Butterfly count in need of wings

Butterfly Conservation, a wildlife charity, is urging the public not to become disconnected from nature, after significantly fewer people registered to take part in its annual count.

It fears after the “lockdown” years, when people used their gardens more, the Covid effect has worn off so it is encouraging people to take part in the survey, which ends this weekend.

Chris Packham, the TV presenter, Butterfly Conservation’s vicepresident, said: “Last year was our poorest year ever in terms of the amount of butterflies people were seeing.

“It’s too early to tell if this year will follow suit, but we are hearing that people feel there are fewer butterflies around. That might have put people off taking part but it’s important to tell us that because we need to know where there aren’t these insects as well as where there are.”*