We're going on a bug hunt

Meadow Browns and Small Whites have come out on top as youngsters at the Kiddi Caru nursery in Hockliffe Road, Leighton Buzzard, revealed the results of their Big Butterfly Count to local MP Alex Mayer.

Armed with binoculars and magnifying glasses, the four-year-olds have been getting up close to the butterfly life cycle, nurturing their very own caterpillars, watching as they transformed into chrysalises and then colourful butterflies.

The Big Butterfly Count is an annual citizen science project organised by Butterfly Conservation. People across the country are encouraged to spend 15 minutes outside counting butterflies to help scientists understand how different species are faring.

Weather makes a big difference to butterflies who enjoy warm, dry and sunny conditions. While a lot of wildlife has suffered during this year’s heatwaves, healthy butterflies appear to be doing well.

But overall UK butterfly numbers have fallen by more than 15% in the last fifty years.

Ms Mayer said: “The confident and curious Kiddi Caru children know so much about the outside world, telling me all amount the most frequent flyers they’ve spotted.

It’s amazing how much is going on in the garden when you stop and take a proper look.

I hope their enthusiasm for nature stays with them as they grow up.”

Nursery manager Hollie Stokes showed Alex Mayer MP around the nursery garden which was transformed around 18 months ago to include flowering plants and a bug hotel.