Vanishing yet vital: Western U.S. butterflies in decline

 When the Edith’s checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas editha) reaches its next flower, a few of the tiny flecks of pollen stuck to it will be left behind, pollinating the flower. However, Edith’s checkerspot is one of many butterfly species in decline, and some of its subspecies are currently listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. 

Matt Forister, a professor of biology at the University of Nevada, Reno, is the lead author of a Science study analyzing butterfly populations. He and his co-authors found butterfly observations have declined an estimated 1.6% annually over the past four decades in the western U.S., a decline they note as being “associated in particular with warming during fall months.”