Page 35 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION

LEPIDOPTERA CONSERVATION

Worldwide, habitat loss is the principal threat to Lepidoptera, with some
species in steep decline. At the root of the problem are urban development,
agricultural expansion, and forest clearance, erasing the natural, wild
terrain where eggs are laid, caterpillars feed, develop, and pupate, and adult

moths and butterflies eclose and breed. Around 10 percent of butterfly
species in Europe face extinction, according to the United Kingdom charity
Butterfly Conservation. In the United Kingdom, especially the south, moth
numbers have declined by up to 40 percent over the past 50 years.
Populations of the most familiar North American butterfly, the Monarch

(Danaus plexippus), have contracted by 80 to 90 percent in two decades.
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In response, conservation groups have launched community efforts to 33
save endangered butterflies, such as the Richmond Birdwing (Ornithoptera
richmondia)—the focus of recovery projects in Australia. In the United

States, more than 15,000 waystations containing nectar and caterpillar host
plants for Monarch butterflies have been established. A reduction in the
use of pesticides is helping, and some farmers in Europe, the United States,
and New Zealand are incorporating a nature reserve element within their
landscape strategy, which could further boost Lepidoptera numbers.
Rearing caterpillars is at the center of United States penitentiary-based

conservation efforts aimed at restoring populations of Taylor’s Checkerspot
butterfly (Euphydryas editha taylori) in Oregon and Washington State.
Thousands of Monarch caterpillars are reared annually by inmates at
Washington State Penitentiary, who tag the butterflies, before release, to

help provide data on migration routes and destinations. One prison
inmate reportedly said, “Watching a caterpillar transform itself into a
butterfly proves to me that I can change too,” showing that, even in the
more unlikely places, the miracle of Lepidoptera metamorphosis remains
a source of inspiration.

left Butterfly
gardening—growing
the flowering plants
that different species
favor, as well as the
host plants they
need to breed—is
a conservation
trend that is gaining
momentum and
has great potential
to stabilize or even
reverse current
population declines.