Evidence from the insects of climatic variation during the Flandrian period: A preliminary note

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Abstract
Studies over the last twenty years have demonstrated the value of fossil beetles as climatic indicators. Though entomological research on the Flandrian is still in its infancy, it is becoming possible to discern hints that, after the close of the Devensian, the thermal environment of Britain did not follow a smooth curve upwards for 5,000 years to the ‘climatic optimum’ and then slowly decline. Evidence is given for a rapid climatic amelioration over a very short time. The generally temperate climate prevailing thereafter appears to have been marred by intervals of considerably reduced temperatures. The times when these intervals are perceptible in the contemporary insect faunas match broadly with the times when, according to Denton and Karlén (1973), the glaciers of the northern hemisphere advanced well beyond their present‐day limits.