Butterfly Conservation Europe
Please enter your butterfly and moth records at www.butterfly-recording.eu
June 2010 European Moth nights The Hungarian Lepidopterological Society and the Entomological Society of Luzern (Switzerland) organise an annual event called European Moth Nights. The 7th European Moth Nights will take place 9-13 September 2010. The aim is to gather a wide-ranging snapshot of the macro-moths flying during the period, paying particular attention to migrant species and those in need of conservation. Participants can submit macro-moth records from any or all of the five nights
and from one or many locations. The data should be submitted using Excel templates that have been specifically designed for the event. These can be found at the European Moth Nights website or ordered by post. In 2011 a European Moth Night has been planned for 25-29 August. In The Netherlands the Dutch National Moth night is on 9 July 2010. More information is available on the website (in Dutch). In the UK the moth night was already in May 2010. For more information and to submit your records visit the National Moth Night website.
June 2010
Updated Red List of European Butterflies and European Grassland Butterfly Indicator
On our 'Gateway to Data' page (http://www.bc-europe.org/category.asp?catid=9) you can find links to the new Red List of European Butterflies and the update European Grassland Butterfly Indicator.
The Kaçkar Mountains at Yusufeli, northeast Turkey, is a hotspot within a hotspot. It has been identified as the area of most outstanding importance for biodiversity within the Turkish part of the internationally recognized Caucasus Global Biodiversity Hotspot (see www.biodiversityhotspots.org). In just 1,800km2 there are no less than three distinct climatic zones – which even includes a Mediterranean enclave – and a wide range of altitudes. Together these support a unique mix of vegetation communities and high species diversity, including Brown Bears, Caucasian Black Grouse and 28 endemic species of plants. Most stunning are the butterflies; no less than 201 species can be found here. That’s more than most European countries and more than 50% of the 380 species recorded in all Turkey.
However, there are well-developed plans for a series of hydroelectric dams and surface water rerouting throughout the area. If constructed, the whole region’s diversity will be significantly impacted, as will the cultural and ecosystem integrity of this globally important region. Whilst the areas most obviously affected will be the valley bottoms and the watercourses, some sections of which are likely to be completely dry at certain times of year, the surrounding landscape will also be affected as rivers are canalised following the contours along mountainsides, tunnels are dug to pipe water through mountains, electricity generating stations are built, pylons are installed to carry the electricity generated and service roads are built to facilitate the construction and future maintenance work. These will destroy areas of habitat over a much wider area and cause immediate butterfly population losses, but more insidious will be the fragmentation effect on populations and the resulting local isolation and slow but steady population declines. Since the plans are not clear no precise effect can be predicted with certainty, but we are confident that butterfly populations will be affected. For those species which are endemic to the Lesser Caucasus, these threats are a serious concern.
If you want to urge the Turkish governement to stop these plans, please sign the petition at
16 March 2010
European butterflies on the brink
Almost one in ten species of European butterflies (37 species) are under threat of extinction and almost one-third are declining according to a major new report from IUCN and Butterfly Conservation Europe. A further 10% are close to being threatened and one species, the Madeiran Large White, is probably extinct, not have been seen for 20 years.
Because butterflies are good indicators of biodiversity, the results indicate a serious crisis for
The main factor causing the declines has been the extensive loss of key habitats such as flower-rich grassland and wetlands, due to agricultural intensification. However, changes in habitat management and abandonment of pastures in mountain areas have taken their toll. Over half of European butterflies rely on traditional grazing to maintain their flower-rich, grassland habitats. Such systems are being abandoned on a massive scale as they cannot compete economically with modern, highly intensive agriculture. Climate change is thought to be a serious future threat to many species.
Among the most endangered species are the Danube Clouded Yellow, now thought to be confined to a few sites in
Dr Martin Warren, vice-chairman of Butterfly Conservation Europe and one of the report’s authors said “The rapid decline of so many species is extremely worrying. They point to a major loss of wildlife and wild habitats across
The new Red List of European butterflies was produced by a team of over 50 experts from countries across Europe, co-ordinated by Butterfly Conservation Europe and IUCN.
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/conservation/species/redlist
1 December 2009
Appeal to Copenhagen conference
Butterfly Conservation Europe actively supports the appeal of the European Habitats Forum to emphasise that we cannot solve the climate crisis without supporting the recovery of biodiversity and ensuring resilient ecosystems at the same time.
Read the letter here.
Flyer of Climatic Risk Atlas available
Please download the flyer here.
Second meeting of BCE partners
BCE had its Second meeting of the BCE partners in Laufen (Germany) from 28-30 January 2009. The first day of the meeting we focussed on the new upcoming Red List of European Butterflies. The second day was devoted to BCE issues from all over Europe, with short presentations from all countries.
