* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Saturday, May 10, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Flutter Entertainment eyes U.S. prediction markets amid growing interest – Sports Business Journal

    Flutter Entertainment Sets Its Sights on U.S. Prediction Markets as Interest Soars

    SXSW Rom-Com ‘I Really Love My Husband’ Acquired for U.S. Release – Variety

    Heartfelt Romance: ‘I Really Love My Husband’ Set to Captivate U.S. Audiences!

    Georgia Entertainment CEO says large-scale production is slowing down – Decaturish

    Georgia Entertainment CEO Warns of Slowdown in Large-Scale Productions

    Zugalu Entertainment Welcomes Crimson Herring Studios to Its Family