Once rare UK butterflies have been moving further north due to a pattern of hot summers, say researchers.
The brown argus, one of Britain's smallest butterflies, was limited to sun-loving shrubs on chalk grassland.
But since the 1990s the species has been expanding its range, using different plants to host their eggs.
Scientists from the University of York attribute this to rising summer temperatures.
Analysing records made by volunteers with the charity Butterfly Conservation, Rachel Pateman and colleagues at the University of York and the NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology identified that populations of the butterfly have spread 79km (49 miles) further north in 20 years.
"The butterfly is now present throughout much of the south and east of England as far north as South and East Yorkshire," explained Ms Pateman whose study was published in the journal Science.
"This is unusual for species which are considered fairly scarce and specialised and so we were interested to discover what might have caused this rapid range expansion."
Continued: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/18174452
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