VANCOUVER | UNCEDED xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (MUSQUEAM), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (SQUAMISH) AND səlilwətaɬ (TSLEIL-WAUTUTH) TERRITORIES — The community science project Butterflies in My Backyard, or BIMBY, accounted for 26 per cent of all butterfly observations in Canada on iNaturalist this year. The program, hosted by the David Suzuki Foundation in partnership with UBC ecologist Michelle Tseng, has invited people in B.C. to help document butterflies in the province since 2022 and went national in 2024. Participants are providing crucial data for the study of butterflies and their habits and habitats.

Close to 500 volunteers, called Seekers, from 10 provinces and Yukon and Northwest Territories, made over 35,000 observations and documented 231 species of butterflies on iNaturalist.

“BIMBY continues to push what is possible in terms of the quality of data collected by community scientists,” Tseng said. “People in Canada from coast to coast to coast have the capacity and willingness to contribute meaningfully to butterfly conservation. The David Suzuki Foundation and BIMBY have made it possible to harness this energy. Together, we are collecting data and generating previously unknown knowledge crucial to butterfly conservation in Canada.”

As the BIMBY 2024 season wraps up in November, Seekers would like to invite people in Canada to learn what they discovered, with the “BIMBY 2024 Report.”

Here are some highlights from the 2024 report: 

BIMBY’s 2024 contributions made up 26 per cent of all butterfly observations in Canada on iNaturalist, helping fill a vital data gap in Canada’s biodiversity monitoring.

Participants documented more than 231 butterfly species, representing 75 per cent of Canada’s known species — a notable achievement for community science.

BIMBY Seekers observed six of Canada’s 13 endangered butterfly species, including the rare Behr’s hairstreak, monarch and Mormon metalmark. British Columbia participants were especially successful, spotting four of the six endangered species in the province.

Observations documented 7,677 instances of butterflies interacting with specific plants, providing valuable insights into host and nectar plant preferences, essential for habitat conservation planning.

The full report is available here.

For more information, contact:

Brandon Wei, Communication Specialist, bwei@davidsuzuki.org, 778 772-6138

Winnie Hwo, BIMBY Project Lead, winnie@davidsuzuki.org, 778-866-6371