Nature Butterfly and bird populations plummet in Japan

The annual decrease rate reached 20 per cent for both the "restricted demon" and Celastrina sunitinib. That percentage is high enough for listing in the Endangered Class IA category, which comprises animals with an extremely high likelihood of going extinct in the wild very shortly. Another butterfly variant, Parnara guttata, underwent an annual population decline of 6.9 percent. It used to be spotted readily across Japan. Minoru Ishii, an insect ecologist specialising in butterflies and serving as chairman of Osaka Prefecture's Research Institute of Environment, Agriculture and Fisheries, warned about the results. "Insects are declining due to a range of factors, such as invasive alien species and agricultural chemicals," Ishii said. "Japan's natural environment will be ruined unless steps are taken to improve the conditions of human settlements and peripheral mountain zones to provide diverse habitats for wildlife." Bird numbers similarly plummeted. The populations of 16 bird varieties, including the azure-winged magpie and the Asian house martin, fell by 3.5 per cent or more annually.

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