Butterflies desperately need our help now

2024 has been declared one of the worst years on record after results from Butterfly Conservation showed more than half of butterfly species in the UK are now in long-term decline. 

The Countryside Regeneration Trust monitors butterflies across some of its properties and, sadly, our results are very much in line with these findings.  

We carry out formal surveys at Lark Rise Farm in Cambridgeshire, Turnastone Court Farm and Awnells Farm in Herefordshire and a new one at Green Farm in Surrey.

The national scheme found 51 of the UK's 59 species declined in 2024 compared to 2023, with just six species showing any increase. 

It is led by national charity Butterfly Conservation, the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). 

At Turnastone Court Farm in Herefordshire, numbers were down in 2024 by 62 per cent and 20 per cent at Awnells, compared to the previous year. 

Conservation officer Harriet Robins said: “Our results in Herefordshire were terrible in 2024 and in the wider countryside across Great Britain. We started recording in 2021 and this is the worst year. 

“Butterfly diversity was down by 29 per cent at Turnastone Court Farm and 25 per cent at Awnells.” 

Marbled White Butterfly in the meadows at Lark Rise Farm.

Orange tip butterfly at Turnastone Court Farm.

At Bere Marsh Farm, we have been working hard to provide the ideal habitats for butterflies, planting wildflower meadows as well as a Buckthorn spinney, which is a favourite with Brimstone butterflies.

Pollinators, such as butterflies, are crucial to our environment, says Helena Darragh, Head of Conservation and Land Management for the CRT. 

She said: “Pollinators are vital for the lifecycle of our plants. This includes crops and fruits as without pollination, many crops would not produce seeds, therefore not providing us (and wildlife) with food, as the seeds of crops are mostly harvested for food rather than to be planted. 

“Pollinators also form a crucial part of the food chain as a source of food for many mammals and birds.

“We ensure we offer nectar/pollen opportunities through diverse hedgerows, which offer foraging opportunities through the year. We are increasing wildflowers on our farms to create species-rich meadows, for example at Bere Marsh Farm. 

At Lark Rise Farm in Cambridgeshire, we have taken part in a Butterfly Transect Survey for more than 25 years, contributing data to an important national scheme that assesses populations throughout the country. 

Vince Lea, our conservation officer at Lark Rise, has seen an alarming decrease in their numbers. 

He said: “The reasons for their steady declining trends are numerous and include habitat loss, climate change, pesticide use and invasive species.

"But the overwhelming reason for scarcity in 2024 was the poor weather, with a cold wet spring and summer making life difficult for these warmth-loving insects.

"The heatwave and drought of 2022 also impacted the larval stages of many butterflies, and they had not really recovered from that, before the gloomy summer of 2024 came around. Climate breakdown is hitting butterflies in ways they are not able to cope with. Now, in 2025, we are having a great start to the butterfly surveys with uninterrupted sunshine but, if it stays dry for the rest of spring, there will be problems for the caterpillars of the next generation as their foodplants will not grow well."

Conservation Officer Vince Lea.

Mating Common Blue Butterflies at Lark Rise Farm.

Vince explains that butterflies are hugely important within the ecosystem, with adult butterflies acting as pollinators, and caterpillars providing an essential part of the food chain – especially for birds.   

“At the CRT, we are doing everything we can to give butterflies a chance," he said. "At Lark Rise, this includes sympathetic hedgerow management and not using insecticides .

"Our monitoring shows that the most important habitat feature which we have reinstated are the flower-rich hay meadows with five to ten times as high a butterfly density compared with standard grass margins. These types of meadows have disappeared from the countryside and with them, the butterflies have disappeared too.  

“Having strong healthy populations on our farms means that even if we have a poor summer and numbers are halved, there are still enough to bounce back when conditions are better. Sadly, much of the countryside has so few butterflies that summers like 2024 can cause local extinctions.”  

To find out more, please see https://butterfly-conservation.org/news-and-blog/half-of-uk-butterfly-species-in-long-term-decline-monitoring-reveals 

You can also hear Vince speaking about butterflies at Lark Rise Farm on BBC Cambridgeshire https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0kx839w on Dotty McLeod's breakfast show for April 3rd at 8.25am. 

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