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Wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation have recorded the lowest number of butterflies in 11 years.

The results are from the Big Butterfly Count.

The charity asked people right across the UK to spend just 15 minutes outside on a sunny day counting the number of butterflies they see and all the different types they come across.

However this year's count has seen the lowest number of butterflies logged since the event started 11 years ago.

There was also a reduction in the average number of butterflies logged per count by minus 34% since 2019.

Overall during this year's Big Butterfly Count, over 1.4 million butterflies were counted across the UK.

Dr Zoë Randle, Senior Surveys Officer at Butterfly Conservation said: "Unfortunately, this summer has not seen an abundance of butterflies, across the UK."

Dr Zoe Randle added that the fall in numbers could be due to a number of factors.

This spring was very warm which meant many butterfly species emerged earlier than usual, before the count started, so they were missed in the count.

Butterflies and moths are very important as they can show us the health of environment. The decline in their numbers show the effects of human behaviours on the world but also the changing pattern of the weather.

They play an important role in the ecosystems of birds, mammals and even plants. Their conservation is very important.

Julie Williams CEO of Butterfly Conservation says: "A huge thank you to everyone who took part in the Big Butterfly Count this year. This important data is so valuable to our ongoing and vital research helping us to understand what is happening to our butterflies and moths so we can take focused action to protect these fantastic insects and conserve them for future generations."