Butterflies, with their delicate wings and tiny brains, might not seem like the sharpest creatures in the animal kingdom. However, new research from the University of Bristol has revealed something surprising about the Heliconius butterfly—these colorful insects can actually learn and remember spatial information. Through a series of experiments, scientists discovered that these butterflies are ...
Picture this: a plump caterpillar, happily munching on leaves, suddenly decides to wrap itself in a silky prison. What happens next sounds like something from a science fiction movie. That seemingly solid creature literally dissolves into a soupy mess of biological matter. Yet from this primordial goo emerges one of nature’s most breathtaking transformations—a butterfly. ...
A groundbreaking discovery has revealed the oldest physical evidence of butterflies and moths, dating back 236 million years to the Triassic period. Researchers uncovered microscopic scales from lepidopterans in fossilized dung samples, filling a 40-million-year gap in the evolutionary record of these insects. The Discovery in Argentina Paleontologists from Argentina and the UK analyzed dung ...
The Brown Hairstreak butterfly, scientifically known as Thecla betulae, is one of Britain’s rarest species of butterfly. However, recent sightings show it is making a quiet yet significant comeback across London and surrounding regions, marking an important resurgence in urban and semi-urban environments. This elusive butterfly, recognized for its distinctive brown wings and small ‘tails’ ...
Linnea H, BSc Sociology
