Chair: Phil Erm
Speaker: Andrew Bladon
Title: What’s the evidence for butterfly and moth conservation?
Abstract: Butterflies and moths are flagships for invertebrate conservation. They have, perhaps, the longest history of study of any invertebrate group and, alongside bees, are the most likely to garner attention and support from the general public. This is not without good reason. Butterflies and moths represent the second-largest Order, by number of species, on the planet, and they fulfil a number of important ecological roles. But despite a good understanding of their ecology and natural history, how much do we know about the effectiveness of conservation actions for Lepidoptera? I have spent the last year summarising the evidence in the Conservation Evidence database for butterfly and moth conservation. In this talk, I’ll give a brief overview of the availability and quality of evidence, and make some comparisons with the evidence available for other taxa covered by Conservation Evidence synopses.