Here is a photo of all participants.
23 December 2008
The EU Commission published their Review of the implementation at EU level and country by country of the EU Biodiversity Action Plan on 17 December.
The Official Report with detailed country by country annexes is available at the following link:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/biodiversity/comm2006/bap_2008.htm
It confirms our analysis of the need to do much more to halt the loss of biodiversity and start recovery across Europe.
15 December 2008
Butterfly declines indicate failure to hit 2010 biodiversity target
Butterflies are disappearing from Europe's grasslands at an alarming rate. Latest figures collated by scientists at Butterfly Conservation Europe show a decline of 60% in grassland butterflies since 1990.
The drastic decline of butterflies across Europe is due to a loss of grassland habitats as permanent pasture is ploughed up to plant intensively managed crops or biofuels. Other problems are caused by the abandonment of grazing in remote hill land and the rapid spread of urban areas.
The recently published Climatic Risk Atlas of European Butterflies underlines the potent risk that these losses will be exacerbated as temperatures rise. Reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are needed urgently as well as improved land use and agricultural policies.
Butterfly Conservation Europe, the not for profit body working to help conserve biodiversity and ecosystem health across Europe, calls today on European governments to honour the pledge they made in 2001 and intensify their efforts to halt the loss of biodiversity across Europe by 2010.
A major report published 15 December 2008 by the European Commission shows some welcome progress towards this target. However much more needs to be done to reverse ongoing losses and start recovery.
The monitoring and research carried out by Butterfly Conservation Europe and its partners across Europe shows how acute problems remain. The recent EU Health Check of the CAP was a serious disappointment and opportunities were missed to set farming practice on a more sustainable path. Much more money needs to be transferred out of Area-based payments into rewarding farmers for producing the public goods, especially biodiversity and landscape quality. This would help sustain Europe as a beautiful as well as prosperous place to live.
We owe this to our children and grandchildren as well as to present generations. Once lost, functioning ecosystems are difficult and in many cases impossible to recreate. Butterflies are a symbol of both the vulnerability and the resilience of nature. Together with other insects, they are fundamental parts of the foodchain. We must ensure the proper protection and management of semi- natural grassland and permanent pasture right across the European landscape.
Sue Collins, European Policy Advisor to Butterfly Conservation Europe, said “We welcome the Review and call on EU Governments to redouble their efforts to protect Europe’s wildlife wealth. The report is a wake up call to European governments to recognise the fundamental importance of sustaining and enhancing Europe's natural assets. We know what should be done and we need European Heads of Government to demonstrate leadership, courage and vision and set Europe on a more sustainable path.”
11 December 2008
Climatic Risk Atlas of European Butterflies
Climate change will cause Europe to lose much of its biodiversity as projected by a comprehensive study on future butterfly distribution. The Climatic Risk Atlas of European Butterflies predicts northward shifts in potential distribution area of many European butterfly species. As early warning indicators of environmental change, butterflies are a valuable tool to assess overall climate change impact and to provide some indication on the chances to come nearer to the target of halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010 set by the EU Heads of State in 2001.
The Climatic Risk Atlas of European Butterflies is based on the work of scores of scientists from across
The authors say that some climate change is now inevitable and that the extent of the losses will depend on the degree of that change and how we respond to the new threat. Butterflies have already suffered huge losses across Europe following decades of habitat loss and changing farming and forestry practices.
As temperatures rise, majority of butterfly species will try to head north. This won’t always be achievable. The forestry and farming changes mean that areas of suitable habitat are now often small and too far apart for butterflies to travel between them.
The worst-case scenario scientists examined sees the average European temperature rise by 4.1ºC by 2080. In that case over 95 per cent of the present land occupied by 70 different butterflies would become too warm for continued survival.
The best case-scenario sees a 2.4ºC temperature rise. Even this would mean that 50 per cent of the land occupied by 147 different butterflies would become too warm for them to continue to exist there.
Many butterflies will largely disappear from where they are regularly seen now. The Small Tortoiseshell will become absent from a huge swathe of middle and southern Europe and will become restricted to northern Europe. Under the worst-case scenario, rare species like the Spanish Festoon Zerynthia rumina would experience a 97% loss from
Climate change is already having an impact on butterflies. Over 60 mobile species with widespread food-plants are known to have spread north in Europe over recent decades, including the Comma Polygonia c-album, which is spreading north in the
The chief author of Climatic Atlas of European Butterflies is Dr Josef Settele from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) in Germany. He said: “The Atlas shows for the first time how the majority of European butterflies might respond to climate change. Most species will have to shift their distribution radically to keep pace with the changes. The way butterflies change will indicate the possible response of many other insects, which collectively comprise over two-thirds of all species.”
