One in five US butterflies disappeared in the last twenty years, reveals landmark national analysis
Researchers say the beloved insects are disappearing at an “alarming rate,” with many butterfly species showing extreme declines of more than 50 percent.
Butterflies in the United States are disappearing at an “alarming rate”, according to landmark new research into the insect’s population.
To conduct the study, scientists analyzed 76,000 surveys that collectively recorded over 12.6 million butterflies across a twenty year period.
“This was the most comprehensive analysis of butterflies in the US and at such a big spatial scale,” said the study’s co-author Eliza Grames, an assistant professor of biological sciences at Binghamton University.
Now the results, which aim to provide a clear picture of the state of butterfly species across the US, have been described by the study’s authors as “troubling.”
Scientists found that butterfly abundance fell by 22 percent during the years 2000 and 2020. In other words, for every five butterflies in the US at the start of this century, there were only four remaining by 2020.
The term “abundance” is used to refer to the total number of individual butterflies within a specific area. According to the records analyzed, the researchers found that 33 percent of butterfly species showed “significant decline trends” in abundance.
Many specific butterfly species fared even worse, with 107 species showing “extreme declines” in abundance with more than 50 percent having disappeared.
The study’s lead author Collin Edwards hopes that the startling research, published in the journal Science, can help award protections for the butterfly species most at risk.
“For those who were not already aware of insect declines, this should be a wake-up call,” Edwards said. “We urgently need both local- and national-scale conservation efforts to support butterflies and other insects. We have never had as clear and compelling a picture of butterfly declines as we do now.”
While butterflies are a popular insect that have been known for their beauty and long inspired art, they also play a vital role in maintaining the health of ecosystems around the world thanks to helping pollinate food and flowers.
The decline in butterflies, similar to the broader decline in all insects, is attributed to a variety of main causes including pesticides and changing climates. The study’s co-author Grames says this latest analysis of butterfly populations reflects similar previous research that shows that insects are declining at rates of about one to two percent per year.
To help protect insect populations, vulnerable species could be added to conservation lists that grant them federal protections to help them recover.
“We [now] have much better data to go and say, ‘You know, we should really consider these for federal protection.’ So we can go in, conserve their habitat and – hopefully – they can rebound,” said co-author Grames.
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