After Survey Reveals UK Butterflies Dying Off, Naturalist Calls for Immediate Action

Malachite butterfly lands on the face of a girl during a photocall to highlight the forthcoming 'Sensational Butterflies' exhibition at the Natural History Museum on March 31, 2015 in London, England. Carl Court/Getty Images

A British naturalist and television presenter is calling for research into the decline of the country’s butterflies.

The call for action came after a State of Britain’s Butterflies report four years in the making from the Butterfly Conservation and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology that revealed that more than three-quarters of the country’s 53 butterfly species have declined over the last 40 years.

“This is the final warning bell,” said Chris Packham, Butterfly Conservation vice-president, told the Guardian. 

“If butterflies are going down like this, what’s happening to our grasshoppers, our beetles, our solitary bees? If butterflies are in trouble, rest assured everything else is.”

The reasons behind the decline of some of the species include the destruction of flower-rich grassland, but the reasons for the decline of other species is still unclear and needs further study.  

A Large Tiger butterfly sits on a plant during a photocall to highlight the forthcoming 'Sensational Butterflies' exhibition at the Natural History Museum on March 31, 2015 in London, England. Carl Court/Getty Images