* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Saturday, September 6, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    ITV Studios Launches New Entertainment Label – Global Bulletin – IMDb

    ITV Studios Unveils Exciting New Entertainment Label

    TS Entertainment bringing Malibu Jack’s to former Owensboro mall – Lane Report

    TS Entertainment Launches Malibu Jack’s at Former Owensboro Mall Location

    Jenny Han Dropped a Major ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Easter Egg Revealing [SPOILER] – yahoo.com

    Jenny Han Just Unveiled a Huge ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Easter Egg That Changes Everything [SPOILER]

    Liam Payne’s Cousin Ross Harris Honors Late Singer With Emotional Song ‘Bones’ – yahoo.com

    Liam Payne’s Cousin Ross Harris Honors Late Singer with Emotional New Song ‘Bones

    Country music star apologizes after drunken show ends with cops taking him down: ‘I’m not OK’ – PennLive.com

    Country Music Star Apologizes After Drunken Show Ends in Police Intervention: ‘I’m Not OK

    Comanche Nation Entertainment closes casino near Devol – KSWO 7News

    Comanche Nation Entertainment Closes Casino Near Devol in Surprising Move

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Coherent Joins LLNL’s STARFIRE Diode Technology Working Group to Advance Inertial Fusion Energy – GlobeNewswire

    Coherent Partners with LLNL’s STARFIRE Team to Drive Breakthroughs in Inertial Fusion Energy

    Gene Associated With Deadly Heart Disease in Golden Retrievers Identified – Technology Networks

    Breakthrough Discovery Uncovers Gene Behind Deadly Heart Disease in Golden Retrievers

    Monkey Island LNG Picks ConocoPhillips’ Liquefaction Technology – Hart Energy

    Monkey Island LNG Selects ConocoPhillips’ Advanced Liquefaction Technology for Next-Gen Energy Solutions

    Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd. (CRDO) Surpasses Q1 Earnings and Revenue Estimates – Yahoo Finance

    Credo Technology Group Surpasses Q1 Earnings and Revenue Expectations

    The Economist is hiring a science and technology correspondent – The Economist

    Exciting Opportunity: Become Our Next Science and Technology Correspondent!

    Blockchain lender Figure Technology seeks to raise up to $526M in IPO (FIGR:Pending) – Seeking Alpha

    Blockchain Lender Figure Technology Sets Sights on $526M in Thrilling IPO Launch

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    ITV Studios Launches New Entertainment Label – Global Bulletin – IMDb

    ITV Studios Unveils Exciting New Entertainment Label

    TS Entertainment bringing Malibu Jack’s to former Owensboro mall – Lane Report

    TS Entertainment Launches Malibu Jack’s at Former Owensboro Mall Location

    Jenny Han Dropped a Major ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Easter Egg Revealing [SPOILER] – yahoo.com

    Jenny Han Just Unveiled a Huge ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Easter Egg That Changes Everything [SPOILER]

    Liam Payne’s Cousin Ross Harris Honors Late Singer With Emotional Song ‘Bones’ – yahoo.com

    Liam Payne’s Cousin Ross Harris Honors Late Singer with Emotional New Song ‘Bones

    Country music star apologizes after drunken show ends with cops taking him down: ‘I’m not OK’ – PennLive.com

    Country Music Star Apologizes After Drunken Show Ends in Police Intervention: ‘I’m Not OK

    Comanche Nation Entertainment closes casino near Devol – KSWO 7News

    Comanche Nation Entertainment Closes Casino Near Devol in Surprising Move

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Coherent Joins LLNL’s STARFIRE Diode Technology Working Group to Advance Inertial Fusion Energy – GlobeNewswire

    Coherent Partners with LLNL’s STARFIRE Team to Drive Breakthroughs in Inertial Fusion Energy

    Gene Associated With Deadly Heart Disease in Golden Retrievers Identified – Technology Networks

    Breakthrough Discovery Uncovers Gene Behind Deadly Heart Disease in Golden Retrievers

    Monkey Island LNG Picks ConocoPhillips’ Liquefaction Technology – Hart Energy

    Monkey Island LNG Selects ConocoPhillips’ Advanced Liquefaction Technology for Next-Gen Energy Solutions

    Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd. (CRDO) Surpasses Q1 Earnings and Revenue Estimates – Yahoo Finance

    Credo Technology Group Surpasses Q1 Earnings and Revenue Expectations

    The Economist is hiring a science and technology correspondent – The Economist

    Exciting Opportunity: Become Our Next Science and Technology Correspondent!

