A new study observed that light-colored insects thrive as weather gets warmer in Europe.

Scientists from Imperial College London, Philipps-University Marburg, and the University of Copenhagen observed that there were more light-colored groups of butterflies and dragonflies in Europe when temperatures rose in certain areas. Darker-colored species, on the other hand, were seen heading north to cooler climates.

The color of an insect's body indicates its ability to absorb energy from the sun. Similar to lizards and snakes, body color is important to insects in terms of regulating their body temperature and providing energy for flight. Dark-colored insects live better in cooler climates since they are much more able to absorb sunlight to increase body temperature than their lighter counterparts. Light-colored insects tend to gravitate towards hotter climates because they are able to reflect the light in order to prevent their body from overheating. They are also capable of being more active longer.

The scientists studied 366 butterfly species and 107 dragonfly species across Europe. Their observations demonstrated a clear pattern of light-colored insects staying in the southern region of Europe where it is warmer, while dark-colored insects were in the north, where it is cooler. Compared to insects 18 years ago, modern species were lighter in color, and darker-colored insects were moving towards the cooler Western margins of Europe, such as the Alps and the Balkans.

"For the two major groups of insects, we have now demonstrated a direct link between climate and insect color, which impact their geographical distribution. We now know that lighter-colored butterflies and dragonflies are doing better in a warmer world, and we have also demonstrated that the effects of climate change on where species live are not something of the future, but that nature and its ecosystems are changing as we speak," professor Carsten Rahbek from the Department of Life Sciences and Director of the Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate at the University of Copenhagen said in a press release.

Further details of the study can be read in the May 26 issue of Nature Communications.