Butterflies

Researchers have developed a new video hardware and software system to show humans how insects and other animals experience color. Here, they show an orange-barred sulphur butterfly as it might look to a bird. (The insect appears yellow to humans.)

See the World Through the Eyes of Animals With These Stunning New Videos

By making ultraviolet light accessible to our eyes, a novel camera system reveals how insects, birds and other creatures experience color

Monarch butterflies' signature white spots could help them fly—and inspire better drones.

Seven Scientific Discoveries From 2023 That Could Lead to New Inventions

Biologists learned lots about animals and plants this year, and their findings could inspire better robots, medicine and environmental technologies

The full title of the painting by Clara Peeters is Still life of roses, carnations, tulips, narcissi, irises, love-in-a-mist, larkspur, and other flowers, in a wicker basket, with a butterfly and a cricket.

See the Rediscovered Still Life by Forgotten 17th-Century Master Clara Peeters

The painting by the influential Flemish artist could sell for as much as $883,000 at auction

The white spots on the edges of a monarch butterfly's wings might give it an advantage while migrating, according to new research.

Monarch Butterflies’ Signature White Spots May Help Them Fly

These long-distance migrants could get a boost from their striking coloration, which may reduce drag by heating and cooling air unevenly

Saurona triangula, one of the newly described butterfly species named for the evil Lord Sauron in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy

Butterfly Group With Fiery 'Eyes' Is Named After 'Lord of the Rings' Villain Sauron

Beyond their eye-like wing pattern, the two new species don't seem to show any signs of evil that would link them to Mordor

The new Richard Gilder Center at the American Museum of Natural History opens in New York City on May 4.

New York's Natural History Museum Unveils a Canyon-Like New Wing

With butterflies, bugs and an atrium that looks like it's carved into rock, the Gilder Center will open its doors to the public on May 4

About 100 miles northwest of Mexico City in the UNESCO-designated Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, up to a billion of the brilliant-winged insects spend November to March clustered on branches.

A Ring of Fire, Millions of Monarchs and Other Rare Natural Phenomena Worth Traveling For

Be in the right place at the right time to witness these sublime sights

Atlas Moth by Uday Hegde, the second-place winner in the butterflies and dragonflies category of this year's Close-up Photographer of the Year competition

These Awe-Inspiring Images Capture the World's Little Details

See this year's winners of the annual Close-up Photographer of the Year competition

Pure Structural Color is made of several extremely thin sheets of non-conductive material. These layers are stacked together and imprinted, or stamped, with a nano-scale pattern of rods with curved ends. This pattern scatters light into colors that are visible from all directions, and different hues can be produced by changing the dimensions of the pattern.

This British Zoologist Wants to Reinvent Color

Andrew Parker has produced some of the brightest hues in the world. So, what’s his secret?

Monarch populations are declining.

Migratory Monarch Butterflies Are Listed as an Endangered Species

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the iconic North American butterfly is getting closer to extinction

One reader wonders: Since purple dye was scarce, why didn’t people just combine blue and red?

Why Was Purple the Color of Royalty? And More Questions From Our Readers

You've got questions. We've got experts.

Monarch butterflies cluster together to stay warm.

Monarch Butterfly Numbers Soar in California After Dramatic Losses

The orange-winged insect's population increased from 2,000 in 2020 to nearly 250,000 in 2021

A CT scan of the spiral intestine of a Pacific spiny dogfish shark (Squalus suckleyi). The organ begins on the left and ends on the right.

Ten Scientific Discoveries From 2021 That May Lead to New Inventions

From nanobots to cancer treatments, nature inspires a wide variety of innovations

To view the wings without damaging the delicate cells, the research team used speckle-correlation reflection phase microscopy. This type of microscopy works by shinning tiny points of light onto a specific area on the wing.

See Microscopic Butterfly Wing Scales Materialize Inside of a Chrysalis

The study is the most detailed look at the structures to date and could be used to design new materials

A cluster of western monarch butterflies clings to a branch as it overwinters in California.

The Best Place to Watch Monarch Butterflies Migrate Might Be This Little California Beach Town

Thousands of western monarchs migrate to Pismo Beach each fall to escape winter cold, but climate change threatens the species' survival

This is the 93-year-old Xerces blue butterfly specimen that researchers collected tissue samples from for this study.

This Butterfly Is the First U.S. Insect to Be Wiped Out by Humans

Genetic tests using museum specimens suggest that the Xerces blue was a distinct species and that it disappeared in 1941

Butterflies in Mexico’s monarch reserve. Their wings can function as solar panels, converting sunlight into energy for flight.

An Epic Monarch Migration Faces New Threats

The butterflies’ path, which stretches thousands of miles, is endangered by an array of challenges, including changes in climate and pesticides

The migration advances an average of 25 to 30 miles a day. A cyclist can cover similar distances.

What I Learned Biking the 10,000-Mile Migration Route of Monarch Butterflies

I set off to be the first person to cycle alongside the butterflies to raise awareness of their alarming decline

The western monarch butterfly has declined by 99.9 percent since the 1980s, according to the latest population assessment.

Climate Change Lays Waste to Butterflies Across American West

Study documents declines across hundreds of species over recent decades, and finds years featuring warmer, drier autumns are particularly deadly

Silver-washed fritillary butterfly

Study Reveals the Secrets of Butterfly Flight

The fluttering insects create tiny jets of air by clapping their flexible wings together, which may help them evade predators

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