New iRecord Butterflies app available

The iRecord Butterflies app is available
for iOS and Android

Updated 13 April 2014

It's been a big week for butterflies. As reported on this blog on Wednesday the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme 2013 data was released a few days ago. Today the new iRecord Butterflies app is available from iTunes and the Google store.

The new app, which is free to download, guides you through the identification of any butterfly that you see in the UK. You can compare your own photo with those from the app’s extensive image library, filter species by colour, pattern and size, and see distribution maps and identification tips for each butterfly species.

I've been testing the app over the last few weeks (my most recent record a Small tortoiseshell spotted in the lane next to work on Wednesday...see the photo evidence below) and can confirm it's very easy to use. It's a fantastic addition to the iRecord app range which includes Ladybirds (launched last year) and the forthcoming Orthoptera (Grasshoppers and Crickets) app.

The main advantage of the iRecord apps over other similar products is that it provides a direct way of submitting data to the national butterfly recording schemes run by Butterfly Conservation, the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and the British Trust for Ornithology.

Every record you make with the app will help provide, in the words of Richard Fox of Butterfly Conservation, "The essential foundation for much-needed conservation work to help the UK’s declining butterflies."

Small Tortoiseshell sighting added to the iRecord Butterflies app

Many people have had a hand in the app's development including staff at Butterfly Conservation, scientists working within the Biological Records Centre (BRC) at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH), and the developer team at Nature Locator and Natural Apptitude. CEH provided funding for the project and have linked it to the iRecord system for sharing wildlife observations, developed by Biodiverse IT and the BRC.

Tomorrow is the weekend and it's forecast to be sunny in many areas of the UK, fantastic conditions for recording butterflies. Download iRecord butterflies now and give it a try!

Barnaby Smith

Update 1 - 13 April 2014

It's 6pm at the end of the first weekend since the iRecord Butterlies app went on general release. I've just glanced at the Butterfly App Info Centre on the iRecord website. In just over 48 hours 774 records of 20 species have been submitted and numbers are increasing every time I check. Great work by all of you who've been out recording over the last two days. 80 photos have accompanied these sightings.

However...team 'Butterfly' still have some way to go to get past the Ladybird recorders. Since the iRecord Ladybirds App was launched last year 6720 records of 31 species have been submitted, plus a fantastic total of 5013 photos (approximately 3 photos for every 4 records). More details are on the Ladybird App Info Centre.

One preliminary conclusion? It may be easier to photograph a ladybird than a butterfly!

Good luck with your recording!

Additional information

The new iRecord Butterflies app is available from iTunes and the Google store

Butterfly Conservation - Butterfly recording gets smart

iRecord website

Biological Records Centre at CEH

UK butterfly statistics 2013 – the story behind the headlines

The annual UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS) data tables have been released over the last few days, the 38th time of such a release since the scheme began in 1976. Each year the main focus of media interest tends to be on the increases and decreases for each species compared to the previous year. This year is no different with the numbers showing that in 2013 there was an increase in abundance for the majority of species (46 out of 56) as a result of last year's warm summer. The 'good' summer of 2013 followed the "worst year on record" (in butterfly terms) in 2012. Media reporting, see the Guardian here and the Daily Mail here, has reflected this change in fortunes over the annual cycle.

The common Green-veined white butterfly had its worst year on record in 2012
but bounced back in 2013. Photo: Ross Newham

Significant decline of some species

However the annual changes don’t tell the full story. As CEH butterfly ecologist Dr Marc Botham said in the press release accompanying the 2013 statistical release:

“Annual changes are largely associated with the weather. However, the data show that a number of species have been significantly declining over the last 38 years.”

In fact over the full UKBMS series, stretching back nearly four decades, 33 species have declined, 1 has remained relatively stable, and just 22 have increased, compared to the 46 that increased in abundance between 2012 and 2013. There can also be differences in the results between the full series and the last decade. Over the last 10 years 40 species have decreased in abundance.

The migrant Clouded Yellow was seen in large numbers in 2013.
Photo: Tim Heoflich

A good example of these differences is the Clouded Yellow. The species had a fantastic year in 2013 as an influx of migrants resulted in a 4373% increase over the 2012 figures, and has also had a fantastic run over the long term (back to 1979 when the species was first recorded). However its record over the last 10 years is relatively poor when compared to other species. The species list on the Butterfly Conservation website offers the following explanation:

“Clouded Yellow - Numbers on UKBMS sites vary considerably from year to year, the huge fluctuations in the collated index plot demonstrating the good migrant years where some sites record double, sometimes triple, figure numbers. In 2000 Clouded yellow produced a three figure index on four different UKBMS sites. The data show no significant trend. However, as the collated index plot shows, there has been a large increase since monitoring began and the lack of significance is likely a result of the recent run of poor migrant years.”

