The Big Butterfly Count will reveal painted lady numbers in Stamford, Rutland, Bourne and the Deepings

Wildlife lovers in Rutland, Stamford, Bourne and the Deepings areas are being urged to use the coming sunny weather to record painted lady butterflies and similar species through the Big Butterfly Count.

More than 10 million painted lady butterflies are thought to be migrating into Britain from continental Europe - an unusually high number.

They will breed in this country and their offspring will to warmer parts of Europe at the end of the British summer.

The butterfly count should help to reveal how many have arrived - and whether it beats the incredible 11 million estimated to have come to Britain in 2009.

The count is also a chance for children and adults alike to find out more about different butterfly species that they might find in parks, gardens and the countryside in this area.

All people need to do to take part in the count is to visit the Big Butterfly Count website and download their identification chart.

They then need to get spotting in the same location for 15 minutes, before submitting results through the website.

The count began on Friday (July 19) and will run until August 11.

For more things to do this summer, visit our What's On news.