News and blog

We're asking people to help butterflies and moths by leaving leaf litter, keeping branches and letting plant stems go uncut in the garden this winter. So here are some ideas for alternatives to gardening this winter.

The leaves in your garden could be hiding a multitude of insects this winter.

Most insects in the UK take a break in the winter months. Unlike mammals and birds they can't easily heat themselves up, and their sources of food from plants dwindle. But a few hardy butterflies and moths can be seen during this time, with some moths only appearing as adults during the months when few other insects are on the wing. 

A new Red List assessment of the extinction risk of butterfly species in Great Britain has been produced by Butterfly Conservation.

The largest survey of pollinator abundance in Wales has found that woodland and hedgerow creation can play a crucial role in action to reverse declines in insects that are essential for crop yield and other wildlife.

The use of data in our policy and advocacy work - the Quinquennial Review of the Wildlife and Countryside Act (QQR) and the Oak Processionary Moth.

A new paper, led by Callum Macgregor and colleagues at the University of Hull, UKCEH and Butterfly Conservation researched the species richness of birds, plants and insects in relation to historical landfill sites.

We interview Butterfly Conservation's Ecological Statistician, Lisbeth Hordley, and find out about the projects she is working on.

Wildlife charity warns that we must act now if we are to save the UK’s butterflies and moths for future generations.

We at Butterfly Conservation, Newcastle University and the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology were shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the recent sudden loss of Douglas Boyes. A supremely talented, enthusiastic and dedicated young scientist he was also a kind and generous colleague to those he worked with, and a young man who had already achieved so much in his career and life to date.

Our craft club returns on January 20th 2022 and this time you can felt your own Red Admiral butterfly.
Suitable for complete beginners as well as more experienced crafters, you’ll receive all the materials you need to take part.

The threatened Brown Hairstreak butterfly’s range in South-west Wales has more than halved in the last decade, a new study by Butterfly Conservation South Wales Branch reveals. 

Welsh edition of "Call to landowners to help save threatened West Wales butterfly" article - Mae dyfodol y Brithribin Brown yn y fantol yn Ne Orllewin Cymru wrth i wasgariad ei diriogaeth grebachu o fwy na’i hanner dros y degawd diwethaf, yn ôl astudiaeth newydd gan Gangen y De o Gwarchod Glöynnod Byw (BC).  

A new ground-breaking study from Butterfly Conservation, the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and Newcastle University has shown streetlights in southern England reduce the abundance of moth caterpillars.

Where have the butterflies gone? Butterfly Conservation launches this year’s Big Butterfly Count with urgent appeal for public’s help after disastrous spring weather. 

A surge in enthusiasm for observing moths during the lockdowns has resulted in some UK counties recording their first sightings of rare species. Scientists are now hoping there will be similar exciting finds during this year’s Moth Night (8 to 10 July), and are calling on the public to submit their daytime and nighttime sightings of species, as well as photographs.

Butterfly Conservation has teamed up with expert crafters The Makerss for a special online event to show you how to needle felt your own Large Blue butterfly. 

The Heath Fritillary, one of the UK’s rarest butterflies, has been discovered for the first time at the Woodland Trust’s Victory Wood in east Kent.

Garden wildlife specialists Vivara have teamed up with Butterfly Conservation to help encourage people to become citizen scientists this summer.

Butterfly Conservation joins other nature groups in warning that the Government's new target in the Environment Bill has fallen short of the action needed for nature.

A new three-year conservation project, which aims to reverse the declines of specific species of butterfly and moth in the Midlands area, has been announced by wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation in partnership with Severn Trent.

Garden wildlife specialists Vivara has teamed up with wildlife charity, Butterfly Conservation, to help encourage people to become citizen scientists this summer.

New initiative encourages Londoners to spot some special butterflies this half term.

British luxury footwear brand Sophia Webster has released two new designs in collaboration with Butterfly Conservation to help raise awareness and funds for threatened butterfly species.

A new project called Kent’s Magnificent Moths will save and celebrate some of the UK’s most unique and special moths which are found in the county.

In the wake of the inter-supermarket caterpillar cake debacle, Iceland has announced it will launch brand-new Iceland Bonny the Butterfly Cakes to promote the importance of biodiversity, with all profits going to Butterfly Conservation.

Join us for our Butterflies of the Lake District webinar and learn about the common and rare species you can find here. Plus, by signing up you'll be helping fund on-the-ground conservation work in nearby Morecambe Bay.

Residents of Norton in Stourbridge are set to see a boost to numbers of the striking Scarlet Tiger moth thanks to a £3,938 grant from Ibstock Enovert Trust (IET).

Wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation is launching its Nurture for Nature campaign today, in partnership with Dobbies Garden Centres, in a bid to encourage more people to look after themselves by looking after the natural world this spring.

2020 hailed as a ‘good’ year for butterflies - but conservation scientists warn that our view of what is ‘good’ might be shifting