Massive declines in insect biodiversity and biomass are reported from many regions and habitats. In urban areas, creation of native wildflower meadows is one option to support insects and reduce maintenance costs of urban green spaces. However, benefits for insect conservation may depend on previous land use, and the size …
Massive declines in insect biodiversity and biomass are reported from many regions and habitats. In urban areas, creation of native wildflower meadows is one option to support insects and reduce maintenance costs of urban green spaces. However, benefits for insect conservation may depend on previous land use, and the size …
Gaming and virtual reality (VR) could bridge the gap between urban societies and nature, claimed a recent study. The researchers strive to bridge the gap by a new VR game they developed called, Butterfly World 1.0, an adventure game designed to engage its users in learning about insect and plant …
Insects have “no place to hide” from climate change, scientists have said after analysing 50 years’ worth of UK data. The study found that woodlands, whose shade was expected to protect species from warming temperatures, are just as affected by climate change as open grasslands. The research examined records of …
Biodiversity of insects is threatened worldwide. Here, we present a comprehensive review of 73 historical reports of insect declines from across the globe, and systematically assess the underlying drivers. Our work reveals dramatic rates of decline that may lead to the extinction of 40% of the world's insect species over …
After several years of declining monarch numbers, researchers believe this year will see a dramatic uptick in monarch butterflies making their way across states like Texas. Craig Wilson, of the USDA Future Scientists Program, says that early data shows monarchs are bucking a severe downward trend of the past several …
All serious butterfly collectors remember their first gynandromorph: a butterfly with a colour and pattern that are distinctly male on one wing and female on the other. Seeing one sparks wonder and curiosity. For biologist Nipam H. Patel, the sighting offered a possible answer to a question he had been …
Mussoorie: The Jabarkhet Nature Reserve (JNR), a 100-acre privately-owned forest reserve popular with visitors to the hill town is the latest casualty in the recent spate of forest fires that have hit the state. According to reserve officials, almost 80% of the reserve has been affected in fires that have …
CHENNAI: Think of butterflies and the mind paints a kaleidoscope of colours fluttering in a garden. But butterflies have more to them than just being a visual delight. They play the role of pollinators, balance the food chain and their behaviour, population and migration patterns help ecologists gauge the impact …
Norfolk's butterflies, bees, bugs, birds, trees and mammals are at major risk from climate change as temperatures rise—according to new research from the University of East Anglia. Researchers carried out the first in-depth audit of its kind for a region in the UK to see how biodiversity might be impacted …
The microscopic eggs of an endangered butterfly have been found in Scotland, suggesting the insect has returned to breed in the country for the first time in more than 130 years. Guardian Today: the headlines, the analysis, the debate - sent direct to you Read more Lepidopterists discovered white-letter hairstreak …
Coimbatore: The members of the Tamil Nadu Butterfly Society, who undertook a butterfly walk at Kovai Coutrallam last week, spotted 102 species in a day. The team of five people from the non-profit organisation said that there was no systematic survey on butterflies in Tamil Nadu. "The list of butterflies …
ITANAGAR: Researchers have discovered a new species of moth from the Talle Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh. The discovery of the Zygaenid moth was published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa, an international journal on conservation and taxonomy, on December 26 last year. The article was published by Bombay Natural …
Effective habitat restoration requires an understanding of species habitat preferences and the associated mechanisms driving those preferences. We examined the patterns and causes of oviposition preference in the monarch butterfly, a rapidly declining species, in southwestern Ontario at both landscape and milkweed patch spatial scales. Additionally, we measured the abundance …
Research of the past decades has shown that biodiversity promotes ecosystem functions including primary productivity. However, most studies focused on experimental communities at small spatial scales, and little is known about how these findings scale to nonexperimental, real-world ecosystems at large spatial scales, despite these systems providing essential ecosystem services …
A severe late spring storm in central Mexico in March 2016 that struck the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve was unique because it was accompanied by high-velocity winds that eliminated the normal thermal protection provided by the Oyamel fir forest. Temperatures throughout the forest merged with the colder open-area ambient temperatures. …
Scotland has a new species of butterfly: the elusive and endangered white-letter hairstreak has been discovered in a field in Berwickshire, 100 metres from the English border. It is the first time since 1884 that the butterfly has been sighted in Scotland, raising hopes that climate change has helped it …
There is growing recognition as to the importance of extreme climatic events (ECEs) in determining changes in species populations. In fact, it is often the extent of climate variability that determines a population's ability to persist at a given site. This study examined the impact of ECEs on the resident …
TNBS conducted the survey in the reserve forest and open areas Endowed with valleys, ridges, waterfalls and thick forest areas, the picturesque and scenic Pachamalai hills in Tiruchi district has multiple species of butterflies - both in the reserve forest and open areas. During a two-day exploratory preliminary survey carried …
The small tortoiseshell was once a common garden butterfly but has declined by 73% since scientific monitoring began in the 1970s. Perhaps gardens have become tidier with fewer crucial nettles for their caterpillars. But nitrate pollution has helped nettles proliferate and more gardeners plant late-summer fuel like buddleia (cut them …
Conservationists are warning of the decline of one of the UK’s best-loved butterflies. Numbers of the small tortoiseshell – which is one of the most recognisable and widespread in the country – appear to have plummeted this summer. This year numbers have been worryingly low as the cool spring and …
