Massive declines in insect biodiversity and biomass are reported from many regions and habitats. In urban areas, creation of native wildflower meadows is one option to support insects and reduce maintenance costs of urban green spaces. However, benefits for insect conservation may depend on previous land use, and the size …
While international efforts are under way to help keep dwindling populations of monarch butterflies from disappearing, scientists are raising concerns about how severe weather and a loss of forest habitat at their wintering grounds in Mexico are affecting them. Every year, monarchs embark on an epic multigenerational migration that takes …
Heavy storms earlier this year hammered the forests that North America's monarch butterflies migrate to in central Mexico, a study showed on Tuesday, fueling fears the habitat could eventually become untenable. Conservationists said storms and strong winds in March uprooted more than 20,000 trees in Mexico's Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, …
The Forest department has sent a proposal to the state government to declare Southern Bird Wing butterfly as the state butterfly. If all goes well, Karnataka will be the second state in the country after Maharashtra to have a state butterfly. Karnataka already has Indian Roller as the state bird …
NAINITAL: With the discovery in Uttarakhand recently, the total number of varieties of butterflies found in the hill state is 453. Of the three new varieties, two were discovered and photographed in Nainital whereas the third was found in Haldwani. Founder of Butterfly Research Centre, Bhimtal Peter Smetacek confirmed the …
Every spring since 1989, entomologists have set up tents in the meadows and woodlands of the Orbroicher Bruch nature reserve and 87 other areas in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The tents act as insect traps and enable the scientists to calculate how many bugs live in an …
Britain's butterflies, bees and rare birds will be more at risk if the country votes to leave the EU, two of the UK's leading environmental charities have warned. In an article for The Daily Telegraph, the chief executives of WWF and RSPB claim the "safer option" for UK wildlife and …
Britain's butterflies, bees and rare birds will be more at risk if the country votes to leave the EU, two of the UK's leading environmental charities have warned. In an article for The Daily Telegraph, the chief executives of WWF and RSPB claim the "safer option" for UK wildlife and …
Long-distance migration can be seen throughout the animal kingdom and can have large impacts on population dynamics and species distributions. The act of migration itself also affects the evolution of a species, as evolutionary forces select for certain characteristics in animals conducting long-distance migration. Monarch butterflies are best known for …
The recent forest fires in Uttarakhand torched over 2,000 hectares. In the second of a three-part series, Business Standard looks at the immediate and long-term impact of the fires on Uttarakhand Ten years ago, when Peter Smetacek walked in the forests surrounding Sattal, there were areas so thick with butterflies …
BANGKOK: Scientists have discovered two new wasp species from India and South Africa, and named one of them after Hollywood actor Brad Pitt. The new wasp species, called Conobregma bradpitti, belongs to a large worldwide group of wasps parasitising in moth or butterfly caterpillars. These wasps lay their eggs into …
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Biologists have discovered a new species of butterfly occupying Alaska's interior -- the first in 28 years. Researchers believe the hardy species is a hybrid of two ancient species uniquely adapted for life on the Last Frontier. "Hybrid species demonstrate that animals evolved in a way that …
Favorable weather conditions at breeding grounds for monarch butterflies in Mexico are expected to help raise their numbers to possibly more than 100 million this year, about triple of a few years ago, a study released on Thursday said. But the overall number of the majestic orange and black butterflies …
Setting an example for housing societies in Mumbai and its satellite suburbs, Eden Woods, one of the leafiest housing colonies in Thane’s Vasant Vihar, has initiated a green audit which will include a census of its flora and fauna and geo-tagging of trees to map, preserve, and enhance its rich …
The colourful butterflies fluttering through Zanzibar's Jozani forest are beautiful to look at, but for farmers and charcoal producers in the region, they mean something more: a paycheck. In an effort to protect the island's threatened forest, local people are being trained to rear butterflies, under a scheme that tries …
The gatekeeper, one of the UK's most abundant butterflies, has declined by 40% in the past decade More than three-quarters of the UK's butterflies have declined in the past 40 years, according to a report by the charity Butterfly Conservation. The study, State of the UK's Butterflies 2015, suggests 76% …
Long-distance migration can lower parasite prevalence if strenuous journeys remove infected animals from wild populations. We examined wild monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) to investigate the potential costs of the protozoan Ophryocystis elektroscirrha on migratory success. We collected monarchs from two wintering sites in central Mexico to compare infection status with …
Female butterflies are better than their male counterparts at mimicking noxious and unpalatable butterflies, which helps them avoid bird predators, according to a study by scientists of the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru, and the National University of Singapore. They achieve this mimicry by changing their wing coloration and …
Tamil Nadu Butterfly Society has recorded 271 species in State The Nilgiri tit butterfly is rarely spotted and even less photographed. But members of the Tamil Nadu Butterfly Society (TNBS) have done both. They have photographed it at Kallar in The Nilgiris. “This is the second time in the last …
The first ever comprehensive butterfly survey held in the Munnar wildlife division has spotted as many as 206 new species. The three-day survey, conducted by the Kerala Forest Department in association with the Travancore Natural History Society (TNHS) and the Kottayam Nature Society (KNS), came to a close on Sunday. …
KERI: A pair of endemic Southern Birdwing butterflies in mating posture has been photographed in Bhuipal by Suryakant Gaonkar. The Southern Birdwing (Troides Minos) is a large and striking Swallowtail butterfly that is endemic to peninsular India and is seen mainly during the days after rainfall recedes. Villages of Sattari …
