2026 4Bs Butterfly Count

For the second year running the Big Butterfly Count took place in the middle of a long hot summer. While much of our wildlife has been stressed the butterfly count turned up some cheering numbers. Across 49 x fifteen-minute counts, 4Bs volunteers logged 718 butterflies and day-flying moths — an average of nearly fifteen per count, up a quarter on last year's tally despite fewer counts being made.

Gatekeeper topped the table this year (210 individuals), with Meadow Brown and Common Blue close behind, followed by Large and Small Whites. The Common Blue butterfly is a fussy species, needing species-rich, unimproved grassland with vetches and trefoils that's becoming harder to find in the wider countryside — its steady presence here says something good about what we're protecting.

The full results for the national survey are yet to be published but preliminary data suggests the average per count will be around  10.1 compared to our local count of 14.7 which is a genuinely positive sign.

                                             Top five in 4Bs Butterfly Count 2026

But according to Professor Richard Fox there a sting in the tail?
Heatwaves, like those we’ve experienced this summer, aren’t likely to be a major problem for butterflies themselves. But very high temperatures may impact on a butterfly’s fertility, as well as killing the eggs they have laid through dehydration. But the biggest threat comes from drought. Newly hatched caterpillars need fresh green plants on which to feed. During prolonged drought, many of the plants that caterpillars rely on wither and die, starving the caterpillars. Fewer caterpillars mean fewer butterflies, so the next generation of butterflies will be much reduced.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the Big Butterfly Count this year
 
A report of the 2026 4Bs butterfly count can be found on the 4Bs Biodiversity Initiative website https://www.biodiversitypark.uk/4bs-butterflies.html