Science - June 23, 2011
Extreme weather bad news for butterflies
Butterflies thrive in sunny weather. Yet global warming will not halt the decline in most species, says Michiel Wallis de Vries, entomologist and researcher for the Dutch Butterfly Association. 'Warming does have a slight positive effect, but it is not enough to reverse the downward trend for most species.'

Wallis de Vries applied these correlations to climatic forecasts for the end of this century. The conclusions were not encouraging. 'The butterfly does not exist. But in general, most of the butterfly species will decline in numbers. Mobile species that do not make many demands on their environment, such as the old world swallowtail or the speckled wood butterfly, seem to be winners. But there are many more losers: the specialists that cannot cope with extremes, such as the grayling and the large chequered skipper.' Yet that is no reason to give up, says Wallis de Vries. With well-targeted management you can steer things in the right direction. 'You could bridge periods of drought by retaining water for longer in the landscape.'