Devon doing well in the Big Butterfly Count but more counters are needed!

The people of Devon are pulling their weight in the annual Big Butterfly Count with more than 2,100 counts carried out so far.

Between now and Sunday, August 10, the Butterfly Conservation charity is urging people of all ages to download their free app and spend 15 minutes outside counting as many species and numbers of butterflies and daytime moths as they can spot.

Butterfly spotters can also choose to download a free guide from www.bigbutterflycount.org and log their findings online if they prefer.

READ MORE: Devon’s butterflies need you! Join the Big Butterfly Count this summer

So far across the UK, Hampshire is the lead county after clocking up an impressive 2,316 counts, but Devon is hot on their tail with 2,101 counts.

Above: All ages and walks of life are invited to join the count. Credit: Butterfly Conservation

With butterflies increasingly under threat from pesticides, loss of habitat and pollution, among other things, the charity is encouraging everyone to take part in the count, from young people to grandparents, dog walkers, hikers and even office workers on their lunch break.

Last year’s count in Devon saw people record only 52,545 butterflies and day-flying moths during the three-week period, a record low level that was reflected around the country and led to the charity declaring a nationwide ‘Butterfly Emergency’.

Dr Richard Fox, head of science at Butterfly Conservation, says the loss of these delicate ‘bio-indicators’ shows there is something seriously wrong with our ecosystem.

He said: “Butterflies are beautiful, yes — but they’re also incredibly important bio-indicators. This means that as they continue to disappear, as they have over recent decades, it indicates something is going seriously wrong in our natural world. We need to heed that warning and take action before it’s too late.

“If we lose butterflies, we lose more than beauty — we lose balance in our ecosystems and that will have serious repercussions for wildlife in the UK.”

To tale part before the count ends on August 10, simply download the app or butterfly ID chart, then count and record as many butterflies as you can in 15 minutes outdoors so they can be logged on the charity’s interactive map.

The app is available from the App Store or Google Play and gives the best option for outdoor butterfly spotting, but if people prefer to download the chart, they can also log their findings online via www.bigbutterflycount.org