Red admirals have had a record summer despite wet weather conditions causing problems for other butterflies, conservationists said.
Results from the Big Butterfly Count show the striking red admirals saw numbers rise by 75 per cent compared to 2016, with more than 73,000 spotted by the public during the three-week survey.
It is the highest number since the citizen science count began in 2010, and as many as were counted in the last three years put together, the scheme’s organisers Butterfly Conservation said.
The boom in numbers saw it come second in the overall rankings for most commonly seen butterflies, behind the gatekeeper which also saw its numbers up 24 per cent on last year.
Numbers of the comma rose 90 per cent on last year’s count, and the small copper saw a 62 per cent increase.
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