Peel Park Pollinator Survey Results 2024

Throughout 2024, PROSPECTS has been carrying out pollinator surveys at Peel Park and the Coppice LNR. Measuring the abundance and distribution of species is vitally important for monitoring species health, climate change, and the effectiveness of conservation actions. Nationally, surveys provide data which allows climate scientists, conservationists, and insect experts to get a greater understanding of the environment across the UK. Locally, the surveys have laid the foundations for what we hope will be a continuous study at Peel Park and the Coppice LNR. In the short term they will show us the current biodiversity of the site; in the long term they will show us how effective conservation efforts on the site have been as well as inform future management.

The surveys have been open to the public as a way to engage people in citizen science and inspire people to take an interest in the environment. A HUGE thank you to all volunteers that assisted with these surveys, your support is invaluable.

Weekly Butterfly UKBMS transects were started in June 2022 by Chloe Jameson. Monthly moth trapping events and BeeWalk transects were started in April 2023 & July 2023, respectively, by Robert W.S. Gabryszak. Weekly butterfly and bee surveys continued throughout 2024 and a moth trap was set up in Pleck Meadow once a month.

Sadly, like the rest of the UK, these results paint a terrible picture. Nationwide, recorders have seen a huge decline in invertebrate abundance. In particular, Butterfly Conservation have noticed a 50% decrease in butterfly numbers, based on this year's Big Butterfly Count. This has prompted the declaration of a Butterfly Emergency, you can read more about that here. At the Coppice, we have seen worse than this, with a over a 60% drop in butterfly records from 2023 to 2024 in our weekly UKBMS surveys.

Data from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust shows that 2024 has been the worst year for bumblebees in recorded history, especially for species like the Red-tailed Bumblebee. Most UK bumblebees nest underground, which are vulnerable to flood damage and waterlogged conditions, something that we've had no shortage of this year. Our bee and moth data showed a slight increase this year - however we were surveying more frequently and for a longer time than in 2023, which would account for the increase.

Climate change, habitat loss, and pesticide use have all contributed to the gradual decline of invertebrate populations over the last century. This has made them extra vulnerable to severe weather, which we have seen a lot of in 2024. As one of the wettest years on record, it has made it harder for a significant majority of species to carry out their usual life cycles.

It is not all doom and gloom though, we have still seen a diverse range of species on the site which you can see below. With continued improvements to the site's meadow and heathland habitats, pollinators will be better equipped to recover their populations.

We can only hope that we see improved weather next year so that invertebrate populations have chance to bounce back. In the meantime, we will continue to protect, create, and restore habitat for pollinators and all wildlife across Hyndburn's green spaces in our new Hyndburn's Nature Reserves project.

Want to help? Please contact robert.gabryszak@prospectsfoundation.org.uk if you would like to help with habitat restoration or survey work. Alternatively, call 01254 230348 or pop into our shop at 54 Broadway, Accrington, BB5 1EW.

If you would like more information on the survey data then please contact Robert.

Here are the following macro moth species that have been recorded.

Naming explanation, for example we'll look at "54.008 – 20240625 – Six-spot Burnet"

54.008: The ABH number is a 5 digit code which orders Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) taxonomically. Therefore showing how closely related each species is to one another.
20240625: The date the photograph was taken and/or the moth was recorded. If there is no photo we were unable to take a photo before the invertebrate flew away.
Six-spot Burnet: The common name of the moth as opposed to their scientific name.

