# Butterflies

## See these strikingly beautiful butterflies help scientists protect the rainforest

A ranger inspects a butterfly in the protected Amazon rainforest of Cuyabeno, Ecuador, on March 28, 2024. Part of Rainforest Partnership's goals is to train park rangers to monitor butterflies in the environment.

DANIEL MUNOZ, AFP Via Getty Images

A butterfly is seen in the protected Amazon rainforest of Cuyabeno, Ecuador, on March 28, 2024. The smell of rotting fish fills part of the trail where a team of biologists and park rangers has hung 32 green traps that blend into the thick of the forest in the Cuyabeno Wildlife Production Reserve. Since August, they have been developing a butterfly monitoring project to measure the effects of climate change with the support of the American NGO Rainforest Partnership.

RODRIGO BUENDIA, AFP Via Getty Images

Trees are seen at Laguna Grande in the protected Amazon rainforest of Cuyabeno, Ecuador, on March 30, 2024. The smell of rotting fish fills part of the trail where a team of biologists and park rangers has hung 32 green traps that blend into the thick of the forest in the Cuyabeno Wildlife Production Reserve.

DANIEL MUNOZ, AFP Via Getty Images

A butterfly is seen in the protected Amazon rainforest of Cuyabeno, Ecuador, on March 27, 2024. The group is collecting data on climate change and it's effects on butterflies.

DANIEL MUNOZ, AFP Via Getty Images

Rangers Nilo Riofrio (L) and Guido Alulima and Biologist Elisa Levy inspect a butterfly in the protected Amazon rainforest of Cuyabeno, Ecuador, on March 28, 2024.

DANIEL MUNOZ, AFP Via Getty Images

A ranger inspects a butterfly in the protected Amazon rainforest of Cuyabeno, Ecuador, on March 28, 2024.

DANIEL MUNOZ, AFP Via Getty Images

A butterflies trap is seen on the treetops in the protected Amazon rainforest of Cuyabeno, Ecuador, on March 28, 2024. A meta-analysis of 16 scientific studies done in 2021 found that insect populations globally have declined by about 45% in just the last 40 years. It's one of the reasons your windshield is less covered in bug splatter than in your grandparent's time.

DANIEL MUNOZ, AFP Via Getty Images

A caterpillar walks on a tree in the protected Amazon rainforest of Cuyabeno, Ecuador, on March 28, 2024. The group is collecting data on climate change and it's effects on butterflies.

DANIEL MUNOZ, AFP Via Getty Images

Rangers Nilo Riofrio (L) and Guido Alulima and Biologist Elisa Levy inspect a butterfly in the protected Amazon rainforest of Cuyabeno, Ecuador, on March 28, 2024.

DANIEL MUNOZ, AFP Via Getty Images

A ranger frees a butterfly after inspecting it in the protected Amazon rainforest of Cuyabeno, Ecuador, on March 28, 2024.

DANIEL MUNOZ, AFP Via Getty Images

A ranger inspects a butterfly in the protected Amazon rainforest of Cuyabeno, Ecuador, on March 28, 2024.

DANIEL MUNOZ, AFP Via Getty Images

A butterfly is seen in the protected Amazon rainforest of Cuyabeno, Ecuador, on March 27, 2024.

DANIEL MUNOZ, AFP Via Getty Images

A butterfly is seen in the protected Amazon rainforest of Cuyabeno, Ecuador, on March 30, 2024. A meta-analysis of 16 scientific studies done in 2021 found that insect populations globally have declined by about 45% in just the last 40 years. It's one of the reasons your windshield is less covered in bug splatter than in your grandparent's time.

DANIEL MUNOZ, AFP Via Getty Images

Biologist Elisa Levy and her team analyze data from collected butterflies in the protected Amazon rainforest of Cuyabeno, Ecuador, on March 30, 2024.

DANIEL MUNOZ, AFP Via Getty Images
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