"One in five butterfly species sold online across borders" on eBay

[Jshuey]

My news feed gave this headline:
Endangered butterflies are being sold for high prices on eBay: More than 50,000 dead butterflies were traded on eBay in a one-year period, including endangered species protected by international treaties on wildlife trade (https://www.newscientist.com/article/23 ... s-on-ebay/).

Like most headlines - this one cherry picked the results to create "click bait. I tracked down the actual paper they sourced the story from (https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... ss_borders) and it is actually pretty interesting. A factual account of a year's worth of eBay sales across the globe which details what gets sold (almost everything!), what drives high prices (prettiness and rarity), and how those prices relate to the likely source countries relative to average income (likely low, given that middlemen post the actual sales).

Before you get your panties in a bunch - it's an interesting read that concludes with:

Unlike their 19th century counterparts, modern collectors for the butterfly trade are stakeholders who depend on pristine habitats for their livelihood, and therefore have a vested interest in habitat conservation. We suggest that the scale and extent of global butterfly trade is best seen as a practice of sustainable, targeted resource extraction that has considerable potential in promoting the conservation of insect habitats.

John

[wollastoni]

I like the conclusion but I am pretty sure the use of this publication will be much more different : ban of international insect trade... collectors are killers... and so on.

Especially with that headline....

And of course they forgot to say that one single bat eats 6,000 insects per night.
So one bat, in 10 days, kills more insects that this whole eBay trade (even if this number of 50,000 seems very low to me...).

[Chuck]

I'm probably fortunate the hit-piece article is behind a wall.

But the actual paper is a very interesting read, thanks John.

Your closing quote is interesting, as I've observed the link between conservation (e.g., not logging the crapp out of an island) and the financial revenue produced by butterflies. In fact, I've tried to drive recognition of this, and adoption (or alteration) of practices aligned with this. However, it always fell on deaf ears, since those who make a living by throttling trade are disinterested.

There is a warning that should go with this: some may see the quantities crossing borders, including CITES specimens, and think "oh, I can buy these, I'll never get caught." I assure you, some governments are watching. And they don't bust you for the first one- they let you buy a bunch, and THEN they nail you. Don't be stupid.