Global butterfly study: 80% of tracked species expanded ranges amid climate shifts

Phys.org reported a global analysis of 1,758 butterfly species, about 10% of known species, found that 80% had expanded their range and that 79% of recorded range shifts were linked to climate change and extreme weather events. The Nature Ecology & Evolution study also reported range contractions for 27% of species and elevation changes for 22%. Percentages exceed 100% because many species showed more than one type of shift. Researchers analyzed 6,182 range-shift records across 105 countries, drawing on English and non-English literature plus 68 expert assessments, led by Monash University, iDiv, the University of Jena, and UFZ. Horizontal expansions appeared on every continent, with high counts in tropical countries. Contractions were more common in temperate Europe and North America. Elevational shifts were almost exclusively in the Northern Hemisphere. First author Dr. Shawan Chowdhury said the scale is large and extends far beyond well-studied regions. Documentation is uneven: some European countries have records for more than half of their butterfly species, while most countries document shifts for fewer than 10%. Severe gaps remain in Central Africa, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and the Amazon Basin. The paper carries DOI: 10.1038/s41559-026-03117-y.