Overview

• The Deutscher Wetterdienst recorded spring 2025 as one of the driest on record across central Germany.
• Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz surveys in Hessen and Rheinland-Pfalz documented a marked drop in butterfly species counts this spring.
• BUND expert Sonja Gärtner explained that butterflies need moisture to hatch and that eggs dehydrated under the dry conditions.
• She warned that weather extremes now have greater impact because insect populations were already weakened by human activities.
• Long-standing threats such as habitat loss, pesticide use, artificial light pollution and uniform open landscapes have compounded the decline.