animal behavior

How a Group of Butterflies Managed to Fly 4,200 Kilometers Without Stopping

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How a Group of Butterflies Managed to Fly 4,200 Kilometers Without Stopping

THIS STORY ORIGINALLY appeared on WIRED Italia and has been translated from Italian. The dozen butterflies were flying gracefully over a beach in French Guiana when Gerard Talavera spotted them. It only took a moment to see they were extraordinary. These were not just any butterflies, he saw, but painted ladies (Vanessa cardui)—beautiful orange, white, … Read more

The Earth Will Feast on Dead Cicadas

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The Earth Will Feast on Dead Cicadas

Much like an unexpected free dinner will distract you from the leftovers sitting in your fridge, this summer’s cicada emergence will turn predators away from their usual prey. During the 2021 Brood X emergence, Zoe Getman-Pickering, a scientist in Lill’s research group, found that as birds swooped in on cicadas, caterpillar populations exploded. Spared from … Read more