See How Butterflies Are Surviving, or Not, Near You

It’s hard to count insects.

Even as scientists have found that many populations are in decline, they’ve struggled to understand the scale of what’s happening. Now, a groundbreaking new study offers the most comprehensive answers to date about the status of butterflies in the contiguous United States.

In 20 years, the fleeting time it takes for a human baby to grow into a young adult, the country has lost 22 percent of its butterflies, researchers found.