    Blockchain lender Figure Technology seeks to raise up to $526M in IPO (FIGR:Pending) – Seeking Alpha

    Blockchain Lender Figure Technology Sets Sights on $526M in Thrilling IPO Launch

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Science

Three ways climate change is pushing butterflies and moths to their limits

March 3, 2024
in Science
Three ways climate change is pushing butterflies and moths to their limits
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

butterfly

Credit: CC0 Public Domain

In any competition, there are winners and losers. In the race to adjust to a changing climate, some butterflies seem to be doing well. But others, less so.

The brown hairstreak has been reported to be doing well around London and the UK population has been stable since the 1980s. Meanwhile, the comma butterfly boasts a 94% range expansion since the 1970s, and is now a familiar sight across England, Scotland and southern Wales.

This uplifting news is masking the plight of the UK’s other 57 breeding butterfly species. Butterfly Conservation’s 2022 report painted a grim picture. Since the 1980s, 80% of butterfly species have decreased in abundance, distribution or both.

The situation isn’t looking much better for moths, close cousins of the butterflies, with a 33% decrease in abundance of macromoths (larger moths) over the last 50 years. Eight UK butterfly species are listed as endangered and a further 16 are vulnerable.

Only 29 species are classed as least concern. So, while there are some winners, there are also many types of butterflies and moths that are clearly struggling to survive in our changing climate.

Citizen science tells us a lot about how butterfly numbers and distributions have changed since the 1970s, and sheds light on what drives some butterfly species to decline while others thrive.

1. Butterflies are picky eaters

Like half of the UK’s butterfly species, the high brown fritillary is a specialist. As a caterpillar, it depends on only one or a few plants to power its growth. The high brown fritillary relies on violets, which are mostly found in coppiced woodland and on sun-drenched slopes. Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management, involving cutting trees down to stumps to maintain the woodland and encourage new growth.

Changes in land management, like the decline in coppicing, intensified agriculture and urbanization, have diminished these habitats and their host plants. This endangered butterfly was once found throughout the UK, but is now restricted to only a handful of sites and conservationists are working hard to conserve this species.

2. Some don’t like it hot or cold

The wall brown, like most of the UK’s butterflies, should spend winter as a caterpillar, or in a cocoon it will emerge from after April. But mild weather in autumn and winter means that wall brown adults are emerging from their cocoons in September and October.

At this time, it’s likely too cold for the adults, there aren’t other wall browns to mate with or there aren’t enough suitable plants for their caterpillars to eat before winter. Because these adults aren’t able to reproduce successfully, fewer caterpillars survive to become butterflies the following spring—a phenomenon researchers have called a developmental trap. This is contributing to the decline of wall brown.

Warmer summers also pose a problem, with temperatures in the UK soaring last September. Unlike us, butterflies and other insects have limited ways to keep cool.

To cool down they angle their wings to not catch the direct sun and can also choose shady spots where it is often cooler. But butterflies and moths are very sensitive to the weather and extreme temperatures can cause early death in butterflies.

There are also more subtle effects of these bursts of high temperatures. In fruit flies and other insects, fertility is often reduced at temperatures lower than the lethal limit. This means that while butterflies may survive heat waves, their fertility could be reduced and this could lead to longterm population declines.

Understanding the effects of temperature on fertility in butterflies and moths is clearly a key priority and is at the forefront of ecological research.

3. Small ranges make survival tricky

The mountain ringlet is a near-threatened species that faces a different challenge. Currently only found in the Scottish Highlands and the Lake District, it lives at altitudes above 350 meters, where the air is cooler and the grass it depends on, Nardus stricta, flourishes.

Over time, these mountainous refuges will become less hospitable. Without cooler climes to retreat to, the mountain ringlet and other range-restricted butterflies may find themselves without a home.

The adonis blue (currently listed as vulnerable) is currently only seen in the south of England. As our climate warms the species may shift northwards, increasing its population. It thrives on horseshoe vetch, a plant that’s common on chalk and limestone grasslands.

