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Science
Jun 12, 2026
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Britain's Favourite Butterfly Revealed

AI Summary
The peacock butterfly has been voted Britain's favourite butterfly in a poll by Butterfly Conservation, beating 59 other native species with over 20,000 votes cast.

The Peacock Butterfly: Britain's Favourite

The peacock butterfly has been voted Britain's favourite butterfly in a poll by Butterfly Conservation. With its distinctive lavender, yellow, and maroon eye spots and rusty red and black colouration, the peacock butterfly is both beautiful and commonplace, flying throughout spring, summer, and autumn in all corners of the British Isles.

The Poll Results

The peacock butterfly beat 59 other native species in the charity Butterfly Conservation's poll to find the nation's favourite for the first time, in which more than 20,000 votes were cast. The rest of the top five were the orange-tip in second place, the red admiral in third, followed by the holly blue and the sulphur-yellow brimstone.

The Top 10 Butterflies

  • 1 Peacock
  • 2 Orange-tip
  • 3 Red admiral
  • 4 Holly blue
  • 5 Brimstone
  • 6 Comma
  • 7 Commonblue
  • 8 Small tortoiseshell
  • 9 Swallowtail
  • 10 Painted lady

The Impact of the Poll

Kate Merry, the head of engagement at Butterfly Conservation, said: “The response to Britain’s favourite butterfly has been absolutely wonderful, and we’re not surprised. It’s clear that people up and down the country love butterflies of all shapes, sizes and colours, and voted in their thousands for their favourites.

The Future of Butterfly Sightings

The peacock is a frontrunner to be the most-seen insect in this year’s Big Butterfly Count because butterfly enthusiasts are reporting large numbers of its caterpillars on nettles at present, which should lead to a big emergence in mid-July.