THE use of certain pesticides may be contributing to the decline of butterflies in the UK, the latest scientific study suggests.

Experts from the Lulworth-based Butterfly Conservation charity have been working in partnership with the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, and the universities of Stirling and Sussex, on a research project into the effects of neonicotinoid pesticides.

These pesticides, introduced in the mid-1990s as a replacement for older chemicals, are absorbed into every cell in a plant, making all parts poisonous the pests, says the Butterfly Conservation.

Researchers found population trends of 15 species of UK butterfly showed declines associated with neonicotinoid use, including Small Tortoiseshell, Small Skipper and Wall species.

Butterfly Conservation head of monitoring Dr Tom Breton said: "We are extremely concerned with the findings of the study and are calling for urgent research to see whether the correlation's we found are caused by neonicotinoid use, or some other aspect of intensive farming.

"Widespread butterflies have declined by 58 per cent on farmland in England over the past 10 years giving concern for the general health of the countryside and for these and other insects in particular."

The study, published in the journal PeerJ, is based on data collected by volunteers from more than 1,000 sites across the UK, as part of the long-running UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme.

University of Sussex professor of biology Dave Goulson said: "Many of us can remember a time when our meadows and hedgerows had far more butterflies, bees and other insects than today.

"This study adds to the growing mountain of evidence that neonicotinoids are one of the causes of these declines.