The Peacock Crowned as Britain's Favourite Butterfly
Image: Pexels / Roman Biernacki
The results are in, and a familiar backyard beauty has claimed the crown. The peacock butterfly has won a nationwide poll organized by the charity Butterfly Conservation to find Britain's favourite butterfly for the first time, beating out 59 other native species.
More than 20,000 votes were cast, with voters heavily favouring common garden visitors over rarer, more elusive insects. The colourful "rainbow coalition" at the top of the leaderboards finished as follows:
Peacock
Orange-tip
Red admiral
Holly blue
Brimstone
While showy favourites thrived, rarer species like the large swallowtail (9th) and the iridescent purple emperor (15th) failed to make the top five. More muted, brown, and grey insects filled out the bottom spots, with the small pearl-bordered fritillary finishing dead last.
Kate Merry, Head of Engagement at Butterfly Conservation, celebrated the public's massive participation and was quoted in The Guardian:
“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 peacock is a worthy winner, it's a true showstopper and a species that I bet a lot of us picture when we think of butterflies. It's been really special seeing people get so passionate about their favourites and throw their support behind them!"
The victory comes at a perfect time. Conservationists are already reporting massive numbers of peacock caterpillars on nettles, pointing toward a major population boom just in time for the annual Big Butterfly Count, which kicks off on July 17th.