Do butterflies live in anthills? Beautiful pollinators need our help

More than 160 species of butterflies can be found in Poland, including 30 that require protection. Six of them are critically endangered, primarily due to human activity and climate change driven by anthropogenic factors. Can these ephemeral insects be helped? Conservationists in the Małopolska region are showing the way.

Saving the large blue butterflies

The Wielkie Błoto Peatland is a Special Area of Conservation within the Natura 2000 network, located in the Niepołomice Forest in southern Poland’s Małopolska Province. It protects populations of three threatened butterfly species: the scarce large blue (Phengaris teleius), the dusky large blue (Phengaris nausithous), and the large copper (Lycaena dispar).

Butterflies cannot, however, be confined to a nature reserve. Their survival depends on maintaining healthy habitats. The Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection in Kraków emphasizes that its actions are based on scientific evidence. The ongoing update of the conservation management plan for the Wielkie Błoto Peatland aims to protect the entire ecosystem, which also serves as an important feeding ground for forest birds.

The fascinating life of a butterfly

The scarce large blue (Phengaris teleius) is a predatory butterfly with extremely demanding habitat requirements. It is therefore no surprise that scientists regard its presence as an indicator of good ecological condition. Across Europe, however, this species is in decline. In Poland, it is found mainly in the central and southern parts of the country and is legally protected.

A female lays between 100 and 300 eggs, always on great burnet (Sanguisorba officinalis), a nectar-rich perennial typical of flower meadows. About a week later, the caterpillars hatch and feed voraciously on the flower heads. Once fully grown, they descend to the ground and begin releasing pheromones solely to deceive ants. The unsuspecting workers carry them into the anthill, mistaking them for their own larvae.

Over the next ten months, the large blue caterpillars exploit this forced hospitality by feeding on the ants’ eggs and larvae. Inside the anthill, they also occupy a chamber where they spin a cocoon and undergo metamorphosis. At the beginning of summer, adult butterflies emerge from the ant nests. They live for only a few days, just long enough to mate and complete their life cycle.

What happens if butterflies disappear?

The thought of a meadow without butterflies is undoubtedly a sad one. Scientists warn, however, that the reality could be far worse than most people imagine. Ecosystems without butterflies would become quieter, duller, and more vulnerable to invasion by non-native species. Why such a bleak outlook?

First, butterflies pollinate thousands of plant species that would struggle to produce fruit and reproduce without visits from these winged beauties. It is a misconception that any other insect can simply replace a butterfly. Flowers with long tubular blossoms and those that bloom in the evening rely on pollinators with long proboscises to survive.

Second, butterflies and their caterpillars are an underestimated part of the food chain. They provide an important food source for birds during the breeding season and are also preyed upon by bats, lizards, many amphibians, and spiders.

Unfortunately, butterfly populations are declining worldwide. They are threatened by droughts and rising temperatures, pesticides, pollution, and the ongoing fragmentation of habitats. According to experts from Butterfly Conservation, more than 40 percent of butterfly species found exclusively in Europe are currently threatened or at risk.

The efforts to protect the Wielkie Błoto Peatland will not, of course, save Poland’s butterfly populations on their own. They are, however, an important step toward ensuring that the well-being of these colourful pollinators is consistently taken into account in future environmental conservation initiatives. Butterflies are not merely ornaments of ecosystems. They are one of their essential components.