annual Big Butterfly Count, a mass-participation initiative which invites nature-lovers to submit what they
are seeing to a public survey online.
Chris Packham, the celebrity naturalist who supports the project, called this year's migration “one of the
wonders of the natural world”. He said: “Signs across Europe are looking very promising, meaning that
2019 could be a very good year for the painted lady with high numbers already being recorded across parts
of the UK. The butterfly can turn up anywhere so please take part in the Big Butterfly Count and look out
for them – you could be witnessing a once in a decade butterfly phenomenon.”
Speaking more generally about their journey, he added: “Travelling up to 1km in the sky and at speeds of up
to 30 miles per hour these seemingly fragile creatures migrate hundreds of miles to reach our shores each
year.”
The mass arrival is some much-needed good news: according to the Butterfly Conservation Society, there is
evidence of “serious, long-term and ongoing decline of UK butterflies”. The charity’s five-yearly research,
last published in 2015, indicated 70 per cent of species had declined since 1976.