Alaska’s geological timeline and altering climate could be predicted by studying a new butterfly species a University of Florida researcher believes. According to a Washington Post report, research into the Tanana Arctic butterfly led by lepidopterist Andrew Warren suggests that the butterfly is a hybrid of the Chryxus Arctic and the White-veined Arctic species. Warren suspects that all three species existed in the Beringia region before the last ice age detailed in The Daily News-Miner analysis.
Researchers have been aware of the Tanana Arctic butterfly for the last 60 years, but its similarities to Chryxus Arctic are uncanny and initially confused scientists. Warren, a senior collections manager at the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity at the Florida Museum of Natural History, took a closer look and discerned further distinctive characteristics.
Tanana Arctic’s white freckles on the underside of its copper-colored wings give it a frosted appearance, which is also larger and darker than its contemporaries. Additionally, the butterfly has a specific DNA sequence resembling nearby White-veined Arctics producing the hypothesis that it’s an amalgam of related species.
But more field research is required to determine if the new butterfly also exists deeper into the Yukon territory. But these habitats are too frigid and rugged for most other butterfly classifications and survive only because of a naturally produced antifreeze protectant.
“Once we sequence the genome, we’ll be able to say whether any special traits helped the butterfly survive in harsh environments,” said Warren.
Warren intends to return to Alaska’s climate the following year to search for the butterfly and genome sequencing, which would provide insight into its history and confirm if the Arctic version is a true hybrid. The T. Arctic lives mainly in spruce and aspen forest ranges in the Tanana-Yukon River Basin. But since butterflies are sensitive to climate change, their biological indicators could signal more hypotheses for future change.
Image credit: (Andrew Warren/Florida Museum of Natural History via AP) (Associated Press)