Ecological Importance of Butterflies

Did you know? Conserving butterflies can actually not only improve our whole environment for wildlife but also enrich the lives of people now and forever. For many reasons butterflies are important, in their own right but also as great life indicators. Butterflies are part of our natural heritage and have been studied for more than 300 years.

There are many references to butterflies in literature, from the Bible through Shakespeare to the modern day literature, from poetry to musical lyrics. Butterflies are used by many artists across the world as way of indicating they are extremely environmentally friendly. You will find that areas rich in butterflies are also rich in other invertebrates. These as a group provide a heavy range of environmental benefits which includes pollination and pest control.

Eco System Value

Butterflies support a range of other predators as well as parasites. They have been widely used by ecologists as model organisms to study the impact of the loss of habitat and climate change. Every butterfly has developed its own set of chemicals to prevent predators and parasites, discover a mate, and conquer the chemical defences of its host plant. Each of these chemicals has a potential value and could be subjugated cost-effectively.

Butterflies are central pollinators to many agricultural crops. Additionally, their ecological function is also a food source to predators like birds, spiders, lizards and other animals. Butterfly’s beauty is like a flower, which displays attraction wherever it flies. The bright colours dissuade some potential predators by suggesting bad taste. Before winter, the fragile Monarch butterfly migrates up to 2000 miles, forming huge colonies in Mexico and parts of California. These butterflies make the trip barely once but they know precisely where to go.  Butterflies have a very long history on Earth. Scientists have discovered butterfly fossils dating back to 40 million years ago.

Surprisingly, 90% of plants need pollinators for reproduction. Currently, there has been a decline of the bee population. Hence, butterflies are proving crucially vital to the eco system. The plants involved become more resistant to diseases. This gives them a better chance of survival. Reacting quickly and with careful evaluation, butterflies are known to react even to the slightest changes within the areas that they occupy. Stephen Dickie at Butterfly Conservation says that, “Birds plan their whole breeding season around when caterpillars will be most abundant. If the butterfly and caterpillar numbers are depleted then there’s not going to be a lot of food for developing chicks.”

This could be the major reason for scientists to fear that if the butterflies disappear, it could cause the collapse of the eco systems that we necessitate.

So here’s what you can do about it

You can create a center of attention for butterflies to your garden or larger lands by planting flowering trees. Grow-Trees will help you in planting trees. With the convenience as easy as a request, Grow-Trees will provide its services to help you save the eco system while maintaining the colorful beauty around it too.