfly as its a UK conservation priority species as it only breeds in elm trees.

If you have lots of time and are really ready to commit, there are lots of ways you can get involved with the UKBMS.

You can also sign up for the Big Butterfly Count - which is aimed at members of the public.

The Big Butterfly Count is a nationwide citizen science survey aimed at helping us assess the health of our environment.

Launched in 2010, it's rapidly become the world's biggest survey of butterflies. Thousands of citizen scientists take part every year, submitting thousands of counts of butterflies and day-flying moths from across the UK.

Join the count for 2026, which is running from Friday 17 July  to Sunday 9 August.

Download the Big Butterfly Count ID chart.

Read more about the National results for 2024.