Explanation:

Explanation

Butterflies as bioindicator

• Butterflies are increasingly being recognised as valuable environmental indicators, both for their rapid and sensitive responses to subtle habitat or climatic changes and as representatives for the diversity and responses of other wildlife.
• Butterflies react extremely quickly to even minor changes in the environment, making them both a good indicator of biodiversity and providing an early warning system for other reductions in wildlife. As a result, they are now the best-monitored group of insects in the world.
• Butterfly cannot survive in the presence of the toxic gases like sulphur di-oxide, carbon di oxide, carbon mono-oxide, etc. emerging from the increasing use of technology. So, the study of characteristics of butterfly can make us aware of the environmental pollution.

What makes buterflies good indicator

• Butterflies have short life cycles and thus react quickly to environmental changes.
• Their limited dispersal ability, larval foodplant specialisation and close-reliance on the weather and climate make many butterfly species sensitive to fine-scale changes. Recent research has shown that butterflies have declined more rapidly than birds and plants emphasising their potential role as indicators.
•  Unlike most other groups of insects, butterflies are well-documented, their taxonomy is understood, they are easy to recognise and we have a wealth of information on their ecology and life-histories.

Impact

•  Good indicator of biodiversity and providing an early warning system for other reductions in wildlife
• Birds plan their whole breeding season around when caterpillars will be most abundant. If the butterfly and caterpillar numbers are depleted then there's not going to be a lot of food for developing chicks
• Plants will also be affected. Butterflies are a major pollinator of both wild and cultivated plants. Without them and other important pollinating insects flying around, there will be a significant decline in viable seed produced.