Arctic butterflies adapt to warming climate by getting smaller

New research shows that butterflies in Greenland have become smaller in response to increasing temperatures due to climate change.
It has often been demonstrated that the ongoing rapid climate change in the Arctic region is causing substantial change to Arctic ecosystems. Now Danish researchers demonstrate that a warmer Greenland could be bad for its butterflies, becoming smaller under warmer summers.
Researchers from Aarhus University have measured wing length of nearly 4,500 individuals collected annually between 1996 and 2013 from Zackenberg Research Station in Northeast Greenland, and found that wing length has decreased significantly in response to warmer summers and at the same rate for both species investigated.

"Our studies show that males and females follow the same pattern and it is similar in two different species, which suggests that climate plays an important role in determining the body size of butterflies in Northeast Greenland," says senior scientist Toke T. Hoye, Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University.
Image shows Arctic fritillary (Boloria chariclea) is one of the two species that have become smaller due to climate change. This is demonstrated in a new study by Danish researchers. The scientists have measured the wing length of nearly 4,500 individuals collected annually between 1996 and 2013 from Zackenberg, Greenland and found that the blade length decreased significantly in response to warmer summers.