Butterfly numbers plummeting in US west as climate crisis takes toll

The total number of butterflies west of the Rockies has fallen 1.6% a year since 1977, a study finds - You extrapolate it and it's crazy'

The varied, and beautiful, butterfly species that dot the US west are being cut down by the climate crisis, new research has found, with rising temperatures helping cause a steep decline in butterfly numbers over the past 40 years.

There has been a 1.6% reduction in the total number of butterflies observed west of the Rocky Mountain range each year since 1977, researchers calculated, which amounts to a staggering loss of butterflies over the timespan of the study period.