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Reposted by Irma Maculinea

Butterfly Conservation Europe @europebutterfly.bsky.social · 7d

It would be very disappointing if the German government do not adopt the Grassland Butterfly Indicator just because it is going down. They should be taking up the challenge of reversing the decline of pollinators not ignoring this crucial issue to humanity

Stephan Piskol @spiskol.bsky.social · 14d

📢📉🦋Eine neue Studie des @ufz.de
enthüllt den Rückgang beim "Index der Gründlandschmetterlinge".

Vermutlich genau deshalb wollen Bund und Länder den Indikator des Art. 11(2) der #Wiederherstellungsverordnung lieber nicht für Deutschland anwenden.
➡️ www.ufz.de/index.php?de...

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Reposted by Irma Maculinea

Butterfly Conservation Europe @europebutterfly.bsky.social · 9d

Check out our new website, packed with new features, including updated project and EU policy pages + butterfly species pages with all known hostplants courtesy of Harry Clarke and downloadable country lists. Big thanks to Peter Eeles @ukbutterflies.bsky.social for all his help www.bc-europe.eu

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Irma Maculinea @irmamaculinea.bsky.social · 22d

We have the same in NL. It retreats in bad summers but recolonizes lost area soon in the next summer. Until last week when the weather was fine it occurred "almost everywhere"!

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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · Sep 3

📣 New research, including @savebutterflies.bsky.social #citizenscience data, shows winners & losers across >1200 insect species in Britain since 1990. Urbanisation identified as major driver of decline for moths, ladybirds & hoverflies www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🌍 🦋🐞🦗🪲🐝

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Marcia Luyten @marcialuyten.bsky.social · Aug 13

Annie MG is alive! 💚

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Irma Maculinea @irmamaculinea.bsky.social · Aug 12

We steunen onze collega! Dit onderzoek is goed uitgevoerd en zal worden voortgezet. De waarheid laat zich niet weg werken 🦋

We fully support our colleague! This study has been well conducted and will continue. The truth cannot be worked away🦋

www.vlinderstichting.nl/actueel/nieu...

De Vlinderstichting | Medewerker De Vlinderstichting bedreigd om pesticidenonderzoek

Op 4 augustus 2025 is er door De Vlinderstichting een rapport gepubliceerd over de resultaten van metingen aan pesticiden in Natura-2000 gebieden. Doo

www.vlinderstichting.nl

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Reposted by Irma Maculinea

Chris van Swaay @chrisvanswaay.bsky.social · Aug 7

The White-letter hairstreak (S w-album, Iepenpage) was always very rare in NL, but is now widely distributed over N and C NL. This is partly as we now know how to spot the species, but also true expansion.

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Shawan Chowdhury @shawan-chowdhury.bsky.social · Apr 28

Please share. We are hiring domestic/international #PhD students to work on citizen science, insect migration/conservation at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. If interested, please email me. You can find more about our research interests here. shawanchowdhury.com.

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Guy Pe'er @guypeer.bsky.social · Apr 23

Join us in counting farmland butterflies!
We're looking for people to conduct 15 minute observations, comparing field types + middle vs margins:
www.agroecology-transect.net/news/butterf...
Protocols will soon be available in additional languages, e.g. Bulgarian, Hungarian, Serbian etc. Are you in?

Butterfly Survey 2025

www.agroecology-transect.net

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Reposted by Irma Maculinea

Jitte @jittebug.bsky.social · Apr 11

Steekmierkoningin zoekt nieuw onderkomen

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Irma Maculinea @irmamaculinea.bsky.social · Apr 7

Working on monitoring of butterflies all over Europe needs discussion, inspiration, energy and good food. Last weeks meeting with the co-ordinators of the monitoring schemes was finished with a lovely evening with paella for everyone.

Chris van Swaay @chrisvanswaay.bsky.social · Apr 7

Last week we had a fruitful meeting with all co-ordinators of Butterfly Monitoring Schemes in Europe. Afterwards we had a lovely evening with paella at the office of Vlinderstichting in Wageningen, Netherlands.

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BSG Göttingen @bsggoettingen.bsky.social · Mar 11

Die "Krefeld-Studie" hat das Insektensterben international in den Fokus gebracht. 🐝🦋🐞🐜

Aber wie ist die aktuelle Situation & wirken Schutzmaßnahmen?

Sehr lesenswertes Interview von @thomaskrumenacker.bsky.social mit @thoerren.bsky.social (Entomologischer Verein Krefeld) in der @szde.bsky.social.

Insektensterben: Forscher sehen keinen Rückgang

Die dramatische Entwicklung des Insektenschwunds in Deutschland setzt sich ungebremst fort.

www.sueddeutsche.de

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Ian Beavis @ianbeavis.bsky.social · Feb 3

Following that last repost, Large Blue life history plate from F W Frohawk's Natural History of British Butterflies (1925) & his iconic image of a larva being picked up by a Myrmica ant. Frohawk was the first to establish the larvae spend the latter part of their development in ant nests

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Reposted by Irma Maculinea

Pieter Vantieghem @pietervantieghem.bsky.social · Feb 2

It was just announced on his facebookpage that Tristan Lafranchis has passed away 😞
A big loss for amateur lepidopterists in Europe, his accessible #butterfly ID-books have opened a world to a lot of us. As you can see, mine are heavily used. His legacy will surely live on. 🦋

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Irma Maculinea @irmamaculinea.bsky.social · Jan 29

A very smart Ichneumonid wasp searching for a not so well hidden caterpillar of Maculinea nausithous

BSG Göttingen @bsggoettingen.bsky.social · Jan 28

Here is a video of Neotypus melanocephalus searching for caterpillars of Phengaris nausithous/teleius - a bit shaky, the wind...