Another example is the Small Tortoiseshell. Across 1755 recording sites the species had a great year in 2013 compared to 2012 but it has done much less well over the last decade, and very badly over the full series of record (back to 1976). The UKBMS factsheet - see the graph under Log Collated index - shows this long term decline. The factsheet offers some explanation:

"The data show a significant decline in the Small Tortoiseshell since 1976. Although this species does generally show annual fluctuations in abundance, the recent pattern of underlying decline has seen it regularly produce some of its lowest indices of the series."

The garden favourite Small Tortoiseshell, photo by Ross Newham

New analytical method

The 2013 numbers are also the first to incorporate trend estimates using a new analytical method. As the 2012 UKBMS report states:

“A paper describing the method has been published in a widely respected peer-reviewed scientific journal, Methods in Ecology and Evolution (DOI: 10.1111/2041- 210X.12053). Briefly, the method uses all butterfly counts in a season to estimate the seasonal pattern of butterfly counts for that year, and uses this to weight observed counts when calculating annual population indices and trends over time. Compared to the current analysis approach, the new method has several advantages. Firstly, it provides a more precise method for measuring butterfly trends. Secondly, it enables us to include all transect counts within the assessment of trends, thereby making more efficient use of recorders’ efforts and covering more sites within the geographic range of each species. Finally, for reporting trends in the future, we intend to combine data from traditional transects and data from the Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey, enabling butterfly trends to be more representative.”

The observant among you will notice that the 2013 results from the Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey (WCBS), incorporated in today’s 2013 UKBMS results, were separately released in February  and showed that Farmland butterflies thrived during last years hot summer. One of my previous blogs explains the difference between the WCBS and the UKBMS.

In summary

All of the above highlights the vital importance of maintaining long-term monitoring, which is reliant on the immense dedication of thousands of volunteers, mixed with high quality analysis from the supporting scientific team at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and Butterfly Conservation. It is only by continuing to do this that we can ensure the best available evidence is collected to best inform the UK’s conservation policy.

Barnaby Smith, CEH Media Relations Manager

Additional information

Data table - summary of species abundance 2013

Data table - significant difference between England, Scotland and Wales

United Kingdom Butterfly Monitoring scheme

UKBMS is run by CEH and our partners in the scheme Butterfly Conservation (BC) and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, and has collated records since 1976. The scheme now involves thousands of volunteers collecting data every week throughout the summer from more than 1,000 sites across the UK. CEH and BC are very grateful to all the volunteer recorders for their hard work and tenacity in walking their butterfly transects during 2013.

Slideshow of butterflies featured in 2013 butterfly statistics

In 2012 I blogged about how the UKBMS annual figures are used as indicators by Government to monitor long term changes in the UK’s biodiversity (See: Butterflies, biodiversity indicators and long-term change).

Links to CEH news stories about the Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey

2013 results: Farmland butterflies thrived in 2013
2012 results: Grass-feeding butterflies defy 2012 deluge
2011 results: Small Tortoiseshell decline highlighted in new study

Links to CEH news stories about the United Kingdom Butterfly Monitoring scheme


2012 results: Washout 2012 was the worst year for UK butterflies on record
2011 results: Record-breaking 2011 Spring helped some of the UK's rarer butterflies
2010 results: Rare butterflies show signs of recovery
2009 results: Fears grow for some of Britain's rarest butterflies
2008 results: UK butterfly numbers fall to new low
2007 results: Butterflies at record low after wet summer of 2007

Assessing and managing the risks of climate change

The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), published this week, says that the effects of climate change are already occurring on all continents and across the oceans. In many cases, it warns, the world is ill-prepared for risks from a changing climate. There are opportunities to respond to such risks, it says, though they will be difficult to manage with high levels of warming.

The report, titled Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability, from Working Group II of the IPCC, details the impacts of climate change to date, the future risks from a changing climate, and the opportunities for effective action to reduce risks.

