CONSERVATIONISTS have announced positive figures for a species of butterfly from their annual count - however there is a warning about using the colourful insects at weddings.

Findings from this year's Big Butterfly Count have revealed the Red Admiral saw its numbers rise by 75 percent compared to 2016, with more than 73.000 scene during the count's three-week recording period.

The species was also the most spotted in Dorset.

Across the county, 1,910 counts were submitted to Butterfly Conservation, which equated to 21,600 butterflies.

On the findings of the count, Butterfly Conservation’s head of recording, Richard Fox, said: “It hasn’t been a vintage summer for butterflies, but there have been some real positives.

“The flurry of Red Admirals on buddleia bushes, vivid golden Commas holding territories along the hedgerows and beautiful flecks of blue and orange among the long grass as Common Blues and Small Coppers made the most of the sunshine before the next shower.

“Above all, the highlight of Big Butterfly Count 2017 has been the huge number of people that have got involved, spent time enjoying and counting our native butterflies and moths and done something useful and important in the face of so much wildlife decline.”

The results of the Big Butterfly Count follow "several major concerns" raised by Butterfly Conservation regarding the use of the insects at wedding ceremonies.

The body says releasing butterflies at weddings interferes with recording species, can lead to genetic issues and spread diseases.

Dr Nigel Bourne, Butterfly Conservation's director of conservation science, said: "Butterflies are declining drastically through loss of habitat and intensification of farming and forestry.

"Releases deflect attention from this and large scale releases may risk changing public attitudes to the conservation of ‘wild’ populations.

"This is a major concern of Butterfly Conservation and we feel that using butterflies as 'confetti' may encourage a dangerous attitude to wild creatures that are boxed, transported and released into areas whatever the suitability."

Butterfly Conservation Dorset carried out an investigation after record sightings of migrant Monarch butterflies, native to north America, were spotted in Canford Cliffs, Poole.

The group said any Monarch spotted before October was unlikely to be a migrant and no butterfly released in the United Kingdom would be able to breed because the food for its caterpillars - milkweed - does not grow natively.

It is illegal to release non-native species in the United Kingdom.

Dorset's top 10 most spotted butterflies in the 2017 Big Butterfly Count:

1) Red Admiral

2) Gatekeeper

3) Meadow Brown

4) Small White

5) Large White

6) Peacock

7) Speckled Wood

8) Marbled White

9) Comma

10) Six-Spot Burnet (Day-flying moth included in the count)