Effect of climate change on insects

[RobSutton]

Nice article in yesterday's Guardian about the effect of changing climate on the insects we get in this country - makes some predictions about, for example, new butterflies we might expect to see.

A bug's life | The Guardian | Guardian Unlimited

Worth having a quick look at.

[Wild-Woman]

Originally Posted by RobSutton

Nice article in yesterday's Guardian about the effect of changing climate on the insects we get in this country - makes some predictions about, for example, new butterflies we might expect to see.

A bug's life | The Guardian | Guardian Unlimited

Worth having a quick look at.

Good link Rob. It's going to be a case of winners and losers in the future for a lot of our species. There's nowhere else for the Northern Argus to go but oblivion, although we may then have resident breeding populations of Red Admiral. I suppose nature may eventually redress the balance but then GW is happening so quickly,it seems, that it's going to be a game of catch-up.

[Ambriel]

Also on the watch list should be the anopheles mosquito which carries malaria. If the south of Britain warms up then we might see it in increasing numbers which would not be good.

[aeshna5]

Yes, just in the last 10 years we've seen much change with new arrivals + resident species rapidly spreading north while boreal species becoming increasingly fragmented in their range.

Roesel's Bush-cricket + Long-winged Coneheads previously rare insects now abundant in parts of the south + beyond, while last year a breeding colony of warmth-loving Sickle-bearing Crickets was discovered near Hastings.

Small Red-eyed Damselfly, now common in the south, was only first recorded in Essex in 1999, following a dramatic colonisation of the Netherlands. Red-veined Darters now have regular breeding sites. Following its first sighting in 1996 Lesser Emperor has become an annual occurence with mating recorded + proved breeding in at least a couple of sites. Other species are likely to follow as they spread through the near continent.

Resident Odonata such as Emperor, Migrant Hawker, Black-tailed Skimmer, Broad-bodied Chaser + Banded Demoiselle have all now crossed over the Scottish border. Similarly butterflies such as Speckled Wood, Comma + Brimstone have also spread north, while Red Admirals are now successfully overwintering in the south- I've already seen 3 this month!

Quite a few moths in the south have become scarcer due to a variety of reasons while new arrivals continue to colonise such as the Oak Rustic which now seems to have a foothold on the Isle of Wight feeding on Evergreen Oak, while in just 4 years the Horse Chestnut Leafminer is devasting our Horse Chestnuts around London + beyond.

With our intervention other less desirable species such as Harlequin Ladybirds, Rosemary Beetles + Lily Beetles have also become established + expanding.

Exciting times for a naturalist with new arrivals, yet worrying too! Let's hope 2007 is as exciting as last year was for many migrant species.