Responding to its publication, scientists from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) made the following comments:

Dr Richard Harding, Senior Hydrologist

“The first report of the IPCC fifth assessment concluded that human activities were already having an impact on our climate. This second report assesses the considerable number of studies investigating the current and future impacts of these climate changes and possible adaption strategies. The report concludes that warming increases the likelihood of severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts. Some ecosystems and cultures are already at risk from climate change and there is a warning of irreversible changes. In the future we will see increasing water scarcity and negative impacts on food production. Climate change is increasing the risks of extreme events (flooding, high temperatures etc) and the impacts are greatest for the most disadvantaged communities.

These impacts can be moderated by reducing their rate of change by mitigation, i.e. reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, and planning. The impacts from recent climate extremes show a considerable vulnerability and exposure to present day variability. This vulnerability will increase as the climate changes. The impacts, however, can be moderated by adaptive planning, by all sections of society. A first step towards this adaption is reducing our exposure to current extremes - this is a double win, giving protection now and increased resilience in the future.

This report is yet another wake-up call to take action on climate change. It illustrates that it is not too late to take action but the consequences of inaction will be wide-ranging and serious.”

Dr Stephen Thackeray, Lake ecologist and project lead of Shifting seasons, climate change & ecosystems consequences:

“The second report of the IPCC fifth assessment capitalises upon the increasing body of evidence that climate change has already had an effect upon wild plants and animals, and the wider ecosystems within which they interact. The report makes it clear that these effects may be complex because ecosystems respond to the interactive effects of a changing climate and many other stressors, such as habitat modification and pollution. It is clear that we need to understand, and plan for, these interactive effects if we are to successfully manage the natural world under ongoing climate change.”

Additional information

CEH scientists take part in research looking at the impacts of climate change on species and the environment and have an extensive network of long-term monitoring and experimental field sites. Analysis and modelling of these data provide early warning of change and are helping to deliver management solutions for land and freshwaters across the UK and globally.

Climate change is increasing the risk of extreme events.

Research involving CEH showed that the
Comma butterfly has expanded its UK range
northwards rapidly. Photo: Shutterstock

Examples of CEH climate change research

Future Flows and Groundwater Levels project details and datasets

Shifting seasons, climate change and ecosystem consequences project details

Ecological Processes & Resilience science area 

Meeting the Challenges of Environmental Change - CEH's Science Strategy 2014-2019

Related CEH news on climate change research

Drought and climate change - an uncertain future?

Water and climate change in the UK - assessing the evidence

Climate impacts evidence for biodiversity changes in the UK's countryside

Butterfly expanding northwards with warming temperatures and changed diet

Accelerating climate change exerts strong pressure on Europe's mountain flora

Wildlife responds increasingly rapidly to climate change

Posted by Paulette Burns

Spring has sprung – wildlife records and the shifting seasons

According to Google’s latest doodle, spring begins today, 20 March, in the northern hemisphere. At CEH we tend to follow the Met Office seasonal definition* which lists 1 March as the start date. Whichever way you look at it, spring-like weather has been seen in many areas of the UK over the last couple of weeks, and our natural environment is beginning to react.

Primroses. Photo on Flickr by anemoneprojectors used under
Creative Commons licence.

Many of the environmental records held at CEH have been crucial in tracking the start of spring over recent decades. As a result we tend to get lots of questions at this time of year along the lines of:

• "Which species have been seen so far?"
• "How does 2014 compare to previous years?"
• "Is there anything unusual happening?"
• Finally, the big one, "Is it spring yet?"

To answer these questions we turn to our national experts and our long-term large-scale datasets. Scientists across CEH work on a broad range of species ranging from invertebrates through plants to seabirds. Much of the work is at the broad national scale, but we also get detailed field observations sent to us, particularly via the 80+ wildlife recording schemes and societies that are part of the Biological Records Centre.

Earlier this week I asked some of our ecologists to tell me about their latest ‘spring’ related projects and observations:

Dr Stephen Thackeray is leading a project on shifting seasons. He writes, “Over the past few decades we have seen that, on average, many signs of spring have been occurring earlier in the year. However variable weather conditions mean that, in any single year, the timing of these natural events may be relatively early or late compared to this long-term change. We are currently investigating differences in the sensitivity of many of the nation’s favourite signs of spring to changes in temperature and rainfall, to better understand the reasons behind these long-term patterns of change in UK freshwater and dry-land environments, and in our coastal seas.”

