Go outside and count butterflies is the message from Sir David Attenborough, president of Butterfly Conservation.
A report by the European Environment Agency says grassland butterflies, especially the common blue, have declined by nearly 50% between 1990 and 2011. It suggests that butterflies suffer from both over-intensive farming and from the abandonment of low income farmland due to lack of support from the CAP-the problem is particularly acute in northwest Europe.
To join the Big Butterfly Count, visit www.bigbutterflycount.org or telephone 01929 400209.