Butterflies

How to Save the Monarchs? Pay Farmers to Grow Butterfly Habitats

A novel conservation effort aims to fund a habitat exchange to protect the iconic butterflies from extinction

An image of the fossilized lacewing Oregramma illecebrosa, left, and the modern owl butterfly Calico Memnon, right.

Jurassic-Era Insect Looks Just Like a Modern Butterfly

Jurassic "butterflies" helped pollinate ancient plants millions of years before the butterfly even existed

A Large Blue butterfly (Maculinea arion)

The Story of the Butterfly That Got Adopted by A Red Ant

With unexpected infanticide and toxic chemicals, it’s a story loved by all

Overwintering monarch butterflies

Scientists Are Still Baffled by Monarch Migration

When it comes to declining winter butterfly populations, something just doesn't add up

A view of Butterfly Valley in Turkey

This Beautiful Valley in Turkey is Home to 100 Species of Butterflies

The valley's remote location keeps the butterflies happy and thriving

A small cabbage butterfly (Pieris rapae) hovers on a hedge mustard plant (Sisybrium officinale). While the butterfly might look harmless enough, its caterpillars engage in a chemical war with this mustard plant's cultivated relatives.

Mustard Is A Product Of Evolutionary Warfare Between Plants And Caterpillars

Plants produce mustard oils to fight off pests in a chemical conflict that’s been waged for millions of years

A monarch feasting on milkweed.

Migrating Monarch Butterflies Might Actually Take to the Highway

Threatened pollinators get a trans-continental right of way

Urchin Spheres, (Echinoidea sp.), Thailand, Philippines, United States, Mexico.

10 Gorgeous Mosaics Made From Real Animal Specimens

Artist Christopher Marley's meticulous arrangements capture the incredible variety within families, genera and species

Luna moths - arguably the most spectacular moths in North America - deflect bat attacks with their ornate wing tails.

Luna Moths’ Gorgeous Wings Throw Off Bat Attacks

Spinning twin tails at the end of moth wings garble bats’ sonar cries, causing the winged predators to miss the tasty mark

Monarch Butterflies, Sierra Chincua Butterfly Sanctuary, Angangueo, Michoacan, Mexico

Where to See Thousands of Monarch Butterflies

The species is being reviewed for potential addition to the Endangered Species list. Can tourism help save the butterfly?

A monarch butterfly sits on a Buddleia Butterfly Bush.

Monarchs May Soon Land on the Endangered Species List

Scientists fear that the butterfly’s population will continue to drop due to the loss of the its food source

Monarch butterflies catching the sun on an oyamel tree in a Mexican overwintering site.

Five Surprises That Emerged From Monarch Butterfly Genomes

Sequencing 101 butterfly genomes has revealed a few of the monarch's secrets, including some keys to its epic annual migration

The St. Francis Satyrs now number around 1,000 and are found in an area of less than 20 acres.

Who Can Identify the World's Rarest Butterfly

Two scientists are in a grim contest to document some of the animal kingdom's most endangered species

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Male and Female Butterflies Take Turns at Courting

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How Do Male Butterflies Know Which Cradles to Rob?

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Flutter by and Be Counted!

At the Fourth of July Butterfly Count, devotees census swallowtails, wood-nymphs and all their colorful kin

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