Butterflies: The Pandas of the Sky

<p>This episode is all about butterflies, or the pandas of the sky. Check out this cool art I had my friend and artist extraordinaire, Kry Hookuh create. You can check out her work at kryshookuhdoodles.com and follow her on Instagram @kryhookuh</p> <p>With the release of two new papers looking at what is happening to butterflies as a consequence of climate change, <a href='https://snre.arizona.edu/people/kathleen-prudic'>Katy Prudic</a>, Assistant Professor of Data and Citizen Science in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of Arizona and colleagues are revealing that big changes are happening for butterflies. One study, published in <a href='https://science.sciencemag.org/content/371/6533/1042'>Science</a>, shows a decline in butterfly populations over the past 40 years. Given continuing warming, especially in Fall, this decline will likely continue. What does this mean for butterflies? For many it means they won’t be able to take the heat. For some, though, like the Giant swallowtail, they may be able to shift northward to escape the increasing temperatures. That comes from the second important paper Katy and her colleagues also just published in <a href='https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.579230/full?&utm_source=Email_to_authors_&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=T1_11.5e1_author&utm_campaign=Email_publication&field=&journalName=Frontiers_in_Ecology_and_Evolution&id=579230'>Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution</a>. </p> <p>We talk about these studies and more. Like why do people love butterflies? And of course, because people do love butterflies, they are helping scientists get science done. Plus, you’ll learn some interesting little tidbits about butterflies you may not have known before. I know I did. You can follow Katy on Twitter @Envirokaty </p> <p>Lastly, I was lucky enough to be part of the monarch butterfly tagging effort. Check out the video of me tagging one on my YouTube Channel, Wildlife Connection TV, <a href='https://youtu.be/xJYrskQPkP4'>here</a>.