Dr Michael Pocock, an ecologist in the Biological Records Centre at CEH, said, "With the milder weather over the past few weeks, queen bumblebees have been emerging from hibernation and beginning prospecting nesting sites. I’ve seen buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) and tree bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum) queens out already. Plants like sallows (with their pussy willow catkins) and winter-flowering heathers (in gardens) are important early sources of nectar for these bees.

"They will be establishing their nests and will produce workers later in the year. It is these workers that will be counted by thousands of school children and other participants for a ‘citizen science’ project later in the year, seeking to look at the effects of our landscape on bumblebee diversity.” The project Michael refers to is the Big Bumblebee Discovery.

7-spot ladybird, photo Helen Roy

Dr Helen Roy, like Michael an ecologist in the Biological Records Centre at CEH, has a particular interest in ladybirds. She also co-leads the UK Ladybird Survey. In 2014, the survey has already received reports of many of the 46 species of ladybird in the UK including the 22-spot, harlequin, the Adonis ladybird, 11-spot, cream, orange, heather, 16-spot,  10-spot and even the very rare 13-spot ladybird.  There’s also been lots of 7-spots reported, which is excellent news. Dr Roy is often asked about the impact of the alien Harlequin ladybird on the UK’s native species which include the 7-spot and 2-spot.

She says, “In 2012 harlequin numbers were slightly reduced because of the dreadfully wet spring and summer. In 2013 the spring was slow to get going but the fantastic weather through July and August enabled the harlequin to increase in numbers. This alien species can continually reproduce throughout the warm weather and so has the advantage of getting through a couple of generations per year. In contrast many of our native species have only one generation per year. So the high numbers of harlequins are a consequence of a good summer - favourable weather and lots of food (aphids).

"In contrast 7-spot ladybirds didn't fare so well last year but, so far, the numbers of records received by the UK Ladybird Survey in 2014 are encouraging. So although there were fewer 7-spot ladybirds around to overwinter  through 2013-2014 compared to 2012-2013, a good number have survived. Tens of thousands of people have got involved with the UK Ladybird Survey and their observations contribute enormously to our understanding of ladybird ecology."

Finally, Dr Marc Botham, who works on the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme,  gave me some butterfly information. As expected all the UK butterfly species that overwinter as adults were seen very early in January this year given the mild (if rather wet) weather in the South. Within the last two weeks as the sun has come out there have been observations of various 'spring' species including Small white, Large white, Holly blue and Speckled wood. More can be found on the first sightings page.

Speckled wood butterfly, photo: Shutterstock

The best way to record your wildlife observations is via iRecord.  It’s time to get outdoors and get recording!

Barnaby Smith 

Additional information

*Met Office: When does spring start - the difference between the meteorological and astronomical seasons

UK Butterfly monitoring – explaining the schemes and surveys

There’s been lots of coverage today of a new set of data on UK butterfly numbers. You may have seen headlines such as “Farmland butterflies bounce” back and “British farmland butterflies bounce back after 2013 summer, survey finds”.

The reports are based on a new release of data which was collected in 2013 as part of the Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey (WCBS).

The WCBS is run by Butterfly Conservation, the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and The Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH).

As today’s press release from Butterfly Conservation states “The annual survey (WCBS), running since 2009, counts butterflies in more than 850 randomly selected 1km-squares across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to assess the health of butterfly populations across the wider countryside rather than at specially managed hotspots such as nature reserves.” 

 

Common blue (photo by Ross Newham)

WCBS is part of the United Kingdom Butterfly Monitoring scheme (UKBMS), which has been running since 1976, and has a remit to monitors changes in the abundance of butterflies throughout the United Kingdom since 1976. Regular readers of this blog will already know how UKBMS data contributes to some of the biodiversity indicators which inform UK environmental policy making.

For those confused by the multiple butterfly surveys and schemes operated in the UK the following details may help.

• Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey, running since 2009, aims to more effectively monitor the changing abundance of widespread butterfly species across the general countryside.
• United Kingdom Butterfly Monitoring scheme, running since 1976, is very effective at monitoring habitat specialist butterflies and lowland semi-natural habitats.

According to the UKBMS website, in the 37 years the scheme has operated, "Recorders have made around a quarter of a million weekly visits to more than 1,500 separate sites, walking over half a million kilometres and counting over 16.4 million butterflies!”  

The UKBMS 2013 results should be out in a few weeks time. The 2012 results were published on 26 March 2013.