Dr Martin Warren, Chairman of Butterfly Conservation Europe and one of the authors, said “Evidence points to an acceleration in climate change after 2050 unless there is a significant decrease in global CO2 emissions. This accelerated change would be the final nail in the coffin for many European species. We need to be ready for this worst-case scenario. We need place more emphasis on maintaining large, diverse populations on existing habitats while re-connecting habitats to allow species to move across the landscape. This means working closely with farmers and planners.”
Dr Ladislav Miko, Director of Nature Conservation at the EU Environment Directorate in Brussels, said: “We strongly welcome this important study which helps us understand how species might respond to climate change. The evidence points to a radical change in species’ distribution, which we must plan for within future European policies. The results show the enormous scientific value of records from thousands of volunteers across Europe.”
Sebastian Winkler, Head of Countdown 2010, stated “The astounding outcomes of this study should remind world leaders once more that if immediate action is not taken, the 2010 biodiversity target will not be reached and biological diversity will continue to decline.”
The Climatic Risk Atlas of European Butterflies is published by Pensoft - a science publisher based in
April 2008
Future of Butterflies II
From 17 to 19 April 2008 De Vlinderstichting organised an international butterfly congress titles ‘Future of Butterflies II’. This was a follow up to the first congress on the Future of Butterflies in Europe of 1989. Then there were 90 participants from 17 countries, now there were 160 from 25 countries.
The presentations of the congress can be found at http://www.vlinderstichting.nl/butterflyCongress2008/.
Inaugural Meeting of Partners
‘Working together to conserve butterflies, moths and their habitats as part of Europe’s biodiversity’
Laufen, 29-31 October 2007
Aims of the meeting:
1) To identify BC Europe’s priorities for reversing the decline of butterflies and moths in Europe and contributing to the 2010 target of halting biodiversity loss
2) To identify ways of working together to achieve our goals of a countryside rich in butterflies and moths
3) To provide an opportunity for networking amongst Partners and Board members
The meeting was a great succes, with partners from more than 30 countries participating.
Available downloads:
The Proceedings
The presentations:
- Countdown 2010 - Tamás Marghescu (IUCN)
- Biodiversity, Butterflies and Moths and the EU - Ladislav Miko (EU)
- BirdLife - Clairie Papazoglou
- BCE Influencing Policy - Sue Collins (BCE)
- PBA Bulgaria - Stoyan Beshkov (shortened version)
- Online recording and European Butterfly Indicator - Chris van Swaay (BCE/De Vlinderstichting)
The resolutions of the congress are summarized here.
Delegates to the Laufen meeting. Photo: Martin Warren.
European Moth Nights
The next European moths nights will be: 21.-25.5.2009 - 9.-13.9.2010
For more information check euromothnights.uw.hu or lepidoptera.fw.hu.
The State of Britain’s Larger Moths
February 2006
Butterfly Conservation (UK) has published a major new report on ‘The State of Britain’s Larger Moths’ on 20th February 2006. The report provides, for the first time, important new information on trends in this large and diverse group of insects. It summarises Butterfly Conservation’s programme to conserve the Priority Moths listed in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, as well as presenting the first national trends from the network of light traps run by Rothamsted Research since 1968. This is the longest running most geographically extensive survey of insects anywhere in the world.
We believe the results are highly significant because moths and their larvae form an important link in the food-chain for much of our more familiar wildlife, such as birds and bats. Moreover, they indicate likely changes in other less well-studied groups of insects, which form the bulk of our terrestrial biodiversity.
As Sir David Attenborough states in his Foreword, the results are significant and worrying.
- 62 moth species became extinct during the twentieth century
- The total number of moths in Britain declined by over one-third in the last 35 years and numbers in southern Britain by 44%
- Two-thirds of ‘common’ larger moth species are declining
- 71 ‘common’ moths (21% of total) have declined by more than 30% in the last 10 years. This qualifies them as new Priority Species in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan
Butterfly Conservation is extremely concerned about these findings and is taking action now with its conservation partners to help halt and reverse these declines. Action includes:
- Acting as Lead Partner for 52 of the 53 Priority Moths in the UK BAP, with support from English Nature, Countryside Council for Wales, Scottish Natural Heritage, Environment Heritage Service and many other funders.
- Proposing 126 species for addition as Priority Species due to their recent declineWorking with Oxford University on their research programme to identify the causes of decline of ‘common’ species and measures needed to reverse them.
- Advising on specific measures to help moths and butterflies within the Environmental Stewardship Schemes and its counterparts in Scotland and Wales.
- Seeking funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and others to set up a National Moth Recording Scheme to target conservation action and engage the public.
Further copies of the report can be purchased for £5 + 2.20 p&p (for continental Europe) at www.butterfly-conservation.org
