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A handout picture released on September 23, 2020 by Andrew Bladon of University of Cambridge shows a Mountain ringlet Erebia epiphron butterfly on a net on July 10, 2018. Key to butterfly climate survival may be in the wings. Whether a butterfly's wings absorb or reflect heat from the sun could be a matter of life and death in a warming world, according to British research published on September 24, 2020 calling for gardens, parks and farms to host shady, cooling-off spots. While all butterflies are ectotherms – they cannot generate their own body heat -- their ability to thermoregulate varies significantly between species, researchers said. The study shows that larger and paler butterflies including the Large White (Pieris brassicae) and Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) are best able to buffer themselves against environmental temperature swings. They angle their large, reflective wings in relation to the sun, and use them to direct the sun’s heat either away from, or onto their bodies. These species have either stable or growing populations. (Photo by Andrew Bladon/University of Cambridge/AFP Photo)
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