In less than 50 years in the UK, butterflies have lost almost half of their places of residence

A Peacock Aglais butterfly photographed by a researcher from the University of Cambridge (illustration image).

AFP - ANDREW BLADON

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

In the United Kingdom, butterflies have disappeared from nearly half of the places they frequented fifty years ago, under the effect of the destruction of their natural habitats among other things.

This is what emerges from a study published in early February by the British NGO Butterfly Conservation.

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The report is alarming, in less than fifty years, the butterflies of the United Kingdom have lost on average more than 40% of their zone of distribution.

In the same period, their number also decreased by 6%.

Not a surprise

According to the naturalists who conducted this fifth study, this decline is not a surprise.

It has been observed since the 1970s, when the count of these insects began.

Butterflies that need a particular habitat such as meadows or wooded clearings are the most affected species, victims among other things of agricultural intensification.

However, 

are an important element of biodiversity.

It has been shown that where pesticides are used less, butterflies reproduce very widely, thus contributing, like bees, to the pollination of plants.

Disappearances

The decline in the number of butterflies is also observed in other northern European countries.

In France for example, in 2022, 66% of butterfly species have disappeared from at least one department that they previously occupied.

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• Environment

• Climate change

• United Kingdom

• Wildlife

• Climate