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Why count butterflies?
Butterflies are good indicators for the quality of habitats. Many butterfly species are highly dependent on the availability of certain food plants and the presence of landscape features such as hedges, trees or forest edges. Butterflies are therefore sensitive to changes in habitat quality, land use intensity and landscape structure. For this reason, the EU has decided to include the Grassland butterfly index as one of three indicators of the quality of agricultural ecosystems.
How can you participate?
Counting butterflies is fun, easy, relaxing and only takes 15 minutes of your time. All you need is an observation site (ideally on agricultural land) and the Butterfly Count app installed on your phone (download below). If you don't have a smartphone, you can also find a printable recording sheet HERE.
Spread the word!
Please spread the word among your friends, colleagues and neighbours! The more people counting butterflies, the more reliable the conclusions we can draw from the data, and the better we can adapt our farming practices to benefit biodiversity.
Download the Butterfly Count app here
Register your observation site!
When you start counting butterflies somewhere, the first thing we need you to do is to register the site, so that we can make sure the data from your observations is associated with the project and the specific site.
We need some information about the characteristics of the site, such as the size of the field, the crops grown on it, neighbouring habitats, etc. These details help us draw conclusions about how certain agricultural practices and landscape features affect butterfly diversity.
Find out more
Download 'How To' guides (in English, Deutsch, Français, Magyar, български)
Butterfly surveys in your region or country
FAQs