Butterflies

Introduction

Butterflies as Indicator Species

"Butterflies are increasingly being recognised as valuable environmental indicators, both for their rapid and sensitive responses to subtle habitat or climatic changes and as representatives for the diversity and responses of other wildlife." - UKBMS: Butterfly Indicators 

Benefits of Butterflies

Food for Predators

Amphibians such as frogs, birds including swallows, snakes, spiders, and other environmentally important species eat butterflies. While this might not sound great to us, this is important, as those same species also help keep down the numbers of mosquitos, biting flies, and the many species which feed on important crops.

Pollinators

Pollination is a vital part of many plant species' reproductive cycle, including many of the crops we rely on. Hand pollination can be done using Q-tips or soft brushes, but this very expensive and inefficient, resulting in far less success than when our native pollinators do the work for us, for free!

Indicator Species

Butterflies can help represent insect populations in general (as they are particularly easy to spot and have very short lifecycles), indicating the impact of pollutants such as pesticides, habitat loss, and climate change.

Butterflies as Indicator Species by Region

This section is intended to give people a reference of their own local indicator species. These might not be full guides, particularly as we are constantly learning new ways in which different species can indicate important information.

Europe

UK

England

Europe

UK

Northern Ireland

Oceana

Australia

New Zealand

Ways to Help Butterflies

Rewilding

This can include planting important food or host plants, providing water sources, butterfly boxes to prevent against harsh weather, or even species re-introductions.

Planting Food & Host Species

Some species only serve as food or host plants, while others can serve as both. Some plants only support one pollinator, while others can support a wide variety of butterflies, bees, moths, or even other animals.

No matter where you live, there are many different types of garden for different locations, situations, and goals.

2:54 minute video. "An intrepid group of butterflies is about to help turn the clock back nearly a century in San Francisco's Presidio. Biologist Durrell Kapan, Ph.D. of the California Academy of Sciences says the butterflies will be replacing a long-lost species called the Xerces Blue that went extinct in the 1940s."

Resources & Guides

Tools & Resources

North America

Oceana

Australia

Tools & Apps

Africa

Namibia

Organizations

Europe

UK

North America

Canada

Oceana

Australia

New Zealand

South America

Colombia

Maps

International

Europe

UK

North America

Grants & Funding

North America

USA

Texas

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