The annual Big Butterfly Count has reported the lowest ever numbers, leading a British wildlife charity to declare a national “butterfly emergency.” Butterfly Conservation has an ongoing commitment to the count, which has been running for 14 years. Several factors contributed to this year’s poor results, with the rainy weather being the prominent factor. However, with the long-term trend showing significant decline in butterfly populations, the charity’s concern reaches beyond the weather.
Butterflies are a key species for indicating the state of the wider environment, making this decline very concerning, said Dr. Richard Fox, Head of Science at Butterfly Conservation. With butterflies at their lowest point after 50 years of decline, Dr. Fox also called on the UK government to prohibit all pesticides that can harm butterflies as well as bees, citing, “before it’s too late.”
Although the UK banned neonicotinoid pesticides in 2018, the pesticides received approval four times for use in emergencies to fight a virus impacting sugar beets. A spokesperson for the UK’s Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs stated that there is a commitment to banning neonicotinoids. However, they gave no timeline for putting this plan into action.
The decline in butterfly populations is not an isolated issue. The long-term data from the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme indicates that the yearly changes in butterfly numbers pertaining to weather conditions contribute to long-term declines caused by habitat loss, pollution, climate change, and pesticides. Of the species monitored, 33% have witnessed a significant decline in population over the past 48 years. Urgent conservation measures to secure habitat quality and quantity are necessary for both butterflies and other wildlife to linger and thrive
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