Painted lady butterflies defy the odds, first evidence shows it crossed an ocean

An entomologist Gerard Talavera while on a beach in French Guiana suddenly "saw something jumping in the sunlight.”“I couldn’t believe it, but it was a painted lady.”

The painted lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui), who is not found in South America, was observed by Talavera. The butterfly reached there by completing one of the longest insect migrations ever recorded by crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

Researchers from the University of Exeter, in collaboration with citizen scientists, have been closely monitoring the movements of painted lady butterflies. The results of their study, published in the journal Nature, reveal a truly astonishing migratory pattern.

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Analysis of pollen on the butterflies' wings matched plants found only in West Africa, suggesting a transoceanic journey. Genetic sequencing and isotope tracing further confirmed the butterflies' origins were in Europe and Africa, ruling out that they had flown over land from North America.

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Combined with favorable wind data, this provided strong evidence for the first documented case of butterflies migrating across the ocean.

Spanning continents

The painted lady's migration begins in the deserts of North Africa, where the butterflies breed during the spring. As the summer approaches, they embark on a northward journey, crossing the Mediterranean Sea and reaching as far as the United Kingdom and Scandinavia.

This remarkable feat is made even more impressive by the fact that the journey is often completed by multiple generations of butterflies, with each generation passing the baton to the next.

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“This is a brilliant piece of biological detective work,” said an evolutionary ecologist at the City College of New York David Lohman, who was not involved in the study.

The painted lady's migration is not only long-distance but also highly responsive to environmental conditions. The researchers found that the butterflies are able to adjust their routes and timing based on factors such as weather patterns, resource availability, and even human-induced changes in the landscape.

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The study of the painted lady's migration has important implications for conservation efforts.

As a highly mobile species, the painted lady is vulnerable to threats such as habitat loss, climate change and the use of pesticides. Understanding the migratory behaviour can help inform strategies to protect thisinsect and the ecosystems it supports.

(With inputs from agencies)