The Disappearance of Butterflies

by Josef H. Reichholf, Gwen Clayton (Translator)

In the last fifty years our butterfly populations have declined by more than eighty per cent and butterflies are now facing the very real prospect of extinction. It is hard to remember the time when fields and meadows were full of these beautiful, delicate creatures – today we rarely catch a glimpse of the Wild Cherry Sphinx moths, Duke of Burgundy or the even once common Small Tortoiseshell butterflies. The High Brown Fritillary butterfly and the Stout Dart Moth have virtually disappeared. 

The eminent entomologist and award-winning author Josef H. Reichholf began studying butterflies in the late 1950s. He brings a lifetime of scientific experience and expertise to bear on one of the great environmental catastrophes of our time. He takes us on a journey into the wonderful world of butterflies - from the small nymphs that emerge from lakes in air bubbles to the trusting purple emperors drunk on toad poison - and immerses us in a world that we are in danger of losing forever.  Step by step he explains the science behind this impending ecological disaster, and shows how it is linked to pesticides, over-fertilization and the intensive farming practices of the agribusiness. 

His book is a passionate plea for biodiversity and the protection of butterflies.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Nature

260 pages, Hardcover

Published December 7, 2020

About the author

Josef H. Reichholf studierte Biologie, Chemie, Geografie und Tropenmedizin. ER lehrte an beiden Münchner Universitäten und leitete viele Jahre die Abteilung Wirbeltiere der Zoologischen Staatssammlung München.

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Josef H. Reichholf is a German ecologist.

Reviews

[Dakota Meeks · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a relatively short page count Joseph Reihold brings forth a subtle intensity that can only come from a deep rooted passion. The beauty and grace that Reinhold translates for his winged friends resonates much more deeply than it should. But the message does not stop there; perhaps Reinhold could have met his publishers quota simply turning in the former half of this book. As nature guides go it is on the more captivating and anecdotal side. But Reinhold could not - should not - refrain from exposing the travesty that we have brought upon these bashful creatures. Reinhold succeeds in punctuating his captivating review of his hexapod companions with a passionate call to action which leaves the reader stunned. The Disappearance of Butterflies is a masterfully written piece succeeding in both drawing you into a never before seen world and awakening you into the consequences of mankind's proliferation.

[Noelle M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cover of this book is a bit misleading, as it focuses on European butterflies and doesn't go into any detail about Monarchs, but I liked it. The author Josef Reichholf is a German entomologist that has been studying butterflies since the 1950s, and he knows what he’s talking about. The first part of the book examines the unique adaptations and habits of many species he’s studied, from aquatic moths to ermines to Six-spot Burnets. The latter part of the book details the primary causes of Lepidoptera population decline, and what needs to be done to reverse it. In his view, the largest contributor to the decline is overfertilization in agriculture followed by pesticide use, not urban sprawl or climate change. His studies actually show that cities can be sanctuaries for many species compared to the countryside due to it’s more structured layout than today’s modern farms and the comparatively low use of fertilizers and pesticides there

[Megan Ulozas · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title is a bit deceptive: this book primarily discusses the behaviors of various butterfly and moth species. Less than 1/2 is about the actual disappearance of butterflies and moths from modern ecosystems. It is very technical at times and often a lot of information to process at once without an entomology or biology background.

That being said, this book exudes love for Lepidoptera that I have not found elsewhere. Reichholf shares insights and stories filled to the brim with passion and admiration. His assessment of what causes the disappearance (industrial agriculture, not urbanization/climate change), add a valuable layer to the discussion, although it still is not the central focus of the book.

[Rob Sedgwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Josef Reichholf cares deeply about butterflies and has spent his whole life studying them. During that time the number of butterflies in Germany has plummeted, mainly due to large-scale agriculture. In part one Reichholf tells first hand how amazing butterflies and moths are and interweaves his career in the field. He then looks at the problem and the possible solutions. The interesting thing is that he is basically looking at people's gardens, parks and other space in towns and cities as the best hope. It's a good translation and there is a good bibliography, including lots of English books and papers.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a lot of information to digest. 2/3 just talks about various types of butterflies and moths and their behaviors/lives. The last third does go into depth about the reduced population. I appreciated the insight into how climate change is used as a scapegoat for more pressing factors affecting the disappearance. It is an interesting read that I would recommend to people who have some background in science or are already passionate about butterflies and moths.

[Francesca Tye · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having enjoyed my previous read 'His Imperial Majesty', I decided to explore some other butterfly books. The title of this book appealed to me, however the title was a bit deceptive. The book is only really half about the decline of butterflies. The first half was more about the life cycles and characteristics of certain moths and butterflies. Then the second half was about their disappearance.

I found the first half interesting at times, but it was a bit of a random mixture of information. Some highlights were: the lifecycles of china mark moths, whose larvae are aquatic and managed to survive underwater! Learning that large white butterflies are poisonous and possibly migratory (its thought they evolved in coastal locations feeding off sea kale and other wild brassicas). Brimstones have a substance like antifreeze in the bodies to help them survive the cold, and some butterflies are affected heavily by predation (like the Large White), but others more by the weather (Painted Ladies).

The second half explored the decline - in both species and numbers. The worst decline is in meadow species, principally due to intensively farmed fields and their overfertilisation. The billions of subsidies farmers have received over the last 50 years has resulted in small scale farms been replaced by large ones. In these large farms, cattle are kept indoors and their manure pumped from stalls as slurry. When they were outside, there were cow pats which were processed naturally by insects. Now we have so many cattle and so much slurry, which unlike human sewage, is not treated. It's just put onto the fields. This over-application of manure fertiliser promotes low plant biodiversity through favouring the plants that multiply the quickest (nettles). The nettle feeding butterflies (Peacock, Red Admiral and Small Tortoiseshell), have increased due to this over fertilisation. He also mentioned some other factors which he thinks have affected butterfly decline: the application of pesticides and public maintenance measures. Many councils cut road verges, roundabouts and other communal areas which would otherwise be prime habitat for butterflies and other insects.

In terms of how we save them, unfortunately, the fact they are beautiful creatures doesn’t seem to be enough. Most people see the things from the position of utility. This is an extremely arrogant view, though, as nothing evolved for the purposes of humans. In fact, nature has no purpose at all - it just is. But a modern, western, capitalist culture doesn’t get this. It’s only concerned with profiteering, but then why do we need art, music and books? Capitalists can’t decide what butterflies we get to see.

It was interesting to read that his main hope for butterflies is in urban areas, gardens, verges and other public space in our towns and cities, where hopefully we can get more children exposed to butterflies and more people in the future inspired to protect them.