Flies grow bigger up north: Insect size a promising new proxy for palaeoclimate
E-Mail IMAGE: A modern, male, nonbiting midge (Chironomidae: Tanytarsini) on a flowering apple tree in Munich, Germany. Chironomids are found from the tropics to the Arctic and Antarctica, and have existed over... view more Credit: Viktor Baranov MUNICH -- Scientists use many proxies to reconstruct Earth's ancient climates. Pollen, diatoms, geochemical isotopes, and fossils, for example, all contribute to piecing together past-climate puzzles. The ubiquity and wide geographic range of insects--like the nonbiting midge (Order Diptera, Family Chironomidae), a type of fly--have made ...
Source: eurekalert.org