All the butterfly surveys, as well as the majority of wildlife recording in the UK, principally rely on the efforts of volunteers so I’ll leave the last word to Kate Risely. Kate co-ordinates the Breeding Bird Survey butterfly surveyors at the BTO. She commented earlier, "These results demonstrate the value of large scale volunteer surveys for monitoring country-wide trends in butterfly numbers. Recording butterflies and birds at the same sites gives us a unique insight into the health of our countryside.”

Barnaby Smith, Media Relations Manager, Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

Update 20 February 2013

Links to CEH news stories about the Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey

2013 results Farmland butterflies thrived in 2013
2012 results Grass-feeding butterflies defy 2012 deluge
2011 results Small Tortoiseshell decline highlighted in new study

Links to CEH news stories about the United Kingdom Butterfly Monitoring scheme

The 2013 results will be published in a few weeks
2012 results Washout 2012 was the worst year for UK butterflies on record
2011 results Record-breaking 2011 Spring helped some of the UK's rarer butterflies
2010 results Rare butterflies show signs of recovery
2009 results Fears grow for some of Britain's rarest butterflies
2008 results UK butterfly numbers fall to new low
2007 results Butterflies at record low after wet summer of 2007

United Kingdom Butterfly Monitoring scheme data and results

Key findings including annual, 10-year and long-term (series) trends for 56 species
Reports and publications
Obtaining data

Biodiversity indicators and the Biological Records Centre

The 2013 update to the UK Biodiversity Indicators has just been published on the JNCC website.
 
CEH scientists working within the Biological Records Centre contribute to several of the indicators, building on our wealth of knowledge and links to most of the UK's wildlife recording schemes. In particular, for 2013, our scientists have contributed to development of the new index on the status of priority species (C4a).

Dr Nick Isaac of CEH explains more:

"The new indicator C4a uses data from national surveys, such as the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme. The index provides an annual summary of the abundance of 210 mammal, bird, butterfly and moth species, all of which have been identified as priorities for the four national conservation agencies. This property makes this index much more sensitive than the old C4, in which species were categorised as declining, stable or increasing based on expert opinion."

"In addition, we also produced a supplementary index based on distribution data. These 'biological records' are not collected in a standardised way, which makes the data extremely noisy and liable to produce biased estimates of species trends. Within the Biological Records Centre, we've invested heavily in trying to understand this bias, and to extract a meaningful signal of change from the noise in the data. This investment has now paid off, because we're now able to report on the status of  taxonomic groups, such as bees, that lack standardised monitoring schemes."

"Both the abundance and distribution-based indicators show a decline of 50-60% since 1970, reinforcing the message that conservation agencies have their work cut out to prevent more species from going extinct."

More details of the C4a indicator can be found in the technical report, "Status of threatened species - status of priority species".

Other UK biodiversity indicators with CEH involvement include:

• C6. Insects of the wider countryside (butterflies) population (data from CEH's joint stewardship of the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme with Butterfly Conservation)

• C2. Habitat Connectivity (Countryside Survey data)

• B6. Pressure from Invasive species (reflecting our work with the National Biodiversity Network)

• B5. Pressure from Pollution

• C7. Plants of the wider countryside (data from CEH's Countryside Survey)

CEH science also played a key role in the 2011 National Ecosystem Assessment, which is the basis of Indicator D2. Biodiversity and ecosystem services (terrestrial).

Additional information

Biological Records Centre

Staff page of Dr Nick Isaac, CEH

A day out on the farm - collecting scientific data during Open Farm Sunday

Staff and students from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) were heavily involved with the second national farm pollinator survey on 9 June 2013, which took place as part of Open Farm Sunday. Kate Titford, a student spending the summer at CEH, describes the role she played on the day and reflects on the role members of the public can play in collecting scientific data.

You don’t have to be a professional scientist to contribute to science these days. With recent reports of declines in many species across the country everyone can play their part in monitoring changes. Sunday 9 June saw the second annual pollinator surveys taking place on farms across the UK as part of Open Farm Sunday. Scientists and volunteers from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) helped members of the public to count pollinators buzzing around crops, pasture and field margins rich with wild flowers.

