While bee decline dominates pollinator conservation, butterflies, hoverflies, and moths face comparable welfare threats and ecological roles that deserve equal attention.
Non-bee pollinator welfare is threatened by the same drivers as bees — pesticides, habitat loss, light pollution — but receives far less conservation attention. Individual moths disorientated by artificial light become exhausted circling light sources, unable to navigate. Butterfly caterpillars starve when their specific host plant species decline from agriculture. Hoverfly larvae in soil and decaying matter are disrupted by soil compaction and pesticide use. The welfare of these animals, while uncertain in its subjective dimensions, involves disruption of fundamental behavioral drives and reduced lifespan from navigational and foraging failure.