Norm Twigge, a volunteer at the butterfly garden at Te Puna Quarry Park, Tauranga, said he had never seen butterfly numbers so low.
Photo: RNZ/Libby Kirkby-McLeod

Internationally, 2024 has been a bad year for butterflies, and local enthusiasts say things aren’t much better here.

Norm Twigge has been crazy about insects since he was 11 years old.

Now retired, he volunteered at the butterfly garden at Te Puna Quarry in Tauranga.

But he was troubled by what he saw—or rather, didn’t see—this year.

“We used to see probably five or six red admirals in this location during the season. We were lucky to see one today,” he said.

When RNZ visited the butterfly garden, there was a lone monarch butterfly among the flowers. Twigge said there were 20 to 25 butterflies flying around last year.

He had never seen such low numbers of pollinating insects.

“We’ve had bad years and good years in the past, but certainly nothing like this. This is an exceptionally bad year,” Twigge said.

And he wasn’t the only one who noticed it.

The caterpillar eggs are hatched, raised, and then pupated in the butterfly house before being released as butterflies. However, this year those numbers have dropped to 80 percent.
Photo: RNZ/Libby Kirkby-McLeod

A national “butterfly emergency” has been declared in the UK after this year’s count of large butterflies was the lowest on record since records began.

In North America, the study found that monarchs died out by as much as 80 percent during their fall migration south to Mexico.

However, entomologist Ruud Kleinpaste said the global picture was difficult to determine.

“The problem is that they are very scattered – they are here, there and everywhere. And there’s always a caveat: we need to have a little more data before we can make any sense out of it.”

But he said butterflies, like many other animals, are under pressure.

“Because there are so many people, so many houses, so many new things happening on the planet that are reducing habitat, some species will actually become extinct or become smaller in numbers,” Kleinpast said.

Jacqui Knight from the Moths and Butterflies of New Zealand agreed.

Butterfly Garden at Te Puna Quarry Park, Tauranga.
Photo: RNZ/Libby Kirkby-McLeod

“I think nowhere in the world are our butterflies and moths doing well, and they are useful indicators of the health of our environment,” she said.

Knight said one of New Zealand’s biggest problems was that most people didn’t even know we had native butterflies.

“We have amazing butterflies and moths in New Zealand, there are about 2000 species of moths and people just don’t even know they exist. So how can you encourage people to take care of them and plant things for them if they don’t? I don’t even know they’re there?”

All three agreed that landscaping, giving areas some wildlife and having lots of flowers would help.

Kleinpast noted the successful reintroduction of the Boulder butterfly into dedicated butterfly gardens around Christchurch.

Back in the Te Puna butterfly habitat, young Sage and her mother came to the garden precisely because she loved butterflies.

They planted swan plants for monarch butterflies at home, and Sage enjoyed watching the butterflies on the flowers.

Hopefully, with a little activity and consideration for our smallest creatures, Sage can enjoy butterflies for years to come.

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