Butterflies and climate change?


Butterfly populations are great indicators of biodiversity. Over the past 150 years, four types of butterflies have gone extinct, and in Britain many more are believed to be in decline. The decrease of butterflies in the UK is a symptom of large-scale environmental change because such delicate creatures are affected by habitat change. To document this problem, each year thousands of British volunteers join the Big Butterfly Count, a campaign that asks them to sit in nature and tally their butterfly sightings. Last year, 60,000 people counted over 62,500 butterflies. This year, July 27–August 12, Britons will have the chance to relax in the sun and count butterflies as they flutter past.

Image credit: Yonette Joseph for The New York Times News source: Yonette Joseph, “Hold Still, Butterflies, Britain Is Counting” The New York Times, July 20, 2018