Small fox, meadow birds, chessboard butterfly, Admiral – the beauty of the diverse butterfly species is reflected in creative names. But more and more species are threatened with extinction. Here you can find out how you can stop the decline in butterflies and rediscover nature.
Butterflies have fascinated people for centuries. Therefore, they are among the best researched invertebrates. Many children already learn the history of the “caterpillar Nimmersatt” in kindergarten. But the metamorphosis, i.e. the transformation of caterpillars to butterflies, not only fascinates children. Their process at cellular level is still puzzling researchers.
In addition to the scientific discussion, people in the 19th and 20th centuries began to collect butterflies in their free time. Back then, still rigorous methods: Interested parties caught the insects with butterfly networks and killed them with chemicals. Then they prepared the animals and exhibited them in showcases. Even the English Prime Minister Winston Churchill collected and breeded butterflies in his childhood.
Many butterflies are threatened
Today nature conservation plays a larger role and butterfly lovers are limited to photography the colorful animals. After all, around 60 percent of domestic species are at risk or threatened with extinction. The main reasons for this are the loss of habitats, environmental toxins, temperature changes due to the climate crisis and monocultures in the fields and in the forests. Butterflies and other insects suffer particularly from these changes.
In the investigation of landscapes, scientists therefore use butterflies as an indicator of biodiversity and health of the biotope. The colorful animals are well suited, as butterflies are well researched and their color splendor can be distinguished better than beetles and flying. If there are many and diverse butterflies, it means that the plants are also varied. Overall, biodiversity can then be assumed. The diversity is not only beautiful to look at, it also increases the resistance of nature and ensures functioning material cycles. For example, insects play a central role in fertilization of plants and in food chains. The loss of their diversity therefore brings ecosystems out of balance and can have far -reaching consequences.
Where do butterflies live?
The European Alps are an important habitat for numerous unique butterflies. Some species specialize in individual plants and extreme conditions. For example, the small lichen bear, an orange-black patterned moth, occurs at a height of up to 3000 meters. His caterpillars eat braids of stones and rocks. Other types of butterfly prefer mountain meadows that are only cultivated for hay from time to time. Since the intensive use of land also increases in the Alps, these endemic species are threatened. Finally, grain fields, apple plantations and co are not a good place for butterflies because of their chemicals, low diversity on plants and more frequent management by machines.
But butterflies also lose their habitats away from the Alps. Many of them prefer plants that grow on nutrient -poor soils. For example, the chess board butterfly occurs in less substantial lean meadows. These become less and less due to the strong fertilization of agriculture and exhaust gases from industry and traffic.
Discover the variety of butterflies
It is all the more important to know the value of diversity. And not only scientists can contribute to this. Watching butterflies is also a mindful hobby in nature for children and adults. Incidentally, this creates a deeper understanding of local nature and how to protect it. Your own garden, parks, meadows, forests or even planted traffic islands are suitable for observing butterflies.
Observing can either go for a walk or relax in one place and look for animal visitors. Butterflies are typically active from April to September and between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. In the sunshine, they flutter around at temperatures from 13 degrees Celsius, only from 17 degrees Celsius. The activity of the animals also limits strong winds.
What butterflies live in Germany?
There are 180,000 types of butterflies worldwide, in Germany you can discover 3,700 of them. Only around 190 of the domestic species are butterfly, the rest are among the night folds. However, unlike their name suggests, they also live partly during the day. You can differentiate with a look at the sensors: the butterfly have club-shaped sensors. On the other hand, moths have no clubs on the often feathered feelers.
For example, the large group of domestic moth includes beautiful colored species such as the brown bear. In urban and rural areas, you can also watch rags such as the little fox, the dayfall eye, the lemon butterfly and the cabbage white. With a little patience you can also discover fascinating species such as the blue Hauhechel-Bläuling or the orange imperial mantle.
Collect data for science
Determination books with precise descriptions help you recognize the species and also provide information about your habitat. Alternatively, you can determine photographed butterflies with apps such as “Picture Insect”. If you want to take a closer look at fast moths, you can catch them with a large insect box and carefully put them in an observation glass with foam lid. You shouldn’t touch the butterflies and release it after a few minutes.
You can document your observations with apps such as “Diversity Garden” or a notepad. Nature conservation organizations such as NABU regularly collect such data to pursue the development of butterfly populations. The daily monitoring at the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ) also enables interested citizens to support professional collections throughout Germany.
Your own garden as a butterfly paradise
If you want to do something for the protection of butterflies afterwards, you will find many starting points in your own garden or on the balcony. So you can create an oasis for butterflies in often monotonous landscapes. Threatened species benefit above all from diverse food offers. It is important to grow domestic plants. German butterfly species can do little with plants such as forsythia, bougainvillea or rhododendron from other regions. Monotonous green plants such as spruce, cherry laurel and thuja hedges also offer no food for insects.
Instead, wildflower beds are a good idea, for example with a blood and white, arable widow flower or meadow foam. You can also leave unpopular plants as weeds such as dandelion, clover, giersch, nettle and arable winds at selected places for butterflies. The nectar of thistles, thyme, stone herb, lavender and summer lilac is particularly popular with butterflies. In addition to nettles, the Sal pasture serves as a feed plant for caterpillars from many butterfly species such as the Schillerfalter and the C-butterfly.
For a butterfly -friendly garden, you should also do without pesticides. Do you want to mow your lawn regularly? In order not to destroy all hiding places and sources of food in one fell swoop, you can leave out a few places. Another measure: by buying a peat -line earth you prevent the destruction of bogs, an important habitat of endangered butterfly species.
