DECRYPTION – A new indicator makes it possible to estimate the number of species of butterflies that have disappeared in the territory over the past twenty years.
Since the 1960s, naturalists have observed it with sadness in their solitary counts: day butterflies are declining in France. An indicator developed thanks to the voluntary work of these enthusiasts, published on July 1 by the National Observatory of Biodiversity, confirms and identifies the phenomenon for the first time in France. Two thirds of the 301 species of butterflies known in mainland France have disappeared from at least one department since the last century, which demonstrates the reduction in the distribution area of these pollinating insects.
No department is spared: all have lost at least one species of butterfly. The most urbanized areas, such as Paris and the Hauts-de-Seine, have seen half of the species that were historically present disappear.
“The first victims are the specialist species”
“Butterfly (Lepidoptera) populations are declining due to habitat loss caused by land take, agricultural intensification, abandonment of grazing and climate change”noted…
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