Climate change and ‘urbanisation’ are threatening the existence of 10% of Portugal’s daytime butterflies. This in the message from researcher Eva Monteiro working out of Lisbon’s museum of natural history, who stresses that a red list should be compiled of all endangered species ‘before it’s too late’. Portugal has 135 species of daytime butterflies and around 2500 of nocturnal ones (better known by the rest of us as moths).
The main reasons for the butterflies’ problems stem from destruction of habitats, explained Monteiro – though climate change and pesticides are also playing a part.
