Help Ireland's leading butterfly conservation group by counting your butterflies for their annual population survey. All it takes is a keen eye, a good field guide and a form downloaded from Butterfly Conservation Ireland's website (www.butterflyconservation.ie) – and you could do your bit to help these most beautiful of summer visitors.
Ireland's butterflies are struggling against a combination of habitat loss and climate change: a survey in 2010 found that nearly one in five Irish butterfly species are under threat. Since 1990 we have lost 30% of our grassland butterfly populations.
We can all do our bit to reverse the decline by making our gardens into butterfly sanctuaries. Plant nectar-rich flowering plants in a sunny, sheltered spot and they'll be magnets for all sorts of butterfly species: among the most frequently visited are (unsurprisingly) the butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii), hebes, lavender and flowering herbs like marjoram, chives and thyme.
Even better, turn a strip of lawn into a wildflower meadow by seeding it with one of the annual meadow seed mixes you'll find in our garden centre here in Athlone. As well as a pretty feature for the garden, you'll provide nectar and food for butterflies and a host of other pollinating insects, too.
