Butterflies

Fears are growing for the small tortoiseshell butterfly Aglais urticae after this once-common garden insect continued its baffling decline despite the hot summer proving a boon to most species. The small tortoiseshell suffered its worst summer in the history of the Big Butterfly Count with sightings falling by 32% compared with last year, according to the charity Butterfly Conservation.

We measured uptake and dissipation of soil-applied imidacloprid and dinotefuran in nectar and leaves of 2 woody plant species, a broadleaf evergreen tree (Ilex attenuata) and a deciduous shrub (Clethra alnifolia), to assess concentrations to which pollinators and pests might be exposed in landscape settings. Three application timings, autumn (postbloom), spring (prebloom), and summer (early postbloom), were evaluated to see if taking advantage of differences in the neonicotinoids’ systemic mobility and persistence might enable pest control while minimizing transference into nectar.

Since 1990, butterfly numbers have dropped by 58 per cent in woods, a government study has found. The report was published in June 2018 by the Department for environment, food and rural affairs (Defra). Woodland species that are struggling include the brown argus, common blue, peacock and purple hairstreak .In response to the report, charities have claimed that reform is needed to the country's farming laws in order to protect the environment in the wake of Brexit. They say the latest figures offer more evidence to support expert predictions of an 'ecological Armageddon'.

Das Insektensterben trifft nach Angaben der Landesstiftung Natur und Umwelt (Lanu) auch Schmetterlinge. In Sachsen seien bereits je 14 Prozent der 125 heimischen Tagfalterarten ausgestorben und davon bedroht, teilte die Lanu am Freitag bei der Eröffnung der Schmetterlingssaison in Zwickau mit. Auch einst häufige Arten würden seltener.

The state pheasant population has dropped by 45 percent since 2016 — 65 percent lower than the 10-year average. Results from hunting have mirrored the decline. In 2007, the estimated pheasant bag was more than 2 million birds. In 2017, it was just more than 1 million, according to South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks. “Looking at the weather right now, we’re off to a record cold April,” said Travis Runia, senior upland game biologist for Game Fish and Parks. Many factors contribute to the last decade of pheasant decline, Runia said.

Most Britons remain blithely unaware that since the Beatles broke up, we have wiped out half our wildlife. Yet we are not alone. Last week, the French woke up in a dramatic way to the fact that their own farmland birds, their skylarks and partridges and meadow pipits, were rapidly disappearing: Le Monde, the most sober of national journals, splashed the fact across the top of its front page.

Neonicotinoid use has increased rapidly in recent years, with a global shift toward insecticide applications as seed coatings rather than aerial spraying. While the use of seed coatings can lessen the amount of overspray and drift, the near universal and prophylactic use of neonicotinoid seed coatings on major agricultural crops has led to widespread detections in the environment (pollen, soil, water, honey).

The State of the Nations Butterfly report which is published every five years shows long term and ten year trends – and it’s waving a danger flag. The most recent report published in 2015 indicates that overall a staggering 76 percent of our butterflies declined in abundance and occurrence over the past 40 years.

Four species of butterfly have become extinct over the past 150 years and the rest face an uncertain future. Our moths are doing no better as the total number over the past 40 years has declined overall by 28 percent, even as low as 40 percent in southern areas.