Welcome to the UKBMS

The United Kingdom Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS) is one of the longest running insect monitoring schemes in the world. The scheme began in 1976 and now records data on over 2,000 sites per year; incorporating butterfly transects, the Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey (WCBS), and timed-counts. The resulting UKBMS dataset is one of the most important resources for understanding changes in insect populations.

The UKBMS is based on a well-established and enjoyable recording method and has produced important insights into almost all aspects of butterfly ecology.