The genome sequence of the Arctic Skipper, (Pallas, 1771).

We present a genome assembly from an individual male (the Arctic Skipper; Arthropoda; Insecta; Lepidoptera; Hesperiidae). The genome sequence is 394.5 megabases in span.

Precipitation buffers temperature-driven local extinctions of moths at warm range margins.

Species' distributions are moving polewards in response to climate change, and although range expansions of relatively warm-adapted species are widely reported, reports of range retractions in cool-adapted species are less common. Here, we analysed species' distribution shifts for 76 cool-adapted moths in Great Britain using citizen science occurrence records from the National Moth Recording Scheme over a 40-year period. Although we find evidence for trailing edge shifts to higher latitudes, shifts in species' range centroids are oriented towards the north-west, and are more closely correlated with directional changes in total precipitation than average temperature.

Traits data for the butterflies and macro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland.

Butterflies and moths, collectively Lepidoptera, are integral components of ecosystems, providing key services such as pollination and a prey resource for vertebrate and invertebrate predators. Lepidoptera are a relatively well studied group of invertebrates. In Great Britain and Ireland numerous citizen science projects provide data on changes in distribution and abundance.

Brownfield sites promote biodiversity at a landscape scale.

Repurposing of brownfield sites is often promoted, because it is perceived that protecting the "green belt" limits damage to biodiversity; yet brownfield sites provide scarce habitats with limited disturbance, so conversely are also perceived to be ecologically valuable. Combining data from three national-scale UK biological monitoring schemes with location data on historical landfill sites, we show that species richness is positively associated with both the presence and increasing area of ex-landfill sites for birds, plants and several insect taxa. Assemblage rarity of birds is also positively associated with presence of ex-landfill sites.

The decline of butterflies in Europe: Problems, significance, and possible solutions.

We review changes in the status of butterflies in Europe, focusing on long-running population data available for the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Belgium, based on standardized monitoring transects. In the United Kingdom, 8% of resident species have become extinct, and since 1976 overall numbers declined by around 50%. In the Netherlands, 20% of species have become extinct, and since 1990 overall numbers in the country declined by 50%.

Protected areas facilitate species' range expansions.

The benefits of protected areas (PAs) for biodiversity have been questioned in the context of climate change because PAs are static, whereas the distributions of species are dynamic. Current PAs may, however, continue to be important if they provide suitable locations for species to colonize at their leading-edge range boundaries, thereby enabling spread into new regions. Here, we present an empirical assessment of the role of PAs as targets for colonization during recent range expansions.

The quality and isolation of habitat patches both determine where butterflies persist in fragmented landscapes.

Habitat quality and metapopulation effects are the main hypotheses that currently explain the disproportionate decline of insects in cultivated Holarctic landscapes. The former assumes a degradation in habitat quality for insects within surviving ecosystems, the latter that too few, small or isolated islands of ecosystem remain in landscapes for populations to persist. These hypotheses are often treated as alternatives, and this can lead to serious conflict in the interpretations of conservationists.