But this butterfly is a real home body. It’s very sedentary and has a low tendency to disperse so it might not move north as the climate changes. Only time will tell.

What do these trends tell us?

Because butterflies and moths are sensitive to environmental fluctuations, they act as excellent bioindicators for assessing the health of ecosystems. Declines in butterfly and moth populations have serious implications.

There are noticeably fewer butterflies and moths for you and I to watch in our gardens, parks and the beautiful countryside. Butterflies and moths play a vital role in pollinating wild and crop plants including strawberries, cucumbers and apples.

Many animals, including bats, birds and other insects rely on butterflies, moths and their caterpillars as a food source. The abundance and timing of caterpillars determine when some songbirds lay their eggs, so these changing trends may alter longterm bird populations.

That said, it’s not all doom and gloom. Butterfly Conservation runs a UK-wide conservation program, targeting 200 priority landscapes for threatened butterflies and moths. Citizen science surveys, including the big butterfly count, help scientists understand longterm trends in butterfly populations.

And you, as gardeners and nature lovers, can get involved with citizen science activities, cultivate shady butterfly-friendly habitats and help preserve urban green spaces that act as havens for these insects.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.The Conversation

Citation:
Three ways climate change is pushing butterflies and moths to their limits (2024, March 2)
retrieved 3 March 2024
from https://phys.org/news/2024-03-ways-climate-butterflies-moths-limits.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Phys.org – https://phys.org/news/2024-03-ways-climate-butterflies-moths-limits.html

Tags: climatescienceThree
Previous Post

What ended the ‘dark ages’ in the early universe? New Webb data just brought us closer to solving the mystery

Next Post

Kenya’s had unusually hot weather—an expert unpacks what could be causing it

Blending art, culture and native plants at Wakamatsu – Mountain Democrat

Discover the Harmony of Art, Culture, and Native Plants at Wakamatsu

September 6, 2025
The Two-Body Problem for Women in Science – Nautilus | Science Connected

The Two-Body Problem for Women in Science – Nautilus | Science Connected

September 6, 2025
How AI and Automation are Speeding Up Science and Discovery – Berkeley Lab News Center (.gov)

How AI and Automation Are Accelerating Breakthroughs in Scientific Discovery

September 6, 2025

American Trust Investment Services Serves as Exclusive Placement Agent in $9 Million Follow-On Offering for Nova LifeStyle, Inc. – Morningstar

September 6, 2025
Coherent Joins LLNL’s STARFIRE Diode Technology Working Group to Advance Inertial Fusion Energy – GlobeNewswire

Coherent Partners with LLNL’s STARFIRE Team to Drive Breakthroughs in Inertial Fusion Energy

September 6, 2025
EA SPORTS™ and New York City FC Extend Partnership to Power the Future of Football Fandom in NYC – New York City FC

EA SPORTS™ and New York City FC Join Forces to Transform Football Fandom in NYC

September 6, 2025
News – Ancient DNA Pinpoints Culprit Responsible for World’s First Pandemic – Archaeology Magazine

Ancient DNA Reveals the True Cause of the World’s First Pandemic

September 5, 2025
Fears of US recession as economy adds just 22,000 jobs – The Times

Fears of US recession as economy adds just 22,000 jobs – The Times

September 5, 2025
Musiq Soulchild Surprises Fan’s Bride With “Dontchange” Wedding Serenade – yahoo.com

Musiq Soulchild Captivates Wedding Guests with Heartfelt Serenade of “Don’tchange

September 5, 2025
States fight feds over future of school mental health services – Courthouse News Service

States Clash with Federal Government Over the Future of School Mental Health Services

September 5, 2025

Categories

Archives

September 2025
MTWTFSS
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930 
« Aug    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (809)
  • Economy (827)
  • Entertainment (21,704)
  • General (16,879)
  • Health (9,868)
  • Lifestyle (840)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (829)
  • Politics (834)
  • Science (16,038)
  • Sports (21,326)
  • Technology (15,808)
  • World (808)

Recent News

Blending art, culture and native plants at Wakamatsu – Mountain Democrat

Discover the Harmony of Art, Culture, and Native Plants at Wakamatsu

September 6, 2025
The Two-Body Problem for Women in Science – Nautilus | Science Connected

The Two-Body Problem for Women in Science – Nautilus | Science Connected

September 6, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version