
@article {164805,
	title = {Addressing Gaps in Butterfly Population Monitoring to Catalyze Global Insect Conservation},
	journal = {Conservation Letter},
	year = {2026},
	month = {23 March 2026},
	abstract = {<p class="rtejustify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: \&quot;Open Sans\&quot;, icomoon, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The conservation community sorely lacks a global indicator of change in insect populations. Given widespread insect declines, addressing this gap is key for conservation and policy targets. We suggest that butterfly monitoring programs can serve as the foundation for an effective global network of insect monitoring. To assess this potential, we bring together an international consortium and calculate a {\textquotedblleft}Global Butterfly Index{\textquotedblright} using the Living Planet Index approach. Based on 10,386 population trends of 213 univoltine species, we found that overall declines in butterfly populations are predictable based on species traits. Our effort should pave the way for the development of a global network of butterfly population monitoring schemes. Since butterflies are the best monitored insects and have strong emotional value for the public, a global infrastructure for butterfly monitoring can be a flagship for insect conservation, informing policymaking and spurring societal transitions towards sustainable futures.</span></p>
},
	doi = {10.1111/con4.70037},
	url = {https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/con4.70037},
	author = {F. Riva and R. Schmucki and R. Cooke and M. Balalaikins and J. M. Barea-Azc{\'o}n and D. N. Basu and M. B{\"o}hm and T. C. Bonebrake and S. Chowdhury and O. Comray and A. O. Debrot and A. J. Dolezal and E. E. Dyer and B. Fontaine and Z. F. Fric and R. Girotra and N. J. B. Isaac and K. R. Nagesh and E. K{\"u}hn and K. Kunte and A. S. Kutt and M. Kuussaari and M. Larivee and N. Legall and V. V. Lien and H. M. Madden and D. Maes and S. P. McGaffin and L. McRae and X. Mestdagh and M. L. Munguira and M. Musche and H. I. Mynott and V. Nawge and G. Peer and L. B. Pettersson and J. Pippen and L. Reis and T. Roth and M. {\v S}a{\v s}i{\'c} and J. Settele and C. Sevilleja and S. Sheikh and M. Sielezniew and R. Solis and C. Stefanescu and N. Titeux and E. Tzirkalli and A. Ubach and C. A. M. van Swaay and A. Walker and B. A. Woodcock and David B. Roy}
}
