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According to the latest IUCN update, there are over 178,000 species of butterflies and moths in the world, 18,000 species of butterflies and 160,000 species of moths, with wingspans ranging from 1 centimeter, of the Brephidium exilis[1] to 31 centimeters of the Ornithoptera alexandrae concerning butterflies, and from 3 centimeters of Nepticulidae to 31 centimeters of Attacus atlas concerning moths[2], they are part of the Lepidoptera order! Butterflies and moths live 30 days on average, but there are also butterflies and moths that only live for two days to some that can reach up to a year[3].
We are only aware of a small proportion of the species, and new species are being frequently discovered, however many face a multitude of threats which are leading many on a path towards extinction. Habitat loss is one of the leading causes of butterfly and moth species decline. A recent study published in the journal of Biological Conservation on 2019 estimates that butterfly populations suffered a decline of 53% in the last decade[4]. In 20 years for example, the population of the Western Monarch butterfly declined by 99.9%, and during their last great migration in 2020 only about 2000 individuals were found to have taken part, representing a miniscule 0.01% of the historic size.[5]

[1] Giulio Doremi Blog: https://gdoremi.altervista.org/blog/le-ali-piu-piccole-del-mondo-lepidotteri/

[2] Giulio Doremi Blog: https://gdoremi.altervista.org/blog/dimensioni-guinness-world-record-degli-insetti-simili/

[3] North America Butterfly Association: https://www.naba.org/qanda.html

[4] Biological Conservation journal: https://vajiramias.com/current-affairs/insect-population-decline/5c7228b01d5def712e4e05dd/

[5] Xerces Society: https://xerces.org/western-monarch-call-to-action

Global Census Butterflies Map

Thanks to your help, since the launch of the Global Butterflies’ Census in January 2021, we have receive 1500 pictures of butterflies and moths’ species, from  33 countries in the World.