For Big Butterfly Count, citizens document insects across U.K.

A British tortoiseshell butterfly (Credit: Steve Childs, via Flickr)

A project based in England is trying to chart environmental health by counting butterflies, according to Yale Environment 360. It’s called the Big Butterfly Count.

Taking place from July 19 to Aug. 10, the project will assess butterflies and moths across the United Kingdom. Participants will observe areas in 15-minute stretches, counting and recording the numbers of flying insects they see.

In 2013’s Big Butterfly Count, 46,000 citizen scientists counted 830,000 butterflies and moths. Counting takes place during a time that most butterflies are in the adult part of their life cycles.

Image: A British tortoiseshell butterfly (Credit: Steve Childs, via Flickr)