Washington DC, March 10 -- A study has been released, which for the first time tallies butterfly data from more than 76,000 surveys across the continental United States.

The results: between 2000 and 2020, total butterfly abundance fell by 22 per cent across the 554 species counted. That means that for every five individual butterflies within the contiguous US in the year 2000, there were only four in 2020.

"Action must be taken," said Elise Zipkin, a Red Cedar Distinguished Professor of quantitative ecology at Michigan State University and a co-author of the paper.

"To lose 22 percent of butterflies across the continental U.S. in just two decades is distressing and shows a clear need for broad-scale conservation interventions," Elise ...