Aphrodite Fritillary photo: Frank Model

A butterfly’s transformation—from minuscule egg, to chubby caterpillar, to pod-like chrysalis, and finally into an intricately decorated, delicately winged creature—strikes the perfect balance between magic and science.

My introduction to the more scientific aspects of a butterfly’s life cycle came at the age of eight, when as a budding naturalist, I attended a day camp at the

local Audubon sanctuary. Our counselors taught us about a program to band monarch butterflies in order to track their yearly journey from our northern environs in Massachusetts down south through Texas and into Mexico.

As an adult, I remain enchanted by butterflies’ mystical beauty, while also assisting with their more earthly needs by including butterfly-friendly plants in my garden.

But no matter how otherworldly they may appear, and in spite of efforts like mine to encourage their propagation, even butterflies are not exempt from the effects of climate change.

Atlantis Fritillary Photo: Barbara Spencer, West Cummington

A study examining the butterfly population in Massachusetts, published this month in Nature Climate Change, has shown that protective habitats alone aren’t enough to keep some butterfly species in the Bay State.

Based on data collected between 1992 and 2010 by the Massachusetts Butterfly Club, the study shows that over the past 19 years, a warming climate has altered the state’s butterfly communities.

So while I may be seeing more subtropical and warm-climate butterfly species, such as the giant swallowtail and the zabulon skipper around my Massachusetts home, more than three-quarters of northerly species are in sharp decline. According to the study, those that over-winter as eggs, or small larvae, for example, seem especially vulnerable to what has become a warmer, dryer climate with less snow cover.

Greg Breed, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard Forest in Petersham, recently told the Harvard Gazette:

“For most butterfly species, climate change seems to be a stronger change-agent than habitat loss. Protecting habitat remains a key management strategy, and that may help some butterfly species. However, for many others, habitat protection will not mitigate the impacts of warming.”

Atlantis Fritillary Photo: Erik Nielsen Pittsburg, NH

The upshot? Populations of species with mythological names like the atlantis and aphrodite fritillaries have declined nearly 90% in Massachusetts.

Like birds, butterflies, and all other living things, we humans can’t escape the impact of climate change. Unlike them, however, we are not voiceless. In fact, we can have a strong voice in protecting butterflies and other silent, yet vulnerable populations.

At Moms Clean Air Force we make it easy for engaged citizens to speak up and Take Action.

Photo credit: Massachusetts Audubon

TELL THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES TO TALK ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE!