Farms have counted more butterflies in total this year than in previous years. This is evident from figures from the Butterfly Foundation, LTO Noord and BoerenNatuur. Moreover, Drenthe farmers appear to have counted more butterflies this year than the average farmer.
Ten Drenthe farmers participated, who counted an average of 254 moths in 2023. Nationally, the 125 participants counted an average of 207 moths in their observations. A total of 25,806 butterflies were counted in 2023. In Drenthe there were 2,544 moths.
The annual count is an initiative funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality to investigate the state of biodiversity on farmland, explains project leader Jeroen van der Brugge of The Butterfly Foundation. The figures will be updated annually from 2019 until 2027.
Farmers place buckets with LED lighting in three places that attract moths. “One in the yard, one on an agricultural piece of land and one on which a nature measure is being implemented, such as a herb-rich field edge or a flower-rich grassland.” The moths are attracted to this and are photographed by the participants the next morning.
“There have never been so many moths observed in total, but there have also never been so many participants,” Van der Brugge explains. The average sighting, 7.2 butterflies per night, is therefore lower than in 2022, when 7.8 butterflies were seen per night. In 2021, that number was 5.7. “That fluctuates. We can’t really say anything for the long term. For example, last year you had a wet and cold spring, which also has an influence. We really need to measure ten years for a long-term effect.”
Where clear differences can be observed is between the butterfly observations in places where nature measures are being taken and the yards and pieces of land. “In places with a nature measure, we find more moths and more different species. So nature measures really make sense.”