"Experts say the drop in abundance is largely due to chemical use, habitat loss, and a warming climate"

"Nathan Brockman has been researching butterflies for years in Iowa.

“Insects have the ability to bounce back. They're really resilient creatures for the most part,” said Brockman, Reiman Gardens’ director of entomology at Iowa State University. “When what they need is there, they do really well.”

But with habitat loss, a warming climate and chemical use in agriculture, butterfly numbers across the country are declining.

From 2000 to 2020, butterfly abundance fell by 22 percent across about 554 species, a group of 33 authors from nonprofits, universities, and state and federal agencies found."

Olivia Cohen reports for the Cedar Rapids Gazette April 11, 2025. [2]