New research has shown that some butterflies’ ability to smell others of the same species allows them to identify potential mates in areas where multiple species all look the same.

The research was carried by a large international team including scientists based here in the Department of Zoology and at the Wellcome Sanger Institute.  Authors based here include Prof Chris Jiggins FRS leader of our Insect Evolution and Genomics Group and Dr Joana Meier who is a fellow here in Zoology, and a group leader at the Wellcome Sanger Institute.  

The team genetically mapped glasswing butterflies found across Central and South America, rewriting the evolutionary tree and highlighting six new species.

Their paper, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), offers early insights into these butterflies and what drives some species to diversify more rapidly than others. The findings further the understanding of how life evolved and how it might possibly change in the future.

Butterflies are used in conservation as an indicator species, meaning they help track and monitor biodiversity and the presence of other insects in an area.

Dr Meier commented, “We are in the middle of an extinction crisis and understanding how new species evolve, and evolve quickly in some cases, is important for preserving species. 

“Comparing butterflies that rapidly form new species to others that do not could benchmark how common this is in insects and highlight factors involved. This, in turn, could identify any species that require closer conservation and possibly identify genes important in the adaptation process that might have uses in agriculture, medicine, or bioengineering. 

“This research would not have been possible without global collaboration. We have one planet, and we must work together to understand and protect it.” 

Read the paper: E.S.M. van der Heijden, K. Näsvall, F.A. Seixas, C.E. Beserra Nobre, A.C.D. Maia, P. Salazar-Carrión, J.M. Walker, D. Szczerbowski, S. Schulz, I.A. Warren, K.G. Gavilanes Córdova, M.J. Sánchez-Carvajal, F. Chandi, A.P. Arias-Cruz, N. Rueda-M, C. Salazar, K.K. Dasmahapatra, S.H. Montgomery, M. McClure, D.E. Absolon, T.C. Mathers, C.A. Santos, S. McCarthy, J.M.D. Wood, G. Lamas, C. Bacquet, A.V.L. Freitas, K.R. Willmott, C.D. Jiggins, M. Elias & J.I. Meier, Genomics of Neotropical biodiversity indicators: Two butterfly radiations with rampant chromosomal rearrangements and hybridization, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122 (31) e2410939122, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2410939122 (2025).

Image: Glasswing butterfly (Mechanitis messenoides). Photo by Alex Arias