IUCN SSC Butterfly & Moth Specialist Group

Let's move to effective planning & action to safeguard butterflies & other pollinators!

More news soon on European moths as well, watch this space!

Mounting risks threaten survival of wild European pollinators – IUCN Red List Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 11 October 2025 (IUCN) – Nearly 100 additional wild bee species in Europe have been classified as threatened in a new assessment for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Sp...

We're proud to have supported this effort to reassess the butterflies to Europe, but the results are sobering: Mounting risks threaten survival of wild European pollinators – IUCN Red List iucncongress2025.org/newsroom/all...

Thanks also to @nat-zag10.bsky.social for spearheading our Swallowtail of the Month feature. With July around the corner, what will the next species be?

Big, Beautiful Swallowtails Swallowtails are the flamboyant rockstars of the butterfly world! They are large, colorful and frankly spectacular butterflies in the family Papilionidae which contains around 580 species. Some have b...

As June comes to a close, we reflect on swallowtails (it was World Swallowtail Day this month, thanks to @sbbtrust.bsky.social!) & the work still ahead on the IUCN Red List Global Swallowtail reassessment.

Thanks for posting, @protectspecies.bsky.social!

www.indianapoliszoo.com/gcss/blog/bi...

We are also aware that in our rush to get this post out, we called this the common swallowtail when we wanted to type 'birdwing'. Multitasking is not our strength! 😂

🎙️ Listen to #swallowtail experts @sbbtrust.bsky.social & @iucnbutterflysg.bsky.social in episode 21 of the ZSL Wild Science podcast: open.spotify.com/episode/68fzMl…
#TheRuffordFoundation

@sbbtrust.bsky.social @protectspecies.bsky.social @zslscience.bsky.social

ZSL #021 World Swallowtail Day ZSL Wild Science Podcast · Episode

If you want to learn more about swallowtails & the Global Swallowtail Assessment, check out the @zslscience.bsky.social WildScience podcast: open.spotify.com/episode/68fz...

The Common Birdwing’s Green Status assessment suggests that it is Largely Depleted, but a recovery score of 50% puts the species into the Medium Recovery Potential category because much suitable habitat remains throughout the indigenous range.

www.iucnredlist.org/species/9118...

A species’ Green Status assessment identifies the impact that conservation actions have had on a species, as well as the future recovery potential of a species.

You can find out more here: www.iucnredlist.org/about/green-...

Birdwing butterflies are the giants of the butterfly world! The Common birdwing, like other birdwing butterfly species, was historically popular with collectors & has experienced declines in its habitat contributing to population declines.

Photo credit @Bhaiya Khanal

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Established in 1964, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species has evolved to become the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of animal, fungi and plant specie...

The Common Birdwing is the first & so far only swallowtail species to have both an IUCN Red List & IUCN Green Status assessment. It is classified as Least Concern on the Red List as it has a large range across South to Southeast Asia, and into Papua New Guinea.

www.iucnredlist.org/species/9118...

Swallowtail of the Month #1: Common Swallowtail (Troides helena)

Photo credit @Chooi-Khim Phon

@sbbtrust.bsky.social

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Last but by no means least, a huge shoutout to our @protectspecies.bsky.social intern Natalie Zagorski who has helped with preparing our Swallowtail of the Month feature!

Thank you so much! 🦋

a countdown timer with the words `` it 's the final countdown ! '' on it . ALT: a countdown timer with the words `` it 's the final countdown ! '' on it .

The main purpose is to celebrate these beautiful butterflies & update you all on our Global Swallowtail Assessment. So far, we have assessed >200 species under the current IUCN Red List Categories & Criteria, including some species previously assessed in 1985 & 1996.

Let the final countdown begin!

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Happy #WorldSwallowtailDay!

We are excited to launch our "Swallowtail of the Month" feature in celebration of today, but acknowledging that for many of us, World Swallowtail Day is EVERY day!

If you have a favourite swallowtail, let us know. We would like to feature your favourites too!

Wishing our friends at @sbbtrust.bsky.social a wonderful day with many swallowtails!

#WorldSwallowtailDay

Happy #WorldSwallowtailDay! Watch this space for the launch of our new #SwallowtailoftheMonth feature later today, and learn all about our Global Swallowtail Assessment!

Great yet alarming work by @pro-pink.bsky.social & collaborators! Time to increase our efforts to assess, plan and ACT for (especially mountain, but also all) butterflies!

Global hotspots of butterfly diversity are threatened in a warming world - Nature Ecology & Evolution Butterflies are a large, functionally important and charismatic invertebrate group. Here, the authors characterize global macroecological patterns of butterflies and project shifts in their bioclimati...

🚨"We project that up to 64% of the temperature niche space of butterflies in tropical realms will erode by 2070" thus turning mountains - known centers of butterfly diversity - from refugia to traps for butterfly diversity.

Another sobering outlook for butterflies! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

See How Butterflies Are Surviving, or Not, Near You Populations are falling in the United States, a new study has found. Look up what’s happening in your area.

From @nytimes.com, “Butterfly populations are falling in the United States, a new study has found. Look up what’s happening in your area.” Don't forget to follow @iucnbutterflysg.bsky.social, which recently joined Bluesky. 🌍🧪🦋

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

1 in 5 butterflies in the U.S. have disappeared in the last 20 years Researchers identified over 100 species that have dropped by more than 50 percent in the last two decades: "This is a wake-up call."

This paper is a wake up call to action for butterflies!

www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...

Congratulations on this important paper to all the authors - the group also included members of IUCN SSC Butterfly & Moth Specialist Group! Long-term monitoring is vital to our understanding of nature & how to effectively safeguard it!

Sobering news this week: 20 years of butterfly population data shows severe declines across the USA! See link to paper below + @xercessociety.bsky.social press release!

We've fluttered onto @bsky.app! Follow us to hear the latest IUCN SSC Butterfly & Moth Specialist Group news and other Lepidoptera information!