Butterflies Need Help to Survive by Rev Canon Trevor Sargent

Rev Canon Trevor Sargent is one of the Church of Ireland representatives on the ECI committee.

I wonder how many of us have heard a sermon in which the butterfly life cycle has been recalled to symbolize the life of Christ, or indeed the new life into which a believer is baptised when they turn to Christ? The caterpillar stage can also represent Christ’s life on earth. The cocoon stage portrays Christ’s death at the cross and his burial. The third stage and most important phase is the rebirth after three days. The butterfly’s final stage is likened to Christ’s resurrection from the dead. It is a beautiful illustration which presents the butterfly as another symbol of Easter.

It would be good if our children could relate to these inspiring, but increasingly endangered creatures, which help to illustrate Christ’s resurrection, and our own transformation as believers. A news report from the B.B.C. (2^nd April 2025) stated that more than half of the UK’s butterfly species have populations in long-term decline. The UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme said that 31 of 59 species have had their numbers fall since 1976, when monitoring began.

HOW FARE THE BUTTERFLIES OF IRELAND?

Ireland, being an island off mainland Europe, has a slightly less diverse flora and fauna since the last Ice Age, than other parts of the continent. The Irish Butterflies website, www.irishbutterflies.com, lists 34 species, and gives excellent information and photographs about each one.

As to how these 34 species are faring, the Irish Butterfly Monitoring Scheme has been running since 2008 and is the longest running insect monitoring scheme in the country. Results for the 15 most common butterfly species show that there was an overall decline of 57% in the number of butterflies flying in 2022 compared to the baseline year of 2008.

On an individual species basis, population trends from 2008-2022 estimated that 12 species showed strong or moderate declines and only two of our native species, Brimstone and Holly Blue, were showing stable trends. The two migrant species to Ireland, Painted Lady and Red Admiral, showed moderate increases in the 15 years, but changes in their populations are largely dependent on conditions external to Ireland. Results from 2022 also showed that the peak flight time of butterflies occurred two weeks earlier than the peak observed in 2021, another indication of a changing climate impact.

WHAT IS CAUSING THIS RAPID DECLINE IN BUTTERFLY NUMBERS?

Butterfly populations in Ireland are declining due to a combination of factors, including habitat loss, climate change, land management practices and widespread use of herbicides and pesticides, particularly in heavily sprayed areas. To speak plainly, we lack enough areas where nature can thrive.

WHAT DO DECLINES IN BUTTERFLY POPULATIONS MEAN FOR HUMANS?

Butterflies are indicators of wider environmental health and sustainability.

A vibrant natural environment, in which butterflies thrive benefits human mental and physical health. A new study by the Universities of Exeter and Vienna has found that viewing nature can help people feel less acute pain compared with those confined to urban or indoor settings. (The Irish Times, 29^th March 2025). Nature can help us to heal, but in the meantime, nature needs help to heal too.

WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP LOCAL BUTTERFLY SPECIES?

You may have heard about ‘No Mow May’. This photo was taken in Carnew. The Butterfly Conservation website (below) asks us to leave some grass areas to grow naturally until September, so as to allow caterpillars to develop and become butterflies. We could also plant native plants and reduce the use of chemical sprays.

It would be good also to participate in citizen science projects like the Irish Butterfly Monitoring Scheme, which is delivered by volunteer recorders who walk a fixed route (transect) on a weekly basis, from 1^st April to 30^th September each year, recording information on butterfly populations and flight periods. (See website below.)

ARE THERE BUTTERFLY FRIENDLY CHURCHES?

Ella McSweeney in The Irish Times (5 April 2025) asks ‘How do you resurrect a graveyard?’, and then answers, ‘Simply, stop mowing the grass’!

The parishes of Inagh, Clarecastle and Kilkee in the Diocese of Killaloe have revived butterfly numbers and wild flowers such as Common Spotted Orchid, Adder’s Tongue and Cuckoo’s Flower, simply by stopping the mowing of grass. This is in response to the Irish Bishops’ Conference directive for all dioceses and parishes to return 30% of church lands to nature by 2030.

Some parishes, to maintain a cared for appearance, have carefully trimmed the grass edges. Some have even mowed the shape of a cross. Also, the cut grass is removed to keep nutrient levels low, ensuring the soil favours native wildflowers, all for which butterflies would be thankful!

Perhaps an update to the opening line of Hymn 5 in the Irish Church Hymnal might be appropriate: ‘If I were a butterfly, I’d thank you, Lord, for a bit of habitat’!

WHERE CAN I GO TO FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT BUTTERFLIES?