🦋 Stat of the Day: Butterflies are dropping like the latter half of their name. Butterfly populations declined 22% between 2000 and 2020, according to a new study published in the Journal of Science. Of the 500+ butterfly species analyzed, 13x as many species declined in population size as increased.

Not just butterflies: Insect populations have declined by ~45% in the last 40 years, posing threats to the ecosystems they inhabit and much of our agriculture, according to a 2023 meta-analysis of more than a dozen studies. A variety of factors, including habitat loss, insecticides, rising temperatures, and drying landscapes, have contributed to the decline.

Dive deeper: See how butterflies are surviving, or not, near you.

🤔 Did You Know? A Scottish woman named Joy Milne can smell Parkinson's disease. Her identification of the unique odor has helped scientists find what caused it – an oily, waxy substance created on the skin of people with Parkinson's – and create new tests for diagnosing the disease.

📰 Worth a Read: The Ancient Horsemen Who Created the Modern World