Insects (including Butterflies) News — ScienceDaily
Study Probes How Plague Spreads Through Wild Rodent Populations
Dec. 15, 2022 Mathematical modeling reveals how fleas with early-stage Yersinia pestis infections are insufficient to drive epizootic outbreaks but can help promote a low level of enzootic …
Fish Larvae Find Their Way Using External Cues
Dec. 13, 2022 The first global analysis of larval orientation studies found that millimeter-size fish babies consistently use external cues to find their way in the open ocean. There are many external cues …
Cabbage White Butterflies Utilize Two Gut Enzymes for Maximum Flexibility in Deactivating Mustard Oil Bombs
Dec. 12, 2022 Researchers report that larvae of the cabbage white butterfly use two gut enzymes to effectively disarm the mustard oil bomb, the major chemical defense system of their host plants. Cabbage white …
Meta-Analysis Reveals How Crowds May Change Gene Expression in Some Insects
Dec. 12, 2022 Scientists investigate how genes in some insects can influence one another to change their expression depending on environmental …
Findings for Invasive Insect’s Life Cycle Could Aid Management in Southeast
Dec. 8, 2022 New research findings could help scientists control the emerald ash borer, an invasive pest ravaging native ash trees in North …
Argentine Ants Will Do Anything for Sugar, but They Won’t Do This
Dec. 8, 2022 Argentine ants have been able to displace native ant species in large part because of their aggressive foraging for sugar and other carbohydrates. However, when they’ve been deprived of food and …
Tracking an Invasion — A Single Asian Hornet Sparked the Ongoing Spread Across Europe
Dec. 7, 2022 Now found throughout much of continental Europe, the Asian Hornet was first recorded in Ireland in 2021. Using mitochondrial DNA markers, a new study concluded that the Irish specimen represented a …
Coloring Microscopic Coral Larvae to Aid Tracking for Conservation and Reef Restoration
Dec. 6, 2022 A new, low-cost staining method enables visual tracking of coral larvae as they disperse and settle in coral reefs, according to a …
New Clues About How Carbon Dioxide Affects Bumble Bee Reproduction
Dec. 1, 2022 While a beekeeper puffing clouds of carbon dioxide into a hive to calm the insects is a familiar image to many, less is known about its other effects on bees. A recent study revealed clues about how …
Ant Pupae Secrete Fluid as ‘Milk’ to Nurture Young Larvae
Nov. 30, 2022 Life in an ant colony is a symphony of subtle interactions between insects acting in concert, more like cells in tissue than independent organisms bunking in a colony. Now, researchers have …
To Track Disease-Carrying Mosquitoes, Researchers Tag Them With DNA Barcodes
Nov. 29, 2022 Researchers are introducing a better way to perform mosquito-tracking for disease applications. Their new method, which involves getting larval mosquitoes to eat harmless particles made entirely of …
Common Veterinary Drugs Show Effectiveness Against Bed Bugs
Nov. 29, 2022 Two common drugs used by veterinarians to combat parasites may be effective against bed bugs, with one showing especially strong potential, according to a new study that examined the drugs in the …
Oldest Army Ant Ever Discovered Reveals Iconic Predator Once Raided Europe
Nov. 22, 2022 Their nomadic lifestyle and ravenous raiding have taken army ants (Dorylinae) to most continents on Earth, but a rare fossil discovery is now offering first evidence that the infamous predators once …
Fruit Flies Use Corrective Movements to Maintain Stability After Injury
Nov. 18, 2022 Fruit flies can quickly compensate for catastrophic wing injuries, researchers found, maintaining the same stability after losing up to 40% of a wing. This finding could inform the design of …
Social Bees Travel Greater Distances for Food Than Their Solitary Counterparts, Study Finds
Nov. 17, 2022 Social bees such as honeybees and bumblebees have larger foraging ranges, according to …
A Gene from 28 Million Years Ago Protects Today’s Plants Against Caterpillars
Nov. 15, 2022 The defense mechanisms plants use to recognize and respond to a common pest — the caterpillar — has arisen from a single gene that evolved over millions of years, according to a new …
Making Mosquitoes’ Love Songs Fall on Deaf Ears
Nov. 15, 2022 Male mosquitoes find mates by listening for the buzzing sounds produced by flying females. Now researchers have developed a technique using a serotonin inhibiting compound that disrupts the hearing …
Honey Bee Life Spans Are 50 Percent Shorter Today Than They Were 50 Years Ago
Nov. 14, 2022 A new study by entomologists shows that the lifespan for individual honey bees kept in a controlled, laboratory environment is 50% shorter than it was in the 1970s. As the first study to show an …
En Route to Human-Environment Interaction Technology With Soft Microfingers
Nov. 10, 2022 Human-robot interactions not only allow robots to interact with humans but also with the environment. Microrobots, for instance, can interact with insects and measure the force exerted by them during …
Air Pollution Threatens Natural Pest Control Methods in Sustainable Farming
Nov. 9, 2022 When fields of oilseed rape are exposed to diesel exhaust and/or ozone — both found in emissions from diesel burning vehicles and industry — the number of parasitic insects available to control …
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Source link Scientists have been looking into insects, particularly butterflies, in recent news. Entomologists, scientists who study the ecology, behavior, and physiology of insects, have found that butterflies play an important role in the environment.
In research published in May 2021, entomologists surveyed different species of butterflies across four European countries. They found that butterfly populations have declined dramatically since the 1990s, with some species showing declines of up to 85 percent. This could have a significant impact on the environment, with butterfly populations acting as pollinators, an essential part of the natural food chain.
In response to this alarming news, the European Union (EU) released the Biodiversity Strategy for Europe in May 2021, which aimed to protect species and habitats. This plan includes protecting at least 30 percent of all land and ocean areas, increased investment in conservation and restoration, and integrating biodiversity into economic policies. The EU also plans to invest €3 billion in the Action Plan for Nature, People and the Economy by 2020.
In a study published in April 2021, researchers from the University of Illinois examined how butterflies’ vision is affected by changing coloration due to climate change. The study found that butterflies’ color vision is sensitive to the color of the environment. The researchers suggest that with these findings, scientists can understand how climate change is affecting butterflies, and ultimately lead to solutions to mitigate the effects.
Overall, recent studies have revealed new insights into the importance of butterflies and their role in the environment. In addition, as more research emerges on the impact of climate change on butterflies, scientists can continue to develop strategies to conserve and protect these important species.