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UK’s butterflies hit by climate collapse


More than two-fifths of British butterflies are threatened with extinction, and experts have warned that action is needed to prevent the species from disappearing.

They say the latest Red List of British Butterflies shows that conditions are worsening for many species as climate change and nitrogen pollution put pressure on insects already battling changes in the landscape.

Wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation said some of the UK’s most endangered species, such as the large blue and tall brown fritillary, were no longer critically endangered due to intensive conservation efforts.

deterioration

But half of all British butterflies are on the UK’s Red List, classified as threatened or near threatened.

Of the 62 species assessed, 4 are already regionally extinct, and 24 of the remaining 58 species (or 41%) are threatened with extinction and are classified as either endangered or vulnerable to disappearance from the UK.

Five other species are listed as near threatened, according to the Red List.

Scientists at the Butterfly Conservation Society used data collected by volunteers through a logging programme to assess all regularly-breeding butterflies in the UK against extinction criteria set by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The situation has worsened since the last Red List assessment in 2011, with five more species threatened with extinction – a 26% increase – including some that are widespread or common in rural areas.

Heath

These include the wall butterfly, which remains a widespread species and is expanding its range northwards but has disappeared from large swathes of England, and the Scottish Argus, which has seen declines in Scotland.

The risk of extinction for more species is increasing rather than decreasing.

Heather and blowfish have moved from the vulnerable category to the riskier endangered category, and seven species have moved from Near Threatened to Threatened, including Swallowtail and Adonis Bruce.

Dr Richard Fox, head of butterfly conservation science, said: “It is shocking that half of the UK’s remaining butterfly species are listed as threatened or near threatened on the new Red List.

“Even before this new assessment, the British butterfly was one of the most threatened in Europe, and now there are five more threatened species in the UK, an increase of more than a quarter.

develop

“While some species are less threatened and some have even fallen off the Red List, the overall increase clearly shows that the status of British butterflies is rapidly deteriorating.”

Species are affected by habitat loss or changes in land use, such as the lack of woodlands in woodlands that were used in the past to create glades that benefit woodland butterflies as well as plants and other wildlife.



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