US butterfly populations are declining because of insecticides, climate change and habitat loss, with the number of the winged beauties down 22% since 2000, a new nationwide study finds.

CINCINNATI (WKRC) - A new study found that butterflies are disappearing from the United States at an alarming rate, with most species showing significant population decline in recent years.

The number of butterflies in the contiguous United States declined by 22 percent this century, a collapse with potentially dire implications.

Butterfly populations are falling in the United States— by an amount that researchers are saying is catastrophic. The first countrywide, systematic analysis of butterfly abundance found that the number of butterflies in the Lower 48 states has been falling on average 1.