📽️ Fionn Pape

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Chris van Swaay @chrisvanswaay.bsky.social · Jan 17

Butterflies vulnerable in NL: Grayling (H semele, heivlinder). Still widespread and abundant in the 1990s in coastal dunes and dry heathland, but since then we lost half of the distribution (occupancy) and 75% of the butterflies. 30-35 kg N/ha/jr speeds up succession of open sandy habitat.

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Chris van Swaay @chrisvanswaay.bsky.social · Jan 13

Butterflies increasing in NL: Brown argus (A agestis, bruin blauwtje). Used to be restricted to coastal dunes and some inland sites, but spread inland more and more, esp. after dry summers (bad for grasses, good for Geranium). 2024 was a poor year.

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Irma Maculinea @irmamaculinea.bsky.social · Dec 30

What happened to the butterflies in NL in 2024? @chrisvanswaay.bsky.social made a wonderful thread about it. There is good news and bad news, unfortunately 🦋

Chris van Swaay @chrisvanswaay.bsky.social · Dec 29

At the end of the year we can look back at the butterfly year 2024 in NL. What went up, what went down, and what species things did we notice? A threat in English. /1

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Butterfly Conservation Europe @europebutterfly.bsky.social · Dec 27

An important discovery of new population of the Endangered Euchloe bazae in southern Spain by our partners in @asoczerynthia.bsky.social . www.researchgate.net/publication/...

(PDF) Contributions to the distribution, biology, and conservation of Euchloe bazae Fabiano, 1993 (Lepidoptera: Pieridae): discovery of a new population and new host plant in the province of Granada (...

PDF | ABSTRACT: Euchloe bazae is an endemic butterfly of the Iberian Peninsula with a highly restricted and disjunct distribution, classified as... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on R...

www.researchgate.net

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Raoul Beunen @raoulbeunen.bsky.social · Dec 27

Join the CurveBend Project! We're hiring 8 PhDs and 2 Postdocs to promote biodiversity restoration and a nature-positive future through collective action at the landscape scale in the Netherlands, Argentina, Kenya and Tanzania. shorturl.at/nOdhb #JobAlert #PhDpositions #PostdocJobs #Biodiversity

CurveBend Vacancies

CurveBend project: Upcoming vacancies for 8 PhD students and 2 postdocs We are looking for people who are excited to investigate how to restore biodiversity and promote a nature-positive society throu...

shorturl.at

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Irma Maculinea @irmamaculinea.bsky.social · Dec 20

Lost habitat has been restored to spread and establish a more balanced butterfly metapopulation. Works great for the vegetation, however the ants don't colonize it as fast as we want them to do. There are challenges ahead!🐜🐜🐜🦋

Chris van Swaay @chrisvanswaay.bsky.social · Dec 20

Butterflies critically endangered with only 1 population in NL: Scarce Large Blue (P teleius, pimpernelblauwtje). From its reintroduction in 1990 until 2005 the populationsize was at a low level. After that it shows large fluctuations, not uncommon in parasites.

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Irma Maculinea @irmamaculinea.bsky.social · Dec 12

The one butterfly species which managed to disappear three timesfrom NL. It needed help to do that: loss of habitat through agricultural intensification, major disturbances of habitat and finally mowing in the flight period. We, as human beings, can do better!

Chris van Swaay @chrisvanswaay.bsky.social · Dec 12

Butterflies extinct in NL: Dusky Large Blue (P nausithous, donker pimpernelblauwtje). Last to disappear, as none were found this year. Victim of repeated mowing accidents. Habitat Directive 2+4 species, so NL is responsible for restoration of habitat and return of species.

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Raoul Beunen @raoulbeunen.bsky.social · Dec 11

Artikel 21 van de Grondwet: "De zorg van de overheid is gericht op de bewoonbaarheid van het land en de bescherming en verbetering van het leefmilieu".
#leefbaarheid #gezondheid #milieu #natuurbescherming

Het sloopkabinet:
nos.nl/artikel/2547...

Kabinet trekt wet beperking bestrijdingsmiddelen in

Het wetsvoorstel gewasbeschermingsmiddelen ging volgens het kabinet veel te ver, door een wijziging die de Kamer toevoegde. Nu trekt staatssecretaris Jansen het voorstel in.

nos.nl

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Raoul Beunen @raoulbeunen.bsky.social · Dec 6

Het is heel erg onwaarschijnlijk dat Nederland het klimaatdoel van 55 procent emissiereductie in 2030 haalt meldt het Planbureau voor de Leefomgeving.
www.pbl.nl/actueel/nieu...

Klimaatdoel 2030 raakt uit zicht; extra beleid met snel effect nodig

Het is heel erg onwaarschijnlijk dat Nederland het wettelijke klimaatdoel van 55 procent emissiereductie in 2030 haalt.

www.pbl.nl

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Shawan Chowdhury @shawan-chowdhury.bsky.social · Dec 5

Migratory insects need special conservation attention. shawanchowdhury.com/2024/12/05/m...

#ecology #conservation #insect

Migratory insects need special conservation attention

Insects are the most speciose animal group and perform diverse ecosystem functions. Yet, they are often neglected in large-scale conservation. As a consequence, many insect species are declining in…

shawanchowdhury.com

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