The butterfly population in the Netherlands declined further in 2012 and has currently reached the lowest level during the past twenty years. The number of butterflies requiring a grassland habitat has dropped dramatically in agricultural areas. Not only many rare butterfly species, but also many common species have struggled to survive in recent years, but 2012 was an exceptionally bad year butterfly-wise. The butterfly population shrank to the lowest level since 1992. Rare species like the large chequered skipper and the tree grayling are doing very poorly, but more common species like the peacock butterfly and the large white are not doing well either. The situation for butterfly species in the past commonly found in grasslands has deteriorated dramatically. The population of so-called ‘farmland butterflies’ was reduced to one quarter compared to 1992. The small skipper seems to have vanished from agricultural areas; the wall brown is no longer found in many parts of the Netherlands. Just over half of all butterfly species found in the Netherlands are severely in decline compared to 1992; one quarter of species are seriously under threat.
Source:
Calijn Plate and Chris van Swaay (De Vlinderstichting, Butterfly Foundation)
http://www.cbs.nl/en-GB/menu/themas/natuur-milieu/publicaties/artikelen…
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