Record heatwaves bring Britain’s second-best butterfly season in 16 years

Volunteers counted almost 1.4m common butterflies and moths, with painted ladies up 335% on last year The recording-breaking heat of 2026 delivered the second-best British butterfly season of the past 16 years, according to the Big Butterfly Count . The largest insect count in the world, in which more than 100,000 volunteers counted almost 1.4m common butterflies and day-flying moths, confirmed wh