I joined the team at Waddesdon Estate, Buckinghamshire, commandeering visitors queuing for the tractor trailer rides to take part in a survey. After a cool, cloudy start to the day the sun appeared and brought out the crowds and the insects, too. Our budding scientists ranged from little children, keen to see insects in action after learning about them at school, to mums waiting for children to return from the trailer rides and interested in discovering more about these vital creatures. On our farm we mostly surveyed grass fields and pasture, and their flowering margins whilst other farms surveyed crops as well.



Examining a farmland field margin at Waddesdon Manor during the farm
pollinator survey held during Open Farm Sunday. Photo: Heather Lowther



Tiny parasitic wasps intrigued lots of our citizen scientists. “That’s really a wasp” and “can it sting me?” were frequent comments. Miniature micro moths and beetle larvae hiding in flowers kept children busy counting to make sure none were missed.

As essential to farms as the gigantic combine harvester sharing our field, pollinators are a key part of producing our food and so monitoring numbers will give scientists a better idea about how they are faring. Thanks to all our lovely volunteers, we managed to complete more than 30 surveys giving us valuable data to add to the records from the other farms. All the results from this year will be combined with those from last year to study any changes in the pollinators surveyed.

Younger visitors were enthusiastic contributors to the pollinator survey at
Waddesdon. Photo: Heather Lowther

So, not only did all our enthusiastic volunteers (and I) enjoy a day out at the farm, they made an important contribution to science as well. Twelve-year-old Ella, who took part in the pollinator survey at Waddesdon, said, “I really enjoyed the pollinator survey it was very interesting and we found lots of good bugs and some amazing beetle larvae! I enjoyed contributing to this science research because it is very interesting to learn about pollinators and it makes you feel good to think that your survey has contributed to real science!” 

To take part in a whole variety of surveys as a citizen scientist yourself, look at the Biological Records Centre website for more information.

Kate Titford

Kate is a student at Reading University undertaking a Masters project at CEH (using data from the UK Ladybird Survey) for the summer.

Additional information

Latest results from the Pollinator Survey from the Open Farm Sunday website

More details about the farm pollinator survey from the Open Farm Sunday website

Results from the 2012 Open Farm Sunday Pollinator Survey

Butterflies, biodiversity indicators and long-term change

Updated 1655 19th April 2012 with table of 'winners' and 'losers' (see below)


This morning the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme published results for surveys carried out in 2011. The UKBMS has run since 1976 and involves thousands of volunteers collecting data every week throughout the summer from more than 1000 sites across the UK.

Data for the UKBMS is classified as official statistics which are subsequently used as biodiversity indicators for the whole of the UK and at a country level in England and Scotland. The data is crunched to produce indicators for habitat specialist and wider countryside specialists. In England there is more detailed work producing indicators which analyse differences in farmland and woodland habitats.

Heath Fritillary c. Ross Newham



 

Annual trends are interesting, but monitoring of longer term changes is also very important in order to assess the state of UK butterfly populations. Dr Marc Botham stated in the press release accompanying the UKBMS 2011 release that, “Annual trends show us how strongly the day-to-day weather can affect butterfly populations in the short-term but the UKBMS dataset collected over 36 years reiterates the importance of long-term data in assessing the beyond these annual fluctuations.”

Trends in specialist and wider countryside species - taken from 'The State of the UK's Butterflies 2011'

If you’re interested in the longer term changes in the state of UK butterflies take a look at the “The State of the UK’s Butterflies 2011” report, published late last year, which uses the UKBMS data collected over two decades to conclude that “Almost three-quarters of UK butterfly species have decreased in population during the last decade.”

Links

CEH news story on the 2011 UKBMS results

More on how butterfly data is used for biodiversity indicators can be found on the UKBMS website

The latest UK Biodiversity indicators were published in May 2011  The 2012 version should be published next month and will incorporate the UKBMS statistics published today.

The 2011 UKBMS statistics 'Summary of changes' can be found here (pdf)

Examples of butterfly species used within the different indicators include:

Farmland – Adonis blue

Woodland- Purple emperor, white admiral, purple hairstreak

Specialists – large blue, the fritillaries

Wider countryside – Peacock, small tortoiseshell, orange tip, all of the whites

More details are available from The UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme

Update - 1655 17th April 2012

Butterfly Conservation, our partners in the Uk Butterfly Monitoring Scheme have supplied a table of the top 10 species of 'winner's and 'losers' from the 2011 statistics. n.b. results should be interpreted with caution as some of the percentage values, such as the number for the Glanville Fritillary, are based on relatively small sample sizes. All the background details can be found in the pdf file containing the full statistics here.