Last year I saw very few butterflies and a new report states that 2024 was the worst on record for UK butterflies with more than half of our species declining. Only six species showed an increase with 51 of the UK’s 59 species declining.  We need  to treasure our butterflies before it’s too late and it could help if we left part of our gardens wild and planted more butterfly and bee friendly plants.
Dr Richard Fox, Head of Science at Butterfly Conservation, said: “I am devastated by the decline of our beloved British butterflies, and I’m sorry to say it has been brought about by human actions: we have destroyed wildlife habitats, polluted the environment, used pesticides on an industrial scale and we are changing the climate.   That means that when we have poor weather, these already-depleted butterfly populations are highly vulnerable and can't bounce back like they once did - and with climate change, that unusual weather is becoming more and more usual."
(Thanks to BobsBlips for hosting the “Treasure” challenge)