Blog

It is resolution time again so why not choose to help butterflies and moths in your garden this year? Here are five suggestions for activities to engage your brain and body.

Butterfly Conservation's (BC) Senior Education Officer, Kate Merry, takes some time out to talk about BC's Munching Caterpillars project - what it has achieved so far and plans for the future... 

Talking about the weather has become more than idle chatter. The trends are hard to ignore and climate change is no longer the elephant in the room. But what does it mean for butterflies and moths?

How flowery is your garden looking now? There are still a few butterflies around such as the Red Admiral, so it’s useful to note if you have any nectar plants available for them.

Richard Fox, Butterfly Conservation Surveys Manager explains butterfly and moth "hibernation"

From May to September around 90 volunteers across Wales report their sightings of Fritillary butterfly species. They are all compiled into a newsletter, fondly known as ‘Frits About’ which is now in its 11th year. You can find it via the Butterfly Conservation Wales web pages.

Rowan provides fuel for pollinating insects and is an important foodplant for several caterpillars

Steve Wheatley, Regional Conservation Manager for South East England, explains how the Grayling butterfly is relying on Exmoor ponies in Sussex.

The annual Scottish Member's Day was extra special this year. Find out what our members did to mark the occasion.

Find out how you can help wildlife in your garden this autumn.

Conservation Officer Patrick Cook explains how sustainable forestry can help butterflies and moths.

Gardeners and butterflies are relishing the last burst of warmth before Jack Frost arrives to dust our plants with his icy shimmer.

Inspired by Chris Packham's People's Walk For Wildlife, here are our top ten ways you can help save our environment.

Richard Fox explains how cool microclimates reduce the extinction risk for climate threatened plants and insects in England

Introducing Rachel Jones, Senior Ecologist at Butterfly Conservation who is currently researching the highly restricted Lulworth Skipper in Dorset, funded by a NERC iCASE Studentship with the University of Exeter and Butterfly Conservation.

UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS) data has been used in a study led by British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) researcher Dr Samantha Franks. The study, published in the journal Global Change Biology, investigates the potential impact of climate change on songbird populations in the UK.

Meaningful species population trends from mass-participation citizen science: the Big Butterfly Count example

A recently published large-scale collaboration, led by the RSPB, analysed the scientific data behind the State of Nature UK reports from 2013 and 2016. Professor Tom Brereton explains the findings of this paper, demonstrating just how much work goes into proving that the long-term declines in our wildlife are real and scientifically robust.

Sarah Meredith, Butterfly Conservation’s Large Blue Conservation Officer and David Simcox, of Habitat Designs Ltd and project manager for the Large Blue Committee have been jointly awarded the UK Butterflies Outstanding Contribution Award for 2018.

Heleniums bring both colour and a food source for pollinators to your flowerbeds in autumn.

The Met Office are predicting a mild start to autumn which could lead to a rise in some of the biggest and most glamorous species found in the UK.

Paloma Oteo Golderos, a biology from the University of Granada in Spain, has spent the summer working with Butterfly Conservation as part of an Erasmus traineeship. Here she explains why she swapped the Sierras for the seaside on the hunt for butterflies.

Paul Kirkland, Butterfly Conservation Director, Scotland, reveals why the Scottish Government’s decision to ‘call in’ proposals to develop a wildlife hotspot into a golf course offers nature lovers some hope.

There is increasing evidence that gardening provides substantial health benefits and improves wellbeing. Simply being in a green space can make you feel happier and healthier and gardening is an easy way to get out in nature.

Only 12 hours after Sir David Attenborough explained the personal and scientific benefits of Big Butterfly Count to the watching nation, I was standing under a tree in the pouring rain.

It’s been almost two months since the Chequered Skipper butterfly took to the wing in England for the first time in 40 years. So what’s been happening since then? 

This month the Secret Gardener investigates the best plants to provide caterpillar food and flying-fuel for both day and night flying moths.

Moth Night is the UK’s annual celebration of moths and moth recording, a chance for naturalists to raise the profile of these much-maligned creatures, for conservationists to gather useful data and for members of the public to experience the dazzling diversity of these important insects.

BC's Small Blue project aims to improve chalk downland habitats on the North Downs, mainly between Guildford and Dorking, for Britain’s smallest butterfly. Project Officer Fiona Haynes tells us more....

Butterfly Conservation Ambassador and gardening writer Kate Bradbury explains how if we all find some space for butterflies and moths we can make the world a happier and more healthy place to live.