BMSAnd

The BMSAnd (Andorran Butterfly Monitoring Scheme) is Andorra's diurnal butterfly monitoring project, initiated in 2004, which aims to determine the diversity of species of these insects and to monitor the evolution of their populations, given their bioindicator nature.

The network follows a very specific methodology that originated in the United Kingdom and is now applied in many European countries. Butterflies are bioindicator insects; they are very susceptible to environmental changes. For this reason, it is very interesting to monitor them continuously in order to control how they adapt to various changes in land use or to the effects of climate change.

Currently (in 2021), the diurnal butterfly monitoring network has ten transects spread throughout the Andorran geography. The project, which is coordinated by Andorra Research + Innovation, also involves voluntary collaborators and the country's different natural areas.

After more than 15 years of collecting data on Andorran transects, some results are beginning to be seen on the trends of the different butterfly populations, as shown in the report for the 2020 season.

The BMSAnd project has a very important pedagogical aspect. The spectacular nature of these insects has always attracted the attention of the population. Every year a meeting is organized open to the public, organizing an excursion to see the different species of butterflies in the country, explain their curiosities and the particularities of the project.

You can consult the results history at the following link.