For most of us, butterflies are simply beautiful little critters that catch our attention on a pleasant afternoon. They are that. But they are also essential for propagating the crops that produce the food we need. And there are relatively simple things we can do to stop their demise. Comments afterward.
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Butterflies in the U.S. are
disappearing at a ‘catastrophic’ rate
The number of butterflies in the contiguous United States declined by 22 percent this century, a collapse with potentially dire implications.
The Washington Post
March 6, 2025
Butterflies are rapidly fluttering out of existence from coast to coast, according to a new assessment published Thursday, at a rate that scientists worry could upend ecosystems and undercut pollination that sustains America’s crops.
The total number of butterflies in the contiguous United States has declined 22 percent over a 20-year period, according to a study in the journal Science, as shrinking habitat, rising temperatures and a toxic array of pesticides kill off the delicate insects.
The study, published Thursday in the journal Science, is the most comprehensive tally of U.S. butterfly populations to date.
Nick Haddad, a Michigan State University ecologist who co-wrote the study, said he once had a hard time believing his neighbors when they told him they see fewer butterflies than in the past. He said …
“In my mind, I was nodding, thinking,
‘Oh, they just went out on a bad day,’”
But now, the data has him convinced. He added …
“Butterflies are vanishing
from the face of the earth.”
The crisis for butterflies is part of a troubling downturn in the number of bumblebees, fireflies and other insects that has been observed in Europe, the Caribbean and other places worldwide. It could signal a potential “bugpocalypse” that scientists are fiercely debating — a shift that may spell trouble for both nature and society.
The loss of insects — “the little things that run the world,” as naturalist E.O. Wilson once put it — has dire implications for ecosystems in which birds and mammals rely on them for food and plants depend on them for pollination. Farmers and gardeners, meanwhile, may be losing allies that act as pollinators and natural pest control.
David Wagner, a University of Connecticut entomologist not involved in the study, said butterflies act as a “yardstick for measuring what is happening” among insects broadly. He called the new findings “catastrophic and saddening.” He wrote in an email …
“The study is a much-needed, Herculean
assessment. The tree of life is being denuded
at unprecedented rates. I find it deeply
disheartening. We can and must do better.”
Researchers looked at over 12 million butterfly observations taken in 35 different monitoring programs across the contiguous United States from 2000 to 2020 for the study.
Some of those observations involved walking a predetermined path and noting every butterfly seen. Other counts were as informal as jotting down butterflies observed during a park visit. Both professional scientists and dedicated amateur enthusiasts collected crucial data. Haddad said …
“Scientists could not get all the data we
used. It took this incredible grassroots
effort of people interested in nature.”
Yet other butterfly counts, such as one run by biologist Jeffrey Glassberg in Westchester County, New York, involved teams of people canvassing landscapes 15 miles in diameter for every fluttering insect they could see.
Glassberg, who has been surveying the area for more than four decades, has witnessed about 10 species vanish. Among the lost is the ghostly white butterfly called Acadian hairstreak, which he suspects has retreated north as the climate warms. Glassberg founded the North American Butterfly Association. But the butterfly counts his organization runs, he added, are important for building the next generation of butterfly lovers. He said …
“It kills me. You can’t save them
if people don’t care about them.”
Between 2000 and 2020, the total population of butterflies shrank by over a fifth, according to the study. A third of butterfly species showed significant declines while only 3 percent — nine species — experienced gains.
Among the kaleidoscope of species in steepest decline in the United States are the Florida white butterfly found in the Everglades and Keys, the Hermes copper butterfly native to Southern California and the tailed orange butterfly fluttering near the U.S.-Mexico border. Over 100 species have declined by more than 50 percent.
The findings likely underestimate the true scale of loss, said Wagner, since the researchers did not have enough data to make assessments of some of the rarest species also likely in decline.
But Matthew Moran, a biology professor at Hendrix College who has been skeptical of an insect apocalypse, cautioned the study only looks at two decades of data and may not show a full picture of long-term trends. He said …
“However, it is clear that over the last
20 years, this group of well-studied and
popular insects has undergone large
declines, which should be concerning.”
Three major factors weigh on butterfly populations, according to the researchers.
Roads, homes and other development are cutting up and stamping out meadows where butterflies once flew. And rising temperatures due to human-caused climate change are drying out vegetation in the habitats that remain. Collin Edwards, a quantitative ecologist who led the study, said …
“Every butterfly you see was a caterpillar
that ate a plant. So conditions that are bad
for plants are going to be bad for butterflies.”
Many butterfly species tend to be doing better in the northern portions of their ranges, the researchers found, suggesting they are fluttering to higher latitudes to keep cool. The drought-stricken Southwest saw the steepest declines.
But the third and likely most important driver behind the butterfly bust is the boom in pesticide use since the 1990s, according to Haddad. In a previous study, he found the shift toward insecticides called neonicotinoids was the major cause for butterfly decline in the Midwest. He said …
“That’s what I think is most worrisome.”
At least one butterfly he has personally studied — the Saint Francis’s satyr, found only in North Carolina — may have already gone extinct. Its decline is documented in the study, which looked at data up to 2020, “but it actually could be gone by now.”
More than 30 butterflies are protected under the Endangered Species Act. The latest butterfly proposed for the list is the iconic monarch.
Unlike bears and birds and many other threatened animals, insects breed quickly. If given a chance — meaning if people restore meadows and minimize pesticide use — they can rebound in a few generations.
The researchers hope their findings act as an alarm bell for a public that loves to paint murals of butterflies and release them at weddings, but, they said, still does too little to protect them in nature. Haddad said …
“They’re beautiful, right? I do think
there’s a way that butterflies en-
rich our lives through thinking
about biodiversity that isn’t
possible for all other insects.”
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What can each of us do to support butterflies (and our future food supply)? First, simply cease using the pesticides that kill them. But even more expansively, ask yourself why you actually need to have a cut grass lawn.
The history of the great lawn came from Great Brittain and, largely into our southern states. Cut grass lawns are one of the worst for maintaining soil health and are also the highest in maintenance cost. (Just look at the hordes of lawn care companies, or people sitting on their mowers, hour after hour.) Cut grass lawns are perfect for sports, when you want what’s essentially an outdoor carpet, so people don’t trip or twist an ankle due to surface irregularities.
Instead, consider phasing out cut grass lawns that are not used for sports. In my case, for example, I planted golden-tipped junipers in my front yard. I bought them in their smaller size, which was less expensive, and spaced them about five feet apart. Total cost about $250. We could see open ground between them, for sure; but after a couple of years, they covered the entire yard completely. They put roots into the ground, storing water and increasing soil health. Maintenance time: walk-around pruning once or twice a year. No hose watering needed. And the variance in color and texture is far more interesting than a plain green surface.
In addition, certain plants, such as Monarda, Milk Weed, and Buddleia, provide food for butterflies – and provide us with far more butterfly viewing pleasure.