3.003 – 20240615 – Map-winged Swift

54.008 – 20240625 – Six-spot Burnet

54.009 – 20240708 – Narrow-bordered 5-spot Burnet

66.010 – 2024 03 16 – Drinker (Larval)

69.016 – 20240924 – Elephant Hawk-moth (Larval) on RBWH

70.094 – 20240810 – Small Phoenix Male

70.100 – 20240615 – Green Carpet

70.101 – 2023 03 08 – Mottled Grey

70.218 – 20240706 – Latticed Heath

70.241 – 20240810 – Scalloped Oak

70.245 – 2024 03 16 – March (Resting)

70.252 – 20240706 – Peppered

70.255 – 2024 02 17 – Dotted Border

70.265 – 20240706 – Mottled Beauty

70.277 – 20240615 – Common White Wave

71.025 – 20240930 – Buff-tip (Larval) on Hazel

72.002 – 20240907 – Straw Dot

72.063 – 20240711 – Blackneck

73.012 – 20240810 – Burnished Brass f.aurea

73.015 – 20240602 – Silver Y on Yellow Rattle

73.016 – 20240615 – Beautiful Golden Y

73.022 – 20240907 – Gold Spot

73.113 – 20240924 – Angle Shades

73.169 – 20240810 – Common Rustic agg

73.194 – 2024 02 17 – Chestnut

73.210 – 2024 02 17 – Satellite

73.216 – 20240810 – Dun-bar

73.242 – 2024 03 16 – Clouded Drab

73.244 – 2024 03 17 – Common Quaker

73.245 – 2024 03 17 – Small Quaker

73.291 – 20240809 – Common Wainscot

73.301 – 20240810 – Shoulder-striped Wainscot

73.317 – 20240706 – Heart and Dart

73.333 – 20240615 – Ingrailed Clay

73.334 – 20240615 – Small Square-spot

73.336 – 2024 03 16 – Red Chestnut

73.342 – 20240706 – Large Yellow Underwing

73.343 – 20240907 – Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing

73.345 – 20240810 – Lesser Yellow Underwing

73.348 – 20240810 – Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing

73.352 – 20240615 – Green Arches

73.353 – 20240810 – Dotted Clay

73.357 – 20240907 – Square-spot Rustic

73.358 – 20240810 – Six-striped Rustic

73.365 – 20240907 – Autumnal Rustic

16.001 – 20240810 – Bird-cherry Ermine

41.003 – 20240615 – Large Pale Masoner

49.127 – 20240615 – Thistle Straw

49.154 – 20240615 – Dusky Marble

63.073 – 20240810 – Peppered Grey

07.001 – 20240618 – Yellow-banded Longhorn

07.006 – 20240501 – Green Longhorn

48.001 – 20240722 – Common Nettle Tap

20240730 – Small Skipper

20240625 - Large Skipper

2024 04 16 – Small White

20240505 - Orange-tip

20240722 – Large White

20240516 - Green-veined White

20240903 – Red Admiral

20240903 – Small Copper

20240903 – Peacock

20240814 – Gatekeeper

20240702 – Ringlet

20240625 - Meadow Brown

20240814 – Small Tortoiseshell

20240802 - Holly Blue

20240419 - Common Carder Bumblebee

20240530 - Heath Bumblebee

20240814 – White-tailed Bumblebee

20240411 - Garden Bumblebee

20240326 - Red-tailed Bumblebee

20240322 - Buff-tailed Bumblebee

20240530 - Early Bumblebee

20240411 - Forester's Cuckoo

20240814 - Patchwork Leafcutter Bee

20240421 - Orange-tailed Mining Bee (pair)

20240411 - Lasioglossum sp.

20240324 - Andrena sp.

Peel Park Pollinator Survey Results 2024

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Peel Park Pollinator Survey Results 2024

The results are in!

Results overview:

Here are the results (scroll down to see all the photos!):

What do these results show?

The following invertebrate photos were all taken at Peel Park and the Coppice LNR in 2024, credit to Robert W.S. Gabryszak.

46 Macro Moth Species

Here are the following macro moth species that have been recorded.

Naming explanation, for example we'll look at "54.008 – 20240625 – Six-spot Burnet"

8 Micro Moth Species

Here are the following micro moth species that have been recorded.

16 Butterfly Species

Here are the following butterfly species that have been recorded. Holly Blue and Small Tortoiseshell were not seen during a UKBMS survey, but during the Big Butterfly Count.

14 Bee Species

Here are the following bee species that have been recorded.

This project would not have been possible without our funders: