— Arctic spring comes weeks earlier — [18 Jun] In the Earths cold and icy far north, the harsh winters are giving way to spring…
— Why are there so many more species of butterflies? — [4 Apr] In a study appearing in the April issue of the American Naturalist, McPeek and Brown…
— Maculinea caterpillars do not want to grow up — [19 Mar] For many years, ecologists from the Centre of Environment and Hydrology (CEH) have…
— The European lepidopterological society with a new site — [16 Mar] The European society for the study of moths and butterflies launched today a new…
Revisit later…
Moths cloaked in colour
Travellers to the neotropics - the tropical lands of the Americas - might be forgiven for thinking that all of the colourful insects flittering over sunny puddles or among dense forest understory are butterflies. In fact, many are not. Some are moths that have reinvented themselves as butterflies, converging on the daytime niche typically dominated by their less hairy relatives. Now, a new revision of the taxonomic relationships among one such group of insects, the subfamily Dioptinae, sheds light on the diversity of tropical moth species and presents a unique story of parallel evolution…
Researchers publish the discoveries that saved Maculinea arion in the UK
— 16 Jun | LepidopterologyOn the 25th anniversary of the project that brought the large blue butterfly back from extinction in the United Kingdom, ecologists are for the first time publishing the decades of…
Biologist discovers pink-winged moth in Chiracahua Mountains
— 10 Jun | LepidopterologyUniversity of Arizona biologist Bruce Walsh has identified a new species of moth in southern Arizona. Normally, this is not a big deal. The region is one of the most biologically rich…
Sexy or repulsive? Butterfly wings can be both to mates and predators
— 2 Apr | LepidopterologyButterflies seem able to both attract mates and ward off predators using different sides of their wings, according to new research by Yale University biologists. Trying to find the…
How moths key into the scent of a flower
— 5 Mar | LepidopterologyMoths need just the essence of a flower's scent to identify it, according to new research from The University of Arizona in Tucson. Although a flower's odour can be composed of hundreds…
Five countries to mark first-time Carpathian Parks Day
— Almost 30 national and nature parks in five countries across the Carpathian Mountains will celebrate for the first time on Sunday the immense biological diversity of Europe's last great wilderness area…
Scientists trace evolution of butterflies infected with deadly bacteria
— Scientists at the University of Liverpool have traced the evolution of a species of tropical butterfly, infected with a bacterium that kills males, by comparing current butterfly populations with more than 200 museum specimens…