Some butterflies can cross entire oceans with the help of the wind. A world-first study has now shown that the Painted Lady (Vanessa card) can cross the world’s second largest ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, covering a distance of 4,200 kilometers in just five to eight days. The researchers claim the journey is “one of the … Read more
THIS STORY IS ORIGINAL Appeared on WIRED Italy and has been translated from Italian. The twelve butterflies were flying gracefully across a beach in French Guiana when Gerard Talavera spotted them. It took only a moment to see that they were extraordinary. These were not just any butterflies, he saw, but painted ladies (Vanessa card)—beautiful … Read more
Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news about fascinating discoveries, scientific developments and more. CNN — Painted ladybirds venture far and wide with their impressive migratory patterns that stretch thousands of miles – but they often travel over land so they can stop to rest. Scientists have now found … Read more
Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news about fascinating discoveries, scientific developments and more. CNN — Painted Ladies travel far with their impressive migration patterns that span thousands of kilometres. However, they often travel over land so they can stop to rest. Scientists have now found evidence that a … Read more
Birdwing butterflies of the Troides haliphron species group, with females (right) being noticeably more diverse than males (left). Credit: Natural History Museum. 2024. Birdwing butterflies (from collection specimens). Licensed under CC-BY-4.0. Groundbreaking AI research on butterflies has explored the understudied evolution of females and adds to the debate among evolution’s founding fathers. The University of … Read more
Scientists have found the first evidence of insects crossing an entire ocean – after finding butterflies making a 2,600-mile journey across the Atlantic Ocean. Gerard Talaveraan evolutionary biologist at the Botanical Institute of Barcelona, made the discovery in 2013 in French Guiana, when he saw a flock of painted lady butterflies (Vanessa cardui) sitting on … Read more
Early one morning in late October 2013, Gerard Talavera, an entomologist, spotted something highly unusual: a flock of painted lady butterflies stranded on a beach in French Guiana. The painted lady, or the species Vanessa cardui, is one of the world’s most common butterflies, but is not found in South America. Yet there they lay … Read more