Due to some reasons, if there is a huge fall in the population of species of butterflies, what could be its likely consequence/consequences?
- 1.Pollination of some plants could be adversely affected.
- 2.There could be a drastic increase in the fungal infections of some cultivated plants.
- 3.It could lead to a fall in the population of some species of wasps, spiders and birds.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only
Butterflies are pollinators and also food for many predators, so their decline would hurt pollination and the animals that eat them. They play no role in keeping fungal diseases of crops in check, so statement 2 does not follow.
- ✓ 1. Butterflies are among the common animal pollinators of flowering plants, so plants that depend on them could set fewer seeds.
- ✗ 2. Butterflies and their caterpillars feed on nectar and leaves; they do not control plant-infecting fungi, so their loss gives no reason for fungal infections to rise.
- ✓ 3. Birds, spiders, wasps and dragonflies prey on butterflies or their caterpillars; when a prey species crashes, predators that rely on it can decline too.
Remember · Removing one species ripples through the web: butterflies = pollinators + prey. Their crash hits pollination and predator populations, not fungal disease.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Biology, Ch 1 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Biology, Ch 11 (practise this chapter) · Class 8 Curiosity, Ch 12 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 12 · Biology, Chapter 1 “Bees, butterflies, flies, beetles, wasps, ants, moths, birds (sunbirds and humming birds) and bats are the common pollinating agents.”
- NCERT Class 12 · Biology, Chapter 11 “The Monarch butterfly is highly distasteful to its predator (bird) because of a special chemical present in its body.”
- NCERT Class 8 · Curiosity, Chapter 12 “Dragonflies usually eat flies, bees and butterflies. With fewer dragonflies, more bees, flies, and butterflies were found.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2017, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·