Counting the cost of ecosystem decline as charity releases data

Large White butterfly came out on top and was up 44% from the 2019 count . Photo: Peter Eeles

The Big Butterfly Count 2020 showed the Large White top the list, with an abundance of 268,925 and average of 2.03 per individual count, up 44% on 2019. Other results were:

Small White - 260,434, average 1.97, up 7%

Gatekeeper - 188,866, average 1.43, down 14%

Peacock - 163,351, average 1.23, down 42%

Meadow Brown - 146,273, average 1.1, down 2%

Red Admiral - 82,534, average 0.62, down 33%

Small Tortoiseshell - 56,105, average 0.42, down 41%

Common Blue - 34,762, average 0.26, up 9%

Ringlet - 34,577, average 0.26, down 18%

Comma - 30,856, average 0.23, down 29%

Green-veined White - 30,127, average 0.23, down 33%

Speckled Wood - 29,971, average 0.23, down 33%

Holly Blue - 23,519, average 0.18, up 48%

Small Copper - 20,423, average 0.15, up 40%

Brimstone - 11,771, average 0.09, down 1%

Six-spot Burnet - 11,073, average 0.08, down 36%

Marbled White - 9,054, average 0.07, down 38%

Painted Lady - 8,368, average 0.06, down 99%

Silver Y - 2,360, average 0.02, down 70%

Total - 1,413,349, average 10.66, down 34%