News and Publications about The Rarest Butterflies

Edwards, et al. 2025 “Rapid butterfly declines across the United States during the 21st century”

New York Times, See How butterflies are surviving, or not, near you, Catrin Einhorn and Harry Stevens, March, 2025.

Washington Post, Butterflies in the U.S. are disappearing at a ‘catastrophic’ rate, Dino Grandoni, March, 2025.

Associated Press, First national analysis finds America’s butterflies are disappearing at ‘catastrophic’ rate, Seth Borenstein.

Science Friday, National Public Radio, Where have all the butterflies gone? Flora Lichtman.

New York Times, New ‘Detective Work’ on Butterfly Declines Reveals a Prime Suspect, Catrin Einhorn, June, 2024.

The Last Butterflies, including other publications, podcasts, and news

Haddad, N.M. The Last Butterflies: A Scientist’s Quest to Save a Rare and Vanishing Creature. 2019. Princeton University Press. Book now available

Haddad, N., 2019. Limited range, low numbers, and effective population size bring Schaus’ swallowtail as close as imaginable to extinction. Natural History 127:12-17.

Haddad, N. 2019. The Mysterious Fate of the World’s Largest Butterfly. UNDARK August, 2019.

Haddad, N. 2019. The Last Butterflies? Scientific American blog

Haddad, N. 2019. The Page 99 Test

Podcasts

Radiolab. Of Bombs and Butterflies. October, 2021

The Great Simplification. Insects – A Silent Extinction. September, 2023

US Army Podcast (18th Airborne Corp). Bullet with Butterfly Wings. November, 2021
Iowa Public Radio. March, 2020. Talk of Iowa
New Books Network, Rachel Pagones, The Last Butterflies
Talk Nerdy to Me. November, 2019. Nick Haddad – Nov 2019
A Beautiful World. October, 2019. Saving the Last Butterflies
Michigan Radio. October, 2019. Stateside
People Behind the Science. August, 2019. Dr. Nick Haddad
Western Michigan Public Radio. July, 2019. Searching for the Last Butterflies

Reviews of The Last Butterflies

Barbara Kiser, Nature
Jonathan Hahn, Sierra Magazine
Matthew Shepard, Wings (The Xerces Society)
Manu Sanders, Trends in Ecology and Evolution
Simon Leather, Oryx
Conservation Biology
Jules Pretty, Times Higher Education
Peter Parker, The Spectator
Animal Welfare Institute
Harry Siviter, The Biologist
Richard Jones, BBC Wildlife Magazine
John Badmin, British Journal of Entomology and Natural History
BBC Wildlife Magazine, 20+ popular writing on insects
Gretchen LeBuhn, American Entomologist
Cas Carroll, The Quarterly Review of Biology

Stories

Michigan Nature, Life on the Brink: Poweshiek Skipperling, March, 2023.
Fox News, Morning Buzz, December 2022.
ABC News, New John Ball Zoo facility to help save endangered butterfly, May 2022.
Bridge, A rare butterfly makes last stand in Michigan, Zahra Ahmad, April 2022.
Coastwatch, NC Sea Grant, The Butterfly Effect, Julia Leibach, Summer, 2021.
Martha Stewart Magazine, Seven of the Best Places to see Butterflies in the United States, Kier Holmes, July, 2020.
Bridge, What’s Happening to Michigan’s Insects? A Farmer’s Tale, Brian Allnutt, July 2020.
Associated Press, Bugged: Earth’s Insect Population Shrinks 27% in 30 years, Seth Borenstein. April, 2020.
Associated Press, Butterflies on a Bomb Range: the Endangered Species Act at Work, Seth Borenstein. November, 2019.
Rob Dunn, Smithsonian Magazine, “Who can identify the world’s rarest butterfly?” October, 2011.
Barbara Barrett, Raleigh News and Observer, “Drab butterfly is scientist’s gem“. October 2003.

Publications

Synthesis

Van Deynze, B., Swinton, S.M., Hennessy, D.A., Haddad, N.M. and Ries, L., 2024. Insecticides, more than herbicides, land use, and climate, are associated with declines in butterfly species richness and abundance in the American Midwest. PLOS ONE 19(6), p.e0304319. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0304319\

Schultz, C. B., N. M. Haddad, E. H. Henry, and E. E. Crone. 2019. Movement and Demography of At-Risk Butterflies: Building Blocks for Conservation. Annual Review of Entomology 64:167-184 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ento-011118-112204

Wepprich T, Adrion JR, Ries L, Wiedmann J, Haddad NM (2019) Butterfly abundance declines over 20 years of systematic monitoring in Ohio, USA. PLoS ONE 14(7): e0216270. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0216270

Harvey, J. A., et al. 2020. International scientists formulate a roadmap for insect conservation and recovery. Nature Ecology & Evolution 4:174-176. DOI: 10.1038/s41559-019-1079-8

Haddad NM. 2018. Resurrection and resilience of the rarest butterflies. PLoS Biology 16:e2003488. DOI:10.1371/journal.pbio.2003488

St. Francis’ Satyr

Kiekebusch, E., Louthan, A.M., Morris, W.F., Hudgens, B.R. and Haddad, N.M., 2024. Vital rate responses to temperature lead to butterfly population declines under future warming scenarios. Journal of Insect Conservation 28:1079-1091. DOI: 10.1007/s10841-024-00626-8

Cayton, H.L., Haddad, N.M., Henry, E.H., Himes Boor, G.K., Kiekebusch, E.M., Morris, W.F. and Aschehoug, E.T. (2023), Restoration success varies based on time since restoration in a disturbance-dependent ephemeral wetland ecosystem. Restoration Ecology 31: e13883 DOI: 10.1111/rec.13883

Henry, E., E. Brammer-Robbins, E. Aschehoug, E. and N. Haddad. 2019. Do substitute species help or hinder endangered species management? Biological Conservation 232:127-130. DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2019.01.031

Cayton, H., and N.M. Haddad. 2018. Water Availability Coincides with Population Declines for an Endangered Butterfly. Diversity 10:94. DOI: 10.3390/d10030094

Sivakoff, F. S., W. F. Morris, E. T. Aschehoug, B. R. Hudgens, and N. M. Haddad. 2016. Habitat restoration alters adult butterfly morphology and potential fecundity through effects on host plant quality. Ecosphere 7(11):e01522. DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.1522

Aschehoug, E.T., F.S. Sivakoff, H.L. Cayton, W.F. Morris, and N.M. Haddad. 2015. Habitat restoration affects immature stages of a wetland butterfly through indirect effects on predation. Ecology 96:1761-1767. DOI: 10.1890/14-2403.1 

Cayton, H., N.M. Haddad, B. Ball, E. Henry, and E. Aschehoug. 2015. Habitat restoration as a recovery tool for a disturbance-dependent butterfly, the endangered St. Francis’ Satyr.  Pages 147-159 in Daniels, J.C. (editor) Butterfly Conservation in North America. DOI: 10.1007/978-94-017-9852-5_8

Haddad, N.M. 2015. Conservation and restoration for the endangered St. Francis’ Satyr. News of the Lepidopterists’ Society 57:33-35. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2003488

Breckheimer, I, N.M. Haddad, W.F. Morris, A.M. Trainor, W.R. Fields, R.T. Jobe, B.R. Hudgens, A. Moody, and J.R. Walters. 2014. Defining and evaluating the umbrella species concept for conserving and restoring landscape connectivity. Conservation Biology 28:1584-1593. DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12362

Wilson, J.W., J.O. Sexton,  R.T. Jobe, and N.M. Haddad.  2013.  The relative contribution of terrain, land cover, and vegetation structure indices to species distribution models.  Biological Conservation 164:170–176. DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2013.04.021

Hudgens, B.R., W.F. Morris, N.M. Haddad. W. Fields, J. Wilson, D.C. Kuefler, and R.T. Jobe.  2012.  How complex do models need to be to predict dispersal of threatened species through matrix habitats?  Ecological Applications 22:1701-1710. DOI: 10.1890/11-1048.1

Milko, L.V., N.M. Haddad, and S.L. Lance.  2012.  Dispersal via stream corridors structures populations of the endangered St. Francis’ satyr butterfly (Neonympha mitchellii francisci).  Journal of Insect Conservation 16:263-273. DOI: 10.1007/s10841-011-9413-8

Kuefler, D., B. Hudgens, N.M. Haddad, W.F. Morris, and N. Thurgate. 2010.  The conflicting role of matrix habitats as conduits and barriers for dispersal.  Ecology 91:944-950. DOI: 10.1890/09-0614.1

Bartel, R.A., N.M. Haddad, J.P. Wright.  2010.  Ecosystem engineers maintain rare species and increase biodiversity.   Oikos 119:883-890. DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0706.2009.18080.x

Bartel, R.A, and J.O. Sexton. 2009. Monitoring habitat dynamics for rare and endangered species using satellite images and niche-based models. Ecography 32:888-896. DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0587.2009.05797.x

Haddad, N.M., B. Hudgens, C. Damiani, K. Gross, D. Kuefler, and K. Pollock.  2008.  Determining optimal monitoring for rare butterfly populations.  Conservation Biology 22:929-940. DOI: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2008.00932.x

Kuefler, D., N.M. Haddad, S. Hall, B. Hudgens, B. Bartel, and E. Hoffman.  2008.  Distribution, population structure, and habitat use of the endangered St. Francis’ satyr butterfly, Neonympha mitchellii francisci.  American Midland Naturalist  159:298-320. DOI: 10.1674/0003-0031(2008)159[298:DPSAHU]2.0.CO;2

Gross, K., E.J. Kalendra, B.R. Hudgens, and N.M. Haddad.  2007.  Robustness and uncertainty in estimates of butterfly abundance from transect counts.  Population Ecology 49:191-200. DOI: 10.1007/s10144-007-0034-8

Kuefler, D. and N.M. Haddad.  2006.  Local versus landscape determinants of butterfly movement behaviors. Ecography 29:549-560. DOI: 10.1111/j.0906-7590.2006.04574.x

Miami Blue

Henry, E. H., Terando, A. J., Morris, W. F., Daniels, J. C., & Haddad, N. M. 2022. Shifting precipitation regimes alter the phenology and population dynamics of low latitude ectotherms. Climate Change Ecology 100051 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecochg.2022.100051

Henry, E.H., N.M. Haddad, J. Wilson, P. Hughes, and B. Gardner. 2015. Point-count methods to monitor butterfly populations when traditional methods fail: a case study with Miami blue butterfly. Journal of Insect Conservation 19:519-529. DOI: 10.1007/s10841-015-9773-6

Bartram’s Scrub-Hairstreak

Henry, E. H., M. O. Burford Reiskind, A. D. Land, and N. M. Haddad. 2020. Maintaining historic disturbance regimes increases species’ resilience to catastrophic hurricanes. Global Change Biology 26:798-806. DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14932

Henry, E. H., and C. T. Anderson. 2016. Abundance estimates to inform butterfly management: double-observer versus distance sampling. Journal of Insect Conservation 20:505-514. DOI: 10.1007/s10841-016-9883-9

Crystal Skipper

Leidner, A.K. and N.M. Haddad.  2011.  Combining measures of dispersal measures to identify conservation strategies in fragmented landscapes.  Conservation Biology 25:1022-1031. DOI: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2011.01720.x

Leidner, A.K. and N.M. Haddad.  2010.  Natural, not urban, barriers limit dispersal of a coastal endemic butterfly.  Conservation Genetics 11:2311-2320. DOI: 10.1007/s10592-010-0117-5