butterfly

The films coating buckeye butterflies’ wing scales vary in thickness, creating a broad spectrum of iridescent colors.  

Details of Homero Gómez González’s death are not yet known.

Researchers analyzed more than 800 species.

Distantly related, lookalike Heliconius species arrive at the same appearance using the same few genes, but regulated differently, according to recent studies.

Scientists used machine learning to analyze the coevolution of physical traits in butterflies.

Genetic material left behind on flowers can reveal which insects have visited.

A swollen wing vein helps butterflies detect low-frequency sounds.

Lincoln Brower, an American entomologist famous for his work to conserve the monarch populations of Mexico and the US, has passed away at age 86.

A camera inspired by butterfly eyes allows surgeons to see cancer cells during surgery.

In Heliconius butterflies, researchers discover the importance of a male wing structure in female choice. 

The wings of black butterflies are inspiring the design of new solar-cell technology.

Thecla opisena butterfly wings get their unique luster from the crystalline structures in their scales (bottom right).

A round-up of recent discoveries in behavior research

The iconic butterflies have flocked to their Mexican overwintering grounds, seemingly reversing recent population declines.

How Ebola hides from immune cells; gut microbes’ role in immunotherapy response; new mechanisms of hearing loss; butterflies use milkweed toxins to ward off predators

Monarch and queen caterpillars store toxic compounds from their milkweed diet to ward off predators into adulthood, a new study suggests.

Researchers find evidence of gene flow from parasitoid wasps to the butterflies and moths they lay eggs in.

Several recent studies point to serious—and mysterious—declines in butterfly numbers across the globe.

What researchers are learning as they sequence, map, and decode species’ genomes