450 Species of Butterflies are in rapid decline due to climate change.

 A new study revealed that since 1972 the world has lost 80% of its butterfly population, 

a dangerous statistic for our favorite pollinators.

Butterflies are crucial pollinators for a variety of flowers and food crops. 

In the western United States, they are rapidly disappearing.

Over the past four decades, more than 450 species of butterflies have declined at an average rate of nearly 2% per year, according to a study published in the Science Journal.
The western monarch's population is known to have plummeted by 99.9% and was recently denied protection by the United States' Endangered Species Act. But the study revealed that lesser-known species, such as the blue Boisduval and the California Dog-faced Butterfly, are also facing extinction.
Analysis of butterfly observations and climate data at 70 locations across the west, from 1972 to 2018, revealed a big surprise: In particular, warmer autumns were the clearest culprits for the decline in butterflies.
More than 200 cities in the United States are experiencing warmer fall seasons, with the largest fall temperature rises in the Southwest. In Arizona, fall temperatures have risen 0.2 degrees Fahrenheit every decade since 1895. That has affected the West Coast Lady the most, a vibrant orange and black butterfly, declined at a rate of 3% annually, in the state.

To find out where the endangered butterflies are, the researchers analyzed scientific data from more than four decades at 70 locations, from Seattle to Santa Fe to Tucson. The data were obtained mainly from sightings of butterflies by observation.
The team relied on three data sets: one academic; one from the crowdsourcing data site, iNaturalist; and one from the North American Butterfly Association.
The study sites, a mix of urban and wild, revealed that butterflies disappeared even in virgin areas. 

California's Castle Peak, one of the most remote places to observe butterflies, is one of the homes of the Anise Swallowtail, which has declined significantly in numbers, though not as dramatically as other species.
The fertile river valleys and riparian areas where people like to build farms and cities are memories of days that were.
The warmer temperatures are forcing these insects, most of which live for about a year, to stay awake longer and starve to death.
The butterflies are aging, losing mobility, and dying sooner according to a study published by the University of Arizona School of Natural Resources and Environment.