Talk:Butterfly

message: Butterfly: Declining Numbers
Butterfly numbers have drastically dropped 50% in the year 2021. In addition to climate changes contributing to the decreasing numbers, other factors that contribute to their decline includes the increased use of pesticides, and habitat destruction. 
Source: 
http://www.ecosystemgardening.com/butterfly-numbers-plunge-by-50-percent.html Goosette (talk) 00:40, 14 February 2022 (UTC)
replies: text: Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. Per the source provided,  ScottishFinnishRadish (talk) 00:46, 14 February 2022 (UTC)
thread_title:  Semi-protected edit request on 14 February 2022 

message: I would like to add the following to the "Declining Numbers" section:
In terms of climate change, there are both negative and positive effects on butterflies. It is very dependent on the species and the terrain or climate range they have access to. As stated in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, the range of butterfly species has spread dramatically throughout Europe as a direct result of climate change. Correspondingly, some of the species in an attempt to find cooler conditions have gone locally extinct. Many more species, particularly in the south of Spain, are especially threatened. 
Other reasons for the declining numbers of the butterfly species population besides global warming include deforestation and habitat degradation, and the heavy use of insecticides and herbicides.  According to National Geographic, grazing, mining, drilling, and farming combined constitute for more than half of all of the current deforestation.  Particularly, habitat destruction is having a heavy impact on the butterfly species in North America. (Pskowski, 2019) Three main threats are contributing to the decrease of the butterfly population in North America: deforestation, increased use of herbicides, and decrease in milkweed availability. 
Two majorly used herbicides used in the agricultural industry, glyphosate and dicamba, are especially detrimental to the monarch butterfly population because they are toxic and harmful to milkweed. This is noteworthy because milkweed is the only food source of the monarch butterfly.  According to the Royal Entomological Society, there has been a decline of  milkweed species in the midwest by 58%. And from 1999 to 2010, there was an 81% decrease in monarch production in the midwest. These findings suggest that the loss of milkweed contributes majorly to the decline of monarch butterfly populations. 
However, even with the obvious risks insecticides pose to the butterfly populations, little has been done on how it will affect butterflies.  The little research that has been done has found that neonicotinoids, a type of herbicide related to nicotine, kills monarch butterflies when inside of a laboratory environment. The effects of this herbicide on the predators of butterflies and other insects have also been found to be harmful. . All of this information is particularly alarming when taking into account how important butterflies are for supporting ecosystems. 
Butterflies and caterpillars are extremely important when it comes to plant and ecosystem survival. Caterpillars cycle nutrients and energy through ecosystems by chewing and digesting the leaves on plants.  This makes important sources of sustenance available to the other living organisms.  Butterflies are also an important primary food source for other predatory insect species. Because of their impact and presence on the ecosystems they’re within, the presence of butterflies are often used by scientists to indicate a healthy environment. An increase or decrease of a butterfly population can potentially give clues about the changing quality of their surrounding ecosystems. 
This evident importance of butterfly species brings the need for their conservation. Some ways that conservation has been tried to put in place is through nature preserves and protected areas, and the utilization of more sustainable agricultural practices. 
LilHorton (talk) 03:30, 18 May 2022 (UTC)
replies: text: Not done for now:Please revise your request based on the Manual of Style. In particular, you do not need to mention where the information is from or declare the same reference repeatedly without a title. You should also use a more neutral tone. Aaron Liu (talk) 07:20, 4 June 2022 (UTC)
thread_title:  Semi-protected edit request on 17 May 2022 

message: Origin of words 105.113.108.99 (talk) 19:36, 28 January 2024 (UTC)
replies: text: Does the section Butterfly#Etymology help you? SchreiberBike | ⌨  00:48, 29 January 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  History