If you see one of these 5 butterflies during lockdown, you need to record it
Wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation needs your help looking out for butterflies during lockdown, as part of a nationwide study to measure the impacts of climate change.
Their plea to the public comes after the charity's scientists and volunteers are unable to monitor wildlife sites because of social distancing restrictions. Recordings of the UK's beautiful butterflies are set to be severely affected this spring, but there are hopes that if everyone works together, data on the insects can still be gathered.
Want to help? Some of the butterflies to look out for this spring include (pics below)...
Brimstone
Comma
Speckled Wood
Holly Blue
Orange-tip
Richard Fox, Associate Director Recording and Research, said on their website: "Studying the changing flight times and locations of butterfly species across the UK is vital to understanding the impacts of climate change on our native wildlife.
"This spring we are going to have a gap in our phenology data as our scientists and volunteers are not able to carry out their usual monitoring at nature reserves and across the UK countryside.
"If you live in certain areas, particularly in northern England and in Scotland, we're particularly interested in your observations as all of these butterflies are spreading northwards, colonising areas where they didn't occur previously. The Comma, for example, has spread hundreds of miles northwards since the 1970s. Just this week we received a sighting from a garden in Fife which was the first Comma that the volunteer had seen there in 60 years."
Heading out on a walk this week? Why not grab your camera and keep an eye out for beautiful butterflies resting on flower heads. See what they look like below...
The Comma butterfly
The Brimstone butterfly
The Speckled Wood butterfly
The Holly Blue butterfly
The Orange Tip butterfly
How can you get involved with the hunt?
To get involved, all you have to do is take a picture of any butterflies you spot in your garden or when taking a walk outside.
Simply...
Sign up to become a Butterfly Conservation citizen scientist
Download the iRecord app to your phone
Spot butterflies in your garden and record them on the app, or submit them via their website
You can also share your findings online with others around the country by tagging @savebutterflies
Elsewhere, in July this year, the charity will also be welcoming the return of their Big Butterfly Count campaign. For the first time, Chris Packham will also be supporting the campaign, encouraging Brits to hunt for butterflies.
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