Spring’s Fluttering Wonders: Butterfly Conservation for a Greener Tomorrow

Butterflies on petunia flowers

Butterflies are in danger due to increase in pollution, loss of their natural habitat, and climate change which affects their migration pattern.

Not long ago, I had been stepping out of my house every day to watch and admire our beautiful winged jewels — the butterflies. I was filled with excitement and joy as I watched their bright colours and gentle flight.

And then one day, out of the blue, the butterflies were gone! I was surprised but I thought, maybe it’s just for today but they might be back tomorrow. I waited day after day, for over a week, but they did not return. I began to wonder what could have gone wrong.

During the time, I was doing a course with the iNaturewatch Foundation to study more about butterflies. Our teacher was Isaac Kehimkar who is known as the butterfly man of India. During one of his lectures, he said that butterflies are indicator species. It meant that their presence indicates a healthy environment and a healthy ecosystem.

Something clicked in and I remembered that there was new construction underway near our garden. With the drilling of the ground and dumping of cement in the area, there was a lot of noise and dust in the air. Suddenly it made sense why the butterflies had disappeared! As indicator species, butterflies are sensitive to the slightest environment change and destruction of their ecosystem. Due to the new construction nearby, they must have flown away to another area.

Now you must be wondering, why would we care about butterflies and their population? That is because butterflies are important pollinators to many fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowering plants. They also serve a huge role in the wilderness food chain. Predators like birds, spiders, lizards, ants and other small animals survive by eating butterflies and their caterpillars. Hence, it is time we start taking steps to conserve our environment and preserve these beauties.

But what can we actually do to save butterflies? Well, we should start by taking these three important steps:

Preserve their natural habitat: Do not destroy their natural habitat by cutting native plants and replacing it with fancy ornamental plants. That is because different species of butterflies breed and grow on only specific plant types. For example, the Common Mormon butterflies prefer to lay eggs on curry leaf plants or lime plants, whereas Monarch butterflies prefer milkweed, and they will never interchange.

A monarch butterfly sipping nectar from swamp milkweed flower.

By chopping down native plants, we are robbing the butterfly of their host plants, which means they can’t lay eggs, they and their caterpillars will not have food to eat, and their population will soon become extinct.

Instead, we can identify some of the butterflies in and around our locality, learn about their host and nectar plants and plant them in our gardens. To identify butterflies in your area, you can download an app called the iButterflies app. Once you discover the name of the butterflies, you can search online to find their host plant and buy the same from your local gardener.

Using organic manure and insecticides: Harsh chemicals such as insecticides used on plants can affect caterpillars that grow in them. Butterflies and moths that land on such plants to drink nectar can get poisoned. Thus, we should avoid using harsh pesticides on plants. Instead, we should use organic manure and compost to keep the soil healthy which will keep the plant blooming as well.

Rearing displaced caterpillars: Another way to conserve butterflies is rearing lost or displaced caterpillars. ‘Rearing’ means taking care of caterpillars until they become butterflies. So the next time you see an adult cutting vegetables like ladyfinger, brinjal, or pealing peas, keep an eye out as there might be a caterpillar hiding inside it. They are the caterpillars of butterflies or moths! You can create a DIY terrarium and rear them until they grow up. Just remember to release the butterfly or moth after they emerge.

Let’s make a difference to our world and save our beautiful butterflies.