How are the dragonflies and butterflies doing?

Butterfly populations in the Netherlands have nearly halved since 1992. Dragonfly numbers rose up to 2007, but stagnated after that. One of the reasons for this is that the quality of habitats for butterflies and dragonflies has deteriorated more and more.

Between 1991 and 2007, the total area in the Netherlands in which dragonflies occur doubled in size. This does not mean that all dragonflies together had twice as much room. For example: one species may live in a small area that has quadrupled in size, while another has a large area that remains unchanged. The end result is a doubling in area on average.

After 2007, the expansion halted. Dragonflies living in or near running water were seen in more locations. Indeed, many dragonfly species started to do better, mainly the result of cleaner water and nature-friendly banks. Added to this, climate change has resulted in more species from southern regions migrating to the Netherlands. Dragonflies such as the emperor, lesser emperor and the scarlet dragonfly are suited to warmer temperatures and are now more widespread than previously.

Water quality vital for dragonflies

However, areas where dragonflies occurred did not continue to grow: the water quality in many locations is not sufficient and is no longer improving. In some places it is even deteriorating. As a result, many common species, such as the common bluetail, have been declining in recent years. Many smaller dragonflies are predated by larger species or pushed out of their habitats.

Show datatableDragonflies (1991=100)Hide datatableDragonflies (1991=100)

Dragonflies (1991=100)

	Observation	Trend	Confidence interval (low)	Confidence interval (high)
1992	110	100	93 - 107	93 - 107
1993	103	106	100 - 111	100 - 111
1994	99	112	107 - 117	107 - 117
1995	110	117	113 - 122	113 - 122
1996	126	123	120 - 127	120 - 127
1997	133	130	126 - 133	126 - 133
1998	155	136	133 - 139	133 - 139
1999	146	142	138 - 145	138 - 145
2000	147	148	144 - 152	144 - 152
2001	144	155	151 - 158	151 - 158
2002	141	161	157 - 164	157 - 164
2003	160	167	163 - 170	163 - 170
2004	188	172	169 - 176	169 - 176
2005	176	178	175 - 181	175 - 181
2006	180	182	180 - 186	180 - 186
2007	197	186	183 - 189	183 - 189
2008	200	188	185 - 191	185 - 191
2009	196	189	186 - 191	186 - 191
2010	191	188	185 - 191	185 - 191
2011	186	188	185 - 191	185 - 191
2012	178	187	184 - 190	184 - 190
2013	180	185	182 - 188	182 - 188
2014	180	183	181 - 185	181 - 185
2015	174	182	179 - 184	179 - 184
2016	181	181	179 - 183	179 - 183
2017	171	180	178 - 182	178 - 182
2018	173	180	178 - 181	178 - 181
2019	190	179	177 - 181	177 - 181
2020	181	179	177 - 181	177 - 181
2021	185	179	176 - 181	176 - 181
2022	178	179	176 - 182	176 - 182
31	175	179	175 - 183	175 - 183

Fewer butterflies

Butterfly numbers have nearly halved since 1992. This is true for most species and nearly all habitats. The reason for this is the reduced area of butterfly habitats. But atmospheric nitrogen in nature areas is also detrimental to these creatures. Excess nitrogen results in fewer or no plants attractive to butterflies. For years now, agricultural areas have included little herb-rich grassland. As a result, hardly any butterflies occur on farmland. Moreover, species such as the ringlet and tree grayling have difficulty surviving the heavy summer downpours and drought periods that are increasing due to climate change.

A few rare species, such as the scarce large blue, are doing better. This is because their habitats have been restored in recent years. Populations of some woodland species, such as the wood white and the white admiral are also growing. This is the result of the recent warmer summers and maturing woodland areas.

Show datatableButterflies (1992=100)Hide datatableButterflies (1992=100)

Butterflies (1992=100)

	Observation	Trend	Confidence interval (low)	Confidence interval (high)
1992	107	100	92 - 109	92 - 109
1993	94	94	87 - 100	87 - 100
1994	71	88	83 - 94	83 - 94
1995	93	84	80 - 87	80 - 87
1996	85	79	76 - 82	76 - 82
1997	79	76	73 - 78	73 - 78
1998	76	73	70 - 75	70 - 75
1999	58	70	68 - 72	68 - 72
2000	76	68	65 - 70	65 - 70
2001	54	65	63 - 68	63 - 68
2002	68	64	62 - 66	62 - 66
2003	80	62	60 - 64	60 - 64
2004	58	62	60 - 63	60 - 63
2005	66	61	60 - 63	60 - 63
2006	61	62	60 - 63	60 - 63
2007	49	62	60 - 64	60 - 64
2008	47	62	61 - 64	61 - 64
2009	78	64	62 - 65	62 - 65
2010	82	65	63 - 66	63 - 66
2011	74	66	64 - 67	64 - 67
2012	48	66	65 - 68	65 - 68
2013	73	67	65 - 68	65 - 68
2014	81	67	65 - 68	65 - 68
2015	64	66	65 - 68	65 - 68
2016	59	65	64 - 67	64 - 67
2017	75	64	63 - 65	63 - 65
2018	67	63	62 - 64	62 - 64
2019	56	61	60 - 62	60 - 62
2020	55	59	57 - 60	57 - 60
2021	50	56	55 - 58	55 - 58
2022	61	54	52 - 55	52 - 55

The questions

1. What keeps people from eating healthier?
2. What is working people’s income?
3. How much of the energy we consume is renewable?
4. What percentage wears glasses?
5. How are the dragonflies and butterflies doing?
6. How many housing units are there?
7. How does home burglary affect people?
8. In what occupations do most people work from home?
9. How much more expensive did food get?
10. How many babies were born to unmarried mothers?
11. From which countries do most immigrants come?
12. How many centenarians are there?
13. How do fathers and mothers divide work and care?
14. How many cars are there?
15. How much milk does a cow produce?
16. What portion of income went to food in 1936?
17. How many pigs were there in 1910?
18. How many cattle and pigs in the Netherlands?
19. What do we import from China?
20. What type of shop is seen less and less?
21. How many nights are spent in Dutch hotels?
22. How often do older people have contact with neighbours?
23. How many adults comply with the physical activity guidelines?
24. Where do international students in the Netherlands come from?
25. What are the major religions?
26. How many litres of water do we use per day?
27. How many millionaires in the Netherlands?
28. How many inhabitants in the Netherlands??
29. Where can we ride our bikes?
30. At what age do workers retire?
31. Which day has the most birthdays?
32. How many people have a student debt?
33. How does CBS handle your privacy?