News tagged with butterflies

Gourmet butterflies speed north: study

A new study led by scientists in the Department of Biology at the University of York has shown how a butterfly has changed its diet, and consequently has sped northwards in response to climate change. Their study is published ...

Biology / Ecology

created May 24, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Synthetic scent hounds: Nanostructured sensor for detection of very low concentrations of explosive

To prevent terrorist attacks at airports, it would be helpful to detect extremely low concentrations of explosives easily and reliably. Despite the development of various sensor technologies, dogs continue ...

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created May 18, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Separate species, shared genomes: Butterfly genome reveals promiscuous sharing of large regions of DNA code

A landmark effort to sequence the genome of a South American butterfly has revealed the key behind its unusual ability to mimic other butterflies.

Biology / Biotechnology

created May 16, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Science fair winner publishes new study on butterfly foraging behavior

University of Florida lepidopterist Andrei Sourakov has spent his life's work studying moths and butterflies. But it was his teenage daughter, Alexandra, who led research on how color impacts butterflies' feeding patterns.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Apr 30, 2012 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Global prices of pollination-dependent products such as coffee could rise in the long term: study

In recent years the economic value of pollination-dependent crops has substantially increased around the world. As a team of researchers from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), the Technical ...

Biology / Ecology

created Apr 27, 2012 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Study finds that mild winters are detrimental to butterflies

The recent mild winter throughout much of the United States was a cause for celebration for many. However, butterfly aficionados shouldn't be joining in the celebration.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Apr 20, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 7 | with audio podcast

Egg Cetera #4: Mayonnaise and the making of masterpieces

In the fourth report of our Egg Cetera series on egg-related research, conservator Spike Bucklow describes how far the simple egg has extended the richness and splendor of paintings.

Biology / Other

created Apr 09, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Miami blue butterfly to be declared endangered

The tiny Miami blue butterfly, reduced to a few hundred survivors on isolated islands off Key West, will be formally declared a federally endangered species on Friday.

Biology / Ecology

created Apr 05, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Warm winters may be nice for humans but not so much for butterflies

(PhysOrg.com) -- It was a relatively inexpensive winter for heating in central North America, with mild temperatures reducing the need to warm our houses, but the mild, fluctuating temperatures will cause ...

Biology / Ecology

created Apr 02, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (4) | comments 0

How to save Europe's most threatened butterflies

New guidelines on how to save some of Europe's most threatened butterfly species have been published by a team of scientists co-ordinated by Butterfly Conservation Europe. The report covers 29 threatened species ...

Biology / Ecology

created Mar 28, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Butterfly wings' 'art of blackness' could boost production of green fuels

Butterfly wings may rank among the most delicate structures in nature, but they have given researchers powerful inspiration for new technology that doubles production of hydrogen gas — a green fuel of the future — ...

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Mar 26, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Entomologist team discovers reason behind passion-vine butterfly congregation tendencies

(PhysOrg.com) -- Susan Finkbeiner, entomologist and graduate student at the University of California Irvine and colleagues Adriana Briscoe and Robert Reed have discovered the reason behind the passion-vine ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Mar 22, 2012 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast report

Monarch butterflies down again this year as decline continues: expert

Unlike their colorful wings, the future of Monarch butterflies may not be too bright and their numbers are expected to be alarmingly down again this year, says a Texas A&M University researcher.

Biology / Ecology

created Mar 21, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Study reveals how monarch butterflies recolonize northern breeding range

Each year, millions of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) migrate from overwintering grounds in central Mexico to colonize eastern North America, but just how these delicate creatures manage to reach the northern part o ...

Biology / Ecology

created Mar 19, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

An early spring drives butterfly population declines

Early snow melt in the Colorado Rocky Mountains initiates two chains of events resulting in population decline in the mormon fritillary butterfly, Speyeria mormonia. One effect of snow melt date was readily detectable, but th ...

Biology / Ecology

created Mar 15, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Butterfly

A butterfly is an insect of the order Lepidoptera. Like all Lepidoptera, butterflies are notable for their unusual life cycle with a larval caterpillar stage, an inactive pupal stage, and a spectacular metamorphosis into a familiar and colourful winged adult form. Most species are day-flying so they regularly attract attention. The diverse patterns formed by their brightly coloured wings and their erratic yet graceful flight have made butterfly watching a hobby.

Butterflies comprise the true butterflies (superfamily Papilionoidea), the skippers (superfamily Hesperioidea) and the moth-butterflies (superfamily Hedyloidea). Butterflies exhibit polymorphism, mimicry and aposematism. Some migrate over long distances. Some butterflies have evolved symbiotic and parasitic relationships with social insects such as ants. Butterflies are important economically as agents of pollination. In addition, a few species are pests, because they can damage domestic crops and trees in their larval stage.

Culturally, butterflies are a popular motif in the visual and literary arts.

For more information about Butterfly, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

Related topics: species , climate change