Libyan
Butterflies and Moths
Macro Photography by Altaher Altabet
Risks facing caterpillars, butterflies and moths.
Hunting by birds and other insects
There are a large number of insects and birds that feed on caterpillars, In picture taken in south Libya, Fazzan (27.529654, 14.159466 ). Yellow Paper Wasp (Polistes wattii) in a continuous search for hidden caterpillar between the leaves of Alfalfa (Lucerne, Medicago sativa) until he found one fed them. below crab-spider catching a small butterfly in photos taken in farm of University of Tripoli, Tripoli- Libya (32.847277, 13.223261).
Yellow paper wasp and caterpillar.
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Crab-spider (Thomisoidea) catching small butterfly.
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Climate change
Climate change threatens to disrupt the monarch butterfly’s annual migration pattern by affecting weather conditions in both wintering grounds and summer breeding grounds. Colder, wetter winters could be lethal to these creatures and hotter, drier summers could shift suitable habitats north. WWF’s 2013 report from Mexico showed that the number of monarch butterflies wintering there was at its lowest in 20 years. The number is measured by the amount of forest they occupy, and in 2013 the number of butterfly acres decreased from approximately seven to three. Abnormal patterns of drought and rainfall in the U.S. and Canada breeding sites may have caused adult butterfly deaths and less plant food for caterpillars. Fewer butterflies up north mean fewer then migrate south to Mexico for the winter. www.worldwildlife.org/species/monarch-butterfly
Habitat loss and less plant food for caterpillars
Generally, increase human activities cause degrease in suitable habitat of butterflies and moths. For instance, monarchs need mountain forests in Mexico for their winter habitat, however nearby human communities also rely on them and create pressure on forests through agriculture and tourism activities. In the U.S., monarchs need places to reproduce and feed. However, herbicide use is decreasing the availability of their primary food source, the milkweed plant (Asclepias). www.worldwildlife.org/species/monarch-butterfly
Using Pesticides and Fertilizers on farms
Use of pesticides and fertilizers on farms has increased by 26-fold over the past 50 years, fueling increases in crop production globally. But there have been serious environmental consequences. Indiscriminate pesticide and fertilizer application may pollute nearby land and water, and chemicals may wash into nearby streams, waterways and groundwater when it rains. Pesticides can kill non-target organisms, including beneficial insects, soil bacteria and fish. When we use some products of pesticides and fertilizers will kill butterfly caterpillars and not just pest caterpillar-infected plants.
Increased pollution
Roads, dams and other infrastructure can create noise, air and water pollution that increases as development grows. In the Alps, for example, almost 150 million people cross the mountains every year, mostly by road. This heavy traffic contributes to emissions of nitrogen dioxide that turns into acid rain and damages forests and other ecosystems. When roads pave over forests, or dams create lakes where there once were streams, plants, insects and animals lose valuable habitat immediately. But that habitat destruction can continue long after the infrastructure is first put into place if it generates pollution or facilitates the further degradation of the landscape due to additional legal and illegal development.
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