Twenty years (2000-2020) of butterfly monitoring data across the contiguous United States

Erica H Henry; Collin B. Edwards; Vaughn Shirey; Jeffrey S. Pippen; Dave Waetjen; Matthew L. Forister; Elise A. Larsen; Cheryl B. Schultz; James Michielini; Nathan Brockman; Kevin J. Burls; Ryan G. Drum; Martha Gatch; Jeffrey Glassberg; Nancy Hamlett; Shiran V. Hershcovich; Catherine Le; Steve McGaffin; Jen Meilinger; Lisa Richter; Regina Rochefort; Charles Schelz; Arthur M. Shapiro; Katheryn Sullivan; Douglas J. Taron; Wayne E. Thogmartin; Anna Walker; Anita Westphal; Jerome Wiedmann; Irmgard U. Wilcockson; Jennifer Zaspel; Leslie Ries

doi:10.1038/s41597-025-05513-8

Twenty years (2000-2020) of butterfly monitoring data across the contiguous United States

Scientific Data

By: Erica H Henry, Collin B. Edwards, Vaughn Shirey, Jeffrey S. Pippen, Dave Waetjen, Matthew L. Forister, Elise A. Larsen, Cheryl B. Schultz, James Michielini, Nathan Brockman, Kevin J. Burls, Ryan G. Drum, Martha Gatch, Jeffrey Glassberg, Nancy Hamlett, Shiran V. Hershcovich, Catherine Le, Steve McGaffin, Jen Meilinger, Lisa Richter, Regina Rochefort, Charles Schelz, Arthur M. Shapiro, Katheryn Sullivan, Douglas J. Taron, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Anna Walker, Anita Westphal, Jerome Wiedmann, Irmgard U. Wilcockson, Jennifer Zaspel, and Leslie Ries

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05513-8

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Abstract

We present the most comprehensive, integrated, butterfly monitoring dataset ever assembled for the United States. It contains over 1.2 million count records, from 65,000 surveys, representing over 12.6 million individual butterflies. To compile this dataset, we integrated data and harmonized taxonomy across 19 butterfly monitoring programs in the United States – one national, 13 statewide, and 5 local (e.g. individual county or National Park) in scale. In addition to the data, we also provide the taxonomic dictionary used to crosswalk butterfly taxonomy across programs, and the code used to assemble the integrated dataset. The publication of this dataset will inspire new analyses of butterfly population trends and drivers that help to identify solutions to the biodiversity crisis.

Suggested Citation

Henry, E.H., Edwards, C., Shirey, V., Pippen, J.S., Waetjen, D., Forister, M.L., Larsen, E., Schultz, C.B., Michielini, J., Brockman, N., Burls, K., Drum, R., Gatch, M., Glassberg, J., Hamlett, N., Hershcovich, S.V., Le, C., McGaffin, S., Meilinger, J., Richter, L., Rochefort, R., Schelz, C., Shapiro, A.M., Sullivan, K., Taron, D., Thogmartin, W.E., Walker, A., Westphal, A., Wiedmann, J., Wilcockson, I.U., Zaspel, J., Ries, L., 2025, Twenty years (2000-2020) of butterfly monitoring data across the contiguous United States: Scientific Data, v. 12, 1869, 8 p., https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05513-8.

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Additional publication details
Publication type	Article
Publication Subtype	Journal Article
Title	Twenty years (2000-2020) of butterfly monitoring data across the contiguous United States
Series title	Scientific Data
DOI	10.1038/s41597-025-05513-8
Volume	12
Publication Date	November 22, 2025
Year Published	2025
Language	English
Publisher	Springer Nature
Contributing office(s)	Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
Description	1869, 8 p.
Country	United States
Other Geospatial	contiguous United States