Danish butterflies in decline
Denmark’s butterflies have undergone an accelerating negative trend since the mid-twentieth century.
Within just fifty years, a total of twelve species – corresponding to approximately 10% of the overall number of Danish butterfly species – have disappeared from the Danish countryside.
The reasons for the enormous decline in the species of Danish butterflies are mainly found in the intensification of forestry and agriculture, which has resulted in limited space in the modern landscape for wildernesses and butterflies.
12 common Danish butterflies
During a summer holiday in Denmark you will still see many different butterflies. Her are 12 common species:
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- The Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) is one of Denmark’s most-familiar butterflies.
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- Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina)
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- Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus)
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- The green-veined white (Pieris napi)
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- Brimstone butterfly (Gonepteryx rhamni)
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- The small pearl-bordered fritillary (Boloria selene)
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- Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi)
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- The Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)
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- The Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)
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- The Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas)
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- Peacock butterfly (Inachis io)
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- The Common blue ( Polyommatus icarus) The commonest blue found in Denmark.
Coverage of the decline of the Danish butterflies was made possible by a new database that contains almost half a million butterfly observations from all over Denmark during the period 1900 to 2012. The database contains historical data from collections at natural history museums and entomological societies, private collections, and more recent data from atlas studies and popular citizen science databases.
Lepidoptera-species of Denmark consist of both the butterflies and moths recorded in the country. As of 2017, there are a total of 2,641 species of Lepidoptera in Denmark.
Sources: scitech.au.dk, Wikipedia.
