Butterfly populations in steep decline
By AMANDA CONLEY
[email protected]
ALBANY — Butterflies, beloved symbols of transformation and the health of many ecosystems, are quietly vanishing from landscapes across the United States. A recent study in Science reports a 22% decline in butterfly populations nationwide from 2000 to 2020—an urgent wake-up call for conservationists and communities alike.
“This is the most comprehensive assessment of U.S. butterfly population trends ever undertaken,” according to Cheryl Schultz, a professor of conservation biology at Washington State University and senior author of the March study.
“It gives us a clear picture of the extent of declines and the need to act quickly across all parts of our landscape,” she added, in an Albany Pine Bush press release.
The research, coauthored by scientists from 35 butterfly monitoring programs—including data from the Albany Pine Bush Preserve—analyzed 12.6 million individual butterflies across 554 species. The findings revealed declines in all major butterfly families, with over 100 species shrinking by more than half and 22 species losing more than 90% of their populations.
“Our study found that the total number of butterflies declined by 1.3% a year,” said the study’s lead author Collin Edwards. “That may not sound like much, but it adds up quickly. We’ve lost more than one in five butterflies in just 20 years.”
Yet amid these sobering statistics, the Albany Pine Bush Preserve is providing a glimmer of hope.
“This alarming state of the nation’s butterfly populations underscores how critical conservation efforts are,” according to Conservation Director of the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Neil Gifford, in the press release, “And it shows just what a significant example our own success with butterfly recovery has been within that same 20-year time span.”
Dr. Steven P. Campbell, Conservation Biologist at the Preserve and a coauthor of the study, highlighted local progress in protecting the federally endangered Karner blue butterfly (Plebejus samuelis), native to the Preserve.
“A strong showing from the Karner blue butterfly metapopulation in 2024 continues to indicate that our efforts to restore and maintain high-quality inland pitch pine-scrub oak barrens are working,” Campbell said.
In 2024, Albany Pine Bush recorded an estimated 8,300 Karner blues in the spring and 25,500 in the summer—marking the second-largest summer brood since monitoring began in 2007. For more than a decade, the Preserve’s population has exceeded the recovery threshold set by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Conservationists credit this success to a range of efforts, from habitat restoration to public education. “Butterflies need host plants on which to lay eggs, wildflowers on which to feed, a refuge from pesticides, and sites to overwinter,” said Xerces Society Executive Director and study coauthor Scott Black. “There is hope for these animals if we focus on providing habitat across all landscapes.”
The Pine Bush Preserve is part of a working group that involves state agencies and the Nature Conservancy to recover the Karner blue butterfly, a species restricted to dry sandy areas with open woods and clearings supporting wild blue lupine. In New York, the butterfly is found in certain parts of the Hudson Valley sand belt which extends from the Albany Pine Bush north to the Glens Falls area.
According to the Department of Environmental Conservation, recovery of the species is dependent upon the efforts of the working group, involvement of local towns and counties, and the cooperation of private landowners.
The Pine Bush Preserve’s work in ecological science extends beyond research. Through its Science Lecture Series and Community Science Programs, the Preserve offers the public opportunities to engage with science firsthand. Upcoming events include a lecture on butterfly and moth diversity on May 15, and a volunteer training for the National Butterfly Count on June 25.
“These programs offer a rare backstage look into the science of the Preserve,” according to Gifford. “They give people a meaningful way to contribute to our mission, and help us gather data on a scale we could never achieve alone.”
For more information on upcoming events, or to get involved, visit www.AlbanyPineBush.org/events.
Amanda Conley is a UAlbany Journalism student participating in the SUNY Institute for Local News initiative to help community journalism.
