Editing Butterfly (section)

==Declining numbers==

[[File:AC83 Actinote zikani (49807063187).jpg|thumb|upright|''[[Actinote zikani]]'', a [[Critically Endangered|critically endangered]] species due to [[Habitat destruction|habitat loss]] from human expansion]]

Declining butterfly populations have been noticed in many areas of the world, and this phenomenon is consistent with the [[decline in insect populations|rapidly decreasing insect populations around the world]]. At least in the Western United States, this collapse in the number of most species of butterflies has been determined to be driven by [[global climate change]], specifically, by warmer autumns.<ref>Science, 12 May 2017, [https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.356.6338.576 "Where Have All the Insects Gone?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308033903/https://science.sciencemag.org/content/356/6338/576 |date=8 March 2021 }} Vol. 356, Issue 6338, pp. 576–579</ref><ref>Reckhaus, Hans-Dietrich, [https://books.google.com/books?id=TVcoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA2 "Why Every Fly Counts: A Documentation about the Value and Endangerment of Insects"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719044704/https://books.google.com/books?id=TVcoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA2 |date=19 July 2021 }} (Springer International, 2017) pp.2-5</ref> Butterfly populations in the United States declined by 22% between 2000 and 2020, mainly because of habitat loss, pesticides and climate change.<ref>{{cite news |title=US lost a fifth of its butterflies within two decades |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyjkn729gpo |agency=BBC}}</ref>