Climate-change-response
Guides
Aglais io
European peacock butterfly, peacock butterfly
A colorful nymphalid butterfly found across Europe and temperate Asia to Japan. Adults overwinter and emerge in spring to reproduce. Recent studies in Belgium demonstrate a shift from univoltine to bivoltine life history, with three flight peaks now observed: spring (overwintering adults), early summer (first generation), and autumn (second generation). The species is known for prominent eyespots on its wings that function in anti-predator defense.
Aphis fabae
black bean aphid, blackfly, bean aphid, beet leaf aphid
Aphis fabae is a small, soft-bodied aphid in the family Aphididae, commonly known as the black bean aphid or blackfly. It is a significant agricultural pest with a broad host range, attacking beans, sugar beet, and numerous other crops. The species exhibits a heteroecious life cycle with host alternation between a woody primary host (Euonymus europaeus, spindle tree) and herbaceous secondary hosts. It reproduces parthenogenetically during the growing season and sexually in autumn, producing overwintering eggs. The aphid is capable of rapid population increase through viviparous reproduction, and winged forms develop seasonally to facilitate migration between host plants.
Arctia caja
Garden Tiger, Great Tiger Moth
Large, conspicuously colored moth with a wingspan up to 65 mm. Forewings are cryptic brown with irregular cream-colored bands; hindwings are orange (rarely yellow) with large rounded bluish spots. This aposematic species sequesters toxic alkaloids for defense. The species has undergone significant decline in the U.K. over the past 30 years, accompanied by phenotypic changes including longer, narrower wings and reduced genetic diversity.
Battus polydamas polydamas
Polydamas Swallowtail, Gold Rim Swallowtail, Tailless Swallowtail
The Polydamas swallowtail is a tailless swallowtail butterfly distinguished by its black wings with red or pink spots and a characteristic gold band along the wing margins. Adults are active year-round in tropical regions and are notable for their complete lack of tail-like extensions on the hindwings—a unique trait among New World swallowtails. The species serves as a model for Batesian mimicry, with its aposematic coloration warning predators of its chemical defenses derived from toxic host plants.
Coelopa frigida
seaweed fly, kelp fly
Coelopa frigida is a seaweed fly and the most widely distributed species in its genus, found on temperate Northern Hemisphere shorelines with stranded algae. Adults are 5–6 mm with dark brown to black bodies, lighter legs, and large translucent wings. The species exhibits a chromosomal inversion polymorphism (αβ system) that generates two distinct size morphs with different developmental rates and life-history strategies. It has become a model organism for studying sexual selection, particularly female choice and sexual conflict, and for investigating the genetic basis of local adaptation through chromosomal inversions.
Idaea dimidiata
Single-dotted Wave
Idaea dimidiata is a small Geometrid moth with a Holarctic distribution. Adults are active from June to August and are attracted to light. The species has shown significant phenological shifts in response to climate change over recent decades.
Neophilaenus
spittlebugs
Neophilaenus is a genus of spittlebugs (family Aphrophoridae) containing approximately 10 described species distributed primarily across the Palearctic region. Nymphs are known for producing characteristic foam masses ("cuckoo spit") that provide protection and moisture retention during development. Several species, particularly N. campestris and N. lineatus, have been extensively studied due to their role as vectors of the plant pathogen Xylella fastidiosa, which threatens Mediterranean agriculture including olive, almond, and grapevine crops. The genus exhibits temperature-dependent phenology, with development rates and adult emergence timing varying predictably with altitude and latitude.
Nezara
Green Vegetable Bugs
Nezara is a genus of plant-feeding stink bugs in the family Pentatomidae, established by Amyot and Serville in 1843. The genus contains approximately 20 described species distributed across tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. The most economically significant species is Nezara viridula (Linnaeus, 1758), commonly known as the southern green stink bug or green vegetable bug, which is a major agricultural pest of legumes, cotton, and numerous other crops. Several species have been documented as pests of soybean and other economically important crops in South America, with N. viridula being particularly problematic due to its cosmopolitan distribution and polyphagous feeding habits.
Polydrusus
Polydrusus is a genus of weevils in the family Curculionidae, subfamily Entiminae, containing dozens of species distributed across Europe, North America, and parts of Asia. Several species have been introduced to North America and have become established in northern hardwood forests, where some function as polyphagous herbivores with documented impacts on tree crops. The genus is taxonomically complex, with multiple subgenera recognized including Conocetus and Orodrusus, and has been subject to recent revisionary work clarifying species boundaries and synonymies. Polydrusus species are frequently confused with the genus Phyllobius due to superficial morphological similarities, though they are not closely related.
Rhopalapion longirostre
Hollyhock Weevil
Rhopalapion longirostre is a weevil species commonly known as the Hollyhock Weevil, native to central Asia and now distributed across Europe, the Middle East, and North America. It is strongly associated with hollyhock plants (Alcea species), on which it completes its entire life cycle. The species exhibits pronounced sexual dimorphism in rostrum length, with females possessing elongated rostra for oviposition. Since the 1960s, it has undergone rapid range expansion attributed to climate change and anthropogenic dispersal.
Vespula squamosa
southern yellowjacket
Vespula squamosa, the southern yellowjacket, is a social wasp native to eastern North America, ranging from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic coast and south through Mexico to Guatemala. The species exhibits remarkable social plasticity: most colonies are annual and headed by a single queen, but in warmer climates colonies may become perennial, persisting multiple years and reaching extreme sizes with multiple reproductive queens (polygyny). Approximately 85% of colonies begin through facultative social parasitism, with V. squamosa queens usurping nests of V. maculifrons (eastern yellowjacket) or V. vidua (widow yellowjacket). Workers are approximately 13 mm long with black and yellow striping; queens are larger and more orange in coloration. The species is expanding its range northward and is now common in the Mid-Atlantic region.