Climate change disrupts the flight season of butterflies

The results of research by Canadian scientists published in the Global Change Biology magazine published on 11/21, said the flight season of butterflies corresponds to the temperature background and possibly changed when climate changes.

The researchers found that butterflies are capable of being very sensitive to temperature, and the flight season of this species will occur an average of 2.4 days earlier when the temperature rises to 1 degree centigrade.

Photo: Wired

The discovery was discovered after scientists studied the Canadian museum's collection of more than 200 butterflies and linked them to gas station data from the past 130 years.

Heather Kharouba, lead author of the study, said that with warmer temperatures, butterflies will appear from the beginning of the year. This proves that their flight season also occurs earlier.

Early migration may have implications for butterflies. If they appear too early, the risk of frost and death is very high. Or they may very well appear before the time of growing the plants that are their food and as a result they will starve.

According to scientists, the migration of butterflies also provides an "early warning signal" to help other wildlife species find ways to adapt to the phenomenon of climate change that is becoming increasingly apparent.