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For insects in Europe, climate change has led to habitat change.
对于欧洲的昆虫而言，气候变化导致它们生活环境的变化。
In the past couple of decades, for example, Mediterranean butterfly and dragonfly species have been found flying around places previously off limits to them—new new northern climes such as Germany.
例如在过去的几十年里，地中海的蝴蝶和蜻蜓等物种已经不再墨守陈规，飞往像德国这样北方气候的地区。
Now a study in Nature Communications finds a colorful reason for the northern expansion.
发表在《自然通讯》杂志上的一项研究表明，物种的北移是由于颜色的原因。
As northern Europe warms, the light-colored butterflies and dragonflies typically found in the Mediterranean find themselves able to survive in the newly warmer north, and to even outcompete their darker-colored rivals.
随着北欧气候变暖，浅色的典型地中海昆虫蝴蝶和蜻蜓发现自己比那些深色的同类更适宜在温暖的北部生存。
Lighter colors reflect sunlight while dark colors absorb it and heat up.
浅颜色可以反射太阳光，而深颜色吸收阳光并使自己变热。
Hence chocolate ice cream melts in the sun faster than vanilla.
因此巧克力冰淇淋在太阳下比香草冰淇淋更容易快速融化。
Lighter-colored insects thus function well in warmer climates.
这些浅色的昆虫更适宜温暖气候。
They don't overheat as easily and can stay active longer, giving them a leg up—well, six legs up—in our warming world.
它们不会变的更热，这样可活动的时间就更长，从而在温暖的世界里比深色的昆虫更占上风。
The researchers say this migration of insects shows that climate change isn't something that's coming—it's already happening.
研究人员称，昆虫的迁移说明了气候变化不是将要来临，而是已经来了。
And it could drastically affect which insects up end up where.
这会大大影响昆虫的生存环境，甚至是它们生死存亡。
Which will in turn affect us.
而后就会作用到我们身上。
