Big Butterfly Count 2015: Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus Has Top Spot

Summary: Butterfly Conservation's sixth annual butterfly count, Big Butterfly Count 2015, set records for participation and sightings. Top spot went to Gatekeeper.

Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus), also known as Hedge Brown in UK, is #1 for abundance in Big Butterfly Count 2015; orange-and-brown butterfly with black eyespot at each forewing tip; each eyespot has two white pupils; often seen at entrances and gateways, along field edges and hedgerows; Friday, July 11, 2008: José Ramón P.V., CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Flickr

Big Butterfly Count 2015, Butterfly Conservation’s sixth annual nationwide survey, took place from July 17 to Aug. 9, broke participation and sighting records and gave top spot for highest numbers to Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus).

With over 52,000 participants, this year’s event shattered 2013’s high of 46,400. Submitted counts totaled 50,037. With over 5,300 completed counts, Saturday, Aug. 8, held the honor of highest ever counts on a single day. This year’s counting brought the total for all six years to over 208,000 counts.

Almost 585,000 individual butterflies and moths were logged. Since 2014’s count, levels dropped for seven species and increased for eleven. Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) showed the biggest increase, at 151 percent. The biggest decline, at -61 percent change, fell to the Peacock (Aglais io), which won the top spot with 95,551 sightings in 2014 but received only 42,754 counts this year. Sliding from its usual spot in seventh or eighth place down into eleventh place with 14,437 counts, Green-veined White (Pieris napi) fell out of the top 10 for the first time in six years.

The overall top species in the United Kingdom for Big Butterfly Count 2015 were finalized with Gatekeeper as most sighted in first place and Common Blue as least sighted in 10th place.
Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus) = 106,995
Large White (Pieris brassicae) = 83,042
Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) = 76,713
Small White (Pieris rapae) = 72,483
Peacock (Aglais io) = 42,754
Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) = 31,322
Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus) = 27,604
Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) = 21,027
Comma (Polygonia c-album) = 18,765
Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) = 17,932

England's top ten mirrored the overall UK list. The exact match occurred because the vast majority, at over 90 percent, of the counts took place in England, the location of most of UK’s population.

Outside of England, the top spot was held by Ringlet for Northern Ireland and Scotland and by Meadow Brown for Wales. Second place went to Meadow Brown for Northern Ireland and Scotland and to Gatekeeper for Wales. Third place went to Small Tortoiseshell for Northern Ireland and Scotland and to Ringlet for Wales.

Launched in 2010, the Big Butterfly Count takes place annually throughout the United Kingdom. Participation since 2014’s count increased by 18 percent in England and by 9 percent in Wales but decreased by 41 percent in Northern Ireland and by 37 percent in Scotland. The drops in Northern Ireland and Scotland’s participants were attributed to excessively bad weather, especially in July.

The Big Butterfly Count consists of a 15 minute survey, taken in a sunny spot, with 20 targeted species of butterflies and moths. Records are submitted separately for different places as well as for the same place on different dates. Counts are done, while walking or while still, in any location, including fields, forests, gardens, parks and school grounds. The absence of butterflies or moths at a site is noted and is important for the survey’s aim of assessing the environmental health of the United Kingdom.

Big Butterfly Count 2016 is slated to take place from July 15 to Aug. 7.

With a 151 percent increase in numbers over 2014, holly blue butterfly (Celastrina argiolus) claimed place 14 in the 2015 Big Butterfly Count: NT Press Office @NTPressOffice, via Twitter Oct. 13, 2015

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus), also known as Hedge Brown in UK, is #1 for abundance in Big Butterfly Count 2015; orange-and-brown butterfly with black eyespot at each forewing tip; each eyespot has two white pupils; often seen at entrances and gateways, along field edges and hedgerows; Friday, July 11, 2008: José Ramón P.V., CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/36343994@N08/5374628811/

With a 151 percent increase in numbers over 2014, holly blue butterfly (Celastrina argiolus) claimed place 14 in the 2015 Big Butterfly Count: NT Press Office NTPressOffice, via Twitter Oct. 13, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/NTPressOffice/status/653915092971601922

For further information:

"Big Butterfly Count 2015 results." Big Butterfly Count > 2015 main results.
Available @ http://www.bigbutterflycount.org/2015mainresults

"Big Butterfly Count 2014." Butterfly Conservation > Big Butterfly Count 2014.
Available @ http://butterfly-conservation.org/6115/big-butterfly-count-2014.html

NT Press Office NTPressOffice. "The results are in for the 2015 Big Butterfly Count from our friends at @savebutterflies." Twitter. 13 October 2015.
Available @ https://twitter.com/NTPressOffice/status/653915092971601922