US butterfly populations are declining because of insecticides, climate change and habitat loss, with the number of the winged beauties down 22% since 2000, a new nationwide study finds.

The number of butterflies in the contiguous United States declined by 22 percent this century, a collapse with potentially dire implications.

America's butterflies are disappearing because of insecticides, climate change and habitat loss, with the number of the winged beauties down 22% since 2000, a new study finds. The first countrywide systematic analysis of butterfly abundance found that the number of butterflies in the Lower 48 states has been falling on average 1.

A study, published Thursday in the journal Science, found that 22% of butterflies in the United States disappeared between 2000 and 2020.

The population of butterflies - the beautiful insects that play a vital role in pollination and the health of ecosystems - has fallen in the United States by more than a fifth this century, according to research spanning hundreds of species from the red admiral butterfly to the American lady to the cabbage white.

Butterflies are disappearing. Not just the rare and vulnerable ones but virtually all of them. And now, scientists have the data to prove just how bad it is. A sweeping new study reveals that butterfly populations across the continental United States have plummeted by 22% over the past two decades.