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There's been a news story developing lately in the commonwealth of massachusetts, but to see it, to fully take it in, you have to slow down, get off the grid and be very quiet. it's like the old expression about stopping to smell the roses, but in this case, it's about butterflies. and these butterflies may be on to something bigger than even massachusetts. we get the story tonight from our chief environmental affairs correspondent anne thompson. >> reporter: in this lush garden of verbena, butterflies that have long called massachusetts home -- >> three american ladies. >> reporter: -- are ma...

Notebook under the bench. from september 2007 -- >> we had ten common checkered skippers and -- >> reporter: this is a southern species. >> yes, this is a southern species, a fiery skipper. >> reporter: this year, the buzz is all about the giant swallow tails, common in the deep south. >> have you ever seen 108 giant swallow tails in a season? >> not in my whole life, nevermind one season. >> reporter: like the butterflies they note, some may consider these club members accidentals too, accidental scientists, not breed. >> if they go out and look and they're interested, and they write down wha...

Light in florida and texas than new england. >> we call them accidentals. in the old days, you would see perhaps one or two fiery skippers, and now you see dozens. >> reporter: the shift of southern butterflies to the increasingly warmer north is detailed in the journal nature. harvard professor greg breed is the study's lead scientist. >> we see the species that are more adapted to warmer clients are increasing, and species that are adapting to colder climates are decreasing. it seems sensible to infer that this is some climate driven pattern. >> reporter: is it climate change? >> that would ...