Professor Art Shapiro predicted it: The cabbage white butterfly would be out this week, alerting his “posse” to their opportunity to win his annual Beer for a Butterfly contest — the prize going to the person who catches the first cabbage white of the new year.

"Meet the scientist who's been counting California butterflies for 47 years and has no plans to stop," reads the headline for a profile article about Distinguished Professor Art Shapiro.

Utilizing nearly 45 years of butterfly population field data, a new study published in Climate Change Responses reveals how recent record-setting temperatures and drought conditions affected butterfly populations at various elevations in Northern California. And the results are surprising.