Spoiled for butterflies: Big Butterfly Count surveys

March 2026

I undertook three surveys for the Big Butterfly Count last month - one in my garden on the opening day of I ❤️Butterflies Week, one by the herbaceous border at the Auckland Wintergardens and one at Addenbrooke along one of their borders on an open day that coincided with the Moths and Butterflies New Zealand Trust extending the Count.

In my garden there were four monarchs and one cabbage white at the time I surveyed. I feel this is a pretty accurate indication of the summer activity in my butterfly garden. The monarch numbers ebb and flow, but it ranges between two and five across each day. Blues and whites come and go. No more admirals since I got very excited about them in the garden in early February. In 2025 the survey of my garden was only one monarch and one cabbage white, so the winter work digging (or watching hubby dig) two new garden beds and then planting them up has paid off. Even though the garden is very new, this summer has been a continuous joy of butterflies from early morning to dusk.

Cabbage white on buddleia during the Big Butterfly Count in my garden

I was wondering how the survey at the Wintergardens would go, as whilst I have seen a monarch or two flying near Auckland Hospital, I haven't seen them near the Wintergardens. In 2025 I saw a long-tailed blue and another blue that shot off and could have been either local species. This year it looked like there wouldn't be any butterflies, but a cabbage white turned up within the last minute of the survey. There was clover in the grass and lots of nectar rich flowers, which hoverflies, honeybees and bumblebees were enjoying, but no blue butterflies this year.

Part of the herbaceous border at Auckland Wintergardens

Addenbrooke had butterfly-friendly Lantana camera, as well as other nectar flowers in their borders and in the time I surveyed I saw three monarchs and two cabbage whites. I am actually surprised there weren't more cabbage whites. Addenbrooke is a private garden in rural Bombay and driving back north there were dozens of cabbage whites amongst the weeds in the ditches at the side of the road.

A monarch butterfly on lantana at Addenbrooke

It has been a surprise then that MBNZT are reporting that 90% of queries to them currently are about the lack of monarch butterflies. One of my colleagues reported she planted wildflowers and didn't have any bees turn up either. Mid-February to mid-March is the peak of wasp activity and even in my garden, where we have been taking wasps out since September, there are paper wasps in every direction. I have been taking monarch eggs off the swan plants in the garden and raising them in captivity, but I do have limited swan plants this year in pots, so I have not been checking regularly. Some of the large potted nettles that a yellow admiral laid eggs on I moved into my plant cage, because I didn't have any caterpillar castles available. (Hubby reports he saw a red admiral laying eggs too, but I am sceptical). The nettles that got left unprotected all have been stripped of their caterpillars. The little nettle tents are empty.

Potted nettles in the plant cage

Perhaps there are only butterflies where there are butterfly protectors or places have had enough rain or cold to keep the wasps in check. However, that cannot be true either. I made a visit to Verran Primary School last weekend - one of the first gardens to gain certification from MBNZT - and they have a fabulous cage to prevent predators getting to swan plants. I didn't see any monarch butterflies in their garden, although there were cabbage whites paying a lot of attention to their cabbages. So I have run out of theories. I only know that I am lucky to be living alongside a healthy local population of monarchs and other butterflies, and I am hoping that will remain the case as we move into the cooler weather.

Admiral caterpillars on protected nettles