Why are butterflies declining all over the U.S.?

Part 1 of a 3-part series about recent studies that explore the reasons behind losing 20% of butterflies over the last 20 years.

Hi everyone!

I wanted to start off my newsletter with a series of stories I wrote about the drastic decline of butterflies in the U.S. over the past 20 years, with one out of every five butterflies lost.

The reasons are complicated and difficult to parse apart, but the top suspected causes are habitat loss, pesticides and climate change. And it appears that the top cause is different depending on the region - so, for example, in the Midwest, which has a lot of agriculture, pesticides are emerging as the primary cause.

These are fairly long, so I’ll post them in successive parts a day or so apart, so stay tuned for the next posting!

Many species of butterfly are declining, according to a recent study.

Butterflies in crisis: researchers sound alarm over steep nationwide declines

Butterflies are among the most beloved insects, with children and adults delight…