Reports and Articles
On this page you can find reports and articles created by BCE or that are related to butterfly conservation and are considered important.
Technical Report EU Butterfly Grassland Species
The updated EU Grassland Butterfly Index 1991-2024 is the combined population trend of 17 selected grassland species monitored across Europe for a long period of time. The indicator has been calculated from population trends estimated for the whole European region and restricted to the 27 EU Member States. The EU Grassland Butterfly Index shows a decline of just over 50% since 1991.
EU Grassland Butterfly Index 1991-2024 (2.09 MB 
)
EU Grassland Butterfly Index: Policy Brief (1.49 MB )
EU Grassland Butterfly Index: Bending the curve (2.52 MB )
Relevant scientific papers
- Extensive climate-induced range shifts in butterflies across the globe. Chowdhury, et al. 2026. Nat Ecol Evol
- Predicted decline in common bird and butterfly species even under conservation policy scenarios in Europe. Rigal, S., et al. 2026. Nat Ecol Evol 10, 1694–1708.
- Does a short Pollard walk transect capture butterfly and bee diversity? A test to inform pollinator monitoring and community science initiatives Viliani et at., 2022
- Weather and butterfly responses: a framework for understanding population dynamics in terms of species’ life-cycles and extreme climatic events Ubach et al., 2022
- Developing a national indicator of functional connectivity Hordley et al., 2022
- Abandonment of cultural landscapes: butterfly communities track the advance of forest over grasslands Mora et al., 2022
- Habitat amount and distribution modify community dynamics under climate change Fourcade et al., 2021
- Integrating national Red Lists for prioritising conservation actions for European butterflies Maes et al., 2019
- Differences in the climatic debts of birds and butterflies at a continental scale Devictor et al., 2012
Basics of European Butterflies and Moths
- European Red List of Moths 2026 Phelan, N., van Deijk, J. et al., 2026
- European Red List of Butterflies 2025 Van Swaay et al., 2025
- The State of the UK’s Butterflies 2022
- The decline of butterflies in Europe: Problems, significance, and possible solutions Warren et al., 2021
- An updated checklist of the European Butterflies (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea) Wiemers et al., 2018
- European red list of butterflies Van Swaay et al., 2010
- Climatic risk atlas of European butterflies Settele et al., 2008
Management for butterflies
- Dos and Don'ts for butterflies of the Habitats Directive of the European Union. (24.83 MB ) Van Swaay et al., 2012
Species Action Plans
Technical Project Reports
The following were all produced during the European project ABLE between 2018-2020.
Annual BMS Reports
There are many different Butterfly Monitoring Schemes in Europe that generate frequently, in some cases annually, reports on the data collected on their BMS. Here you can find some of the reports produced recently:
Annual BMS Reports
Butterfly Conservation Europe Newsletters
Discover the Butterfly Conservation Europe (BCE) Newsletter to be updated on recent news related to butterfly conservation, policy, monitoring and science.
BCE Newsletters
eBMS Newsletter
Discover the different Newsletters produced on the European Butterfly Monitoring Scheme updating the news of new partners, new tools and functions to monitor butterflies and more:
eBMS Newsletters
