Britain sees second-best butterfly season in 16 years; people counted almost 1.4 million common butterflies and moths; painted ladies jumped by 335%, but scientists are worried

Britain sees second-best butterfly season in 16 years; people counted almost 1.4 million common butterflies and moths; painted ladies jumped by 335%, but scientists are worried

The record heat of 2026 made this summer exceptional for butterfly-watching. More than 100,000 volunteers fanned across Britain with notebooks this summer, tallying nearly 1.4 million common butterflies and day-flying moths. This was the second-best butterfly season of the past 16 years, according to the Big Butterfly Count. Painted ladies surged by 335% compared with … Read more

She started raising butterflies at 7; by 16, this Florida girl had tracked birds and found populations rose by up to 159% after habitat restoration, she’s now headed to a national magazine

She started raising butterflies at 7; by 16, this Florida girl had tracked birds and found populations rose by up to 159% after habitat restoration, she's now headed to a national magazine

A 16-year-old student from Sarasota, Florida, Sophia Haakman began growing butterflies at just 7. Over the years, her love for nature and its beings has evolved into a serious conservation effort. Haakman sought to find out if the hundreds of hours she spent rehabilitating local ecosystems were truly beneficial to wildlife. So she created her … Read more

Only nine of these butterflies were found across the US in 2022; three years later researchers released more than 1,300 to rebuild the species

Only nine of these butterflies were found across the US in 2022; three years later researchers released more than 1,300 to rebuild the species

By 2022, researchers had documented only nine Poweshiek skipperlings in the entire United States On a summer day in Michigan, a tiny Poweshiek skipperling butterfly takes flight over a restored prairie. The butterfly is smaller than a quarter, but its return marks a major change for a species once feared to be close to extinction.Researchers … Read more