Butterfly sightings have plummeted during this year's Big Butterfly Count, according to a wildlife charity.

The unusually wet and windy spring, along with colder temperatures this summer, has resulted in fewer butterflies than usual.

Currently, numbers are the lowest in the 14-year history of the count.

According to the charity, on average participants are spotting just above half of the butterflies recorded for the same period last year.

Despite the dreary weather, there may be hope for a late emergence of the insects, if a prolonged sunny spell occurs.

The Big Butterfly Count, which concludes on August 4, requests the public to spend 15 minutes outdoors observing butterflies.

Dr Dan Hoare, director of conservation at Butterfly Conservation, said: "Butterflies need some warm and dry conditions to be able to fly around and mate.

"If the weather doesn’t allow for this there will be fewer opportunities to breed, and the lack of butterflies now is likely the knock-on effect of our very dreary spring and early summer."

The noted decline is not merely due to this year’s adverse weather conditions.

Since the 1970s, 80 per cent of butterflies in the UK have vanished.

The main factors driving this decline include habitat loss, climate change, and pesticide use.

With depleted populations, butterflies are less capable of weathering unfavourable conditions.

Dr Hoare added: "The lack of butterflies this year is a warning sign to us all.

"Nature is sounding the alarm and we must listen.

"Butterflies are a key indicator species.

"When they are in trouble we know the wider environment is in trouble too."

The public is encouraged to do a Big Butterfly Count as this would give important evidence needed to conserve endangered butterfly species.

Last year, more than 135,000 counts took place across the UK, providing scientists with valuable intel to inform conservation efforts.