Butterflies and bright colored dragonflies thrive due to warm Europe

(Brighter colors of butterflies and dragonflies are competing better with others when faced with climate change.

In a new study, published in Nature Communications, scientists from Imperial College London, Marburg Philipps University - and the University of Copenhagen have shown that when climate is warm in Europe , butterfly populations and dragonflies have more brightly colored species .Darker species are retreating to the north to cooler areas, but lighter-colored species also move their geographic range to the north as Europe warms.

Several Mediterranean dragonfly species have expanded their northern range and migrated to Germany, such as Southern Migrant Hawker elephant dragonflies ( Aeshna affinis ), Scarlet Darter chillies ( Crocothemis erythraea ) and dragonflies. needle Dainty Damselfly ( Coenagrion scitulum ). 2010, Dainty Damselfly was also observed in the UK for the first time in more than 50 years. Butterflies that thrive in warm climates, like Southern Small White ( Pieris mannii ), have been dispersed to Germany during the past 10 years and continue to turn to their north.

As for lizards and snakes , the color of the insect body plays an important role in the amount of energy they absorb from the sun , and is a decisive factor in boosting their trip as well as regulating the temperature. body.

A bright colored butterfly is parked on a lavender flower

Dark insects can absorb more sunlight than bright ones, aiming to increase body temperature, and are more likely to be found in cooler climates. On the contrary, insects in hot climates need to be   protect their bodies against overheating (overheating). Light-colored insects are more likely to be found in hotter climates because they can reflect light to wrinkle the body from overheating and thus work longer.

Carsten Rahbek, from the Faculty of Life Sciences at Imperial College London, said: 'For these two major insect groups, we have demonstrated a direct link between climate change and insect colors . This affects their geographical distribution. '

'Now that we know that butterflies and brighter colored dragonflies are living better in a warmer world, we have also shown that the effects of climate change should be where species are. living is not something of the future, but naturally its ecosystems are changing as we speak ', Professor Rahbek, also Director of the Macroecology Center, Evolution and Climate at University of Copenhagen said.To determine whether bright colors correlate with temperature, the scientists combined digital image analysis, scanning technology and assessing the color of the wings and the body color of butterflies and dragonfly species, with map data on the distribution of these species in Europe.

They observed 366 butterfly species and 107 dragonfly species across Europe, and showed a clear trend: light-colored insects dominating warmer Southern Europe and dark-colored insects dominating the domain. The north is cooler.

To check whether the warmer climate caused any change, they observed changes in species distribution that lasted for 18 years from 1988 to 2006. Results for On average, the insects that are in color are getting brighter, and the darker insects turn towards moving to cooler areas on the western border of Europe, the Alps and the Balkans.

Previous research has shown that climate change is having an impact on species distribution, while this study provides evidence of a direct link and affirms climate change can cause impact on biodiversity types.

The main author of the study, Dirk Zeuss from the University of Marburg - Phillipps in Germany, said: 'When studying biodiversity, we lack general rules about why a certain species appears in a zone. some area. This study shows that butterflies and dragonflies in Europe are being distributed according to their ability to regulate temperature through a variety of colors . So far we have only seen major changes in insect animals in the past 20 years. Now we have an idea of ​​the strong cause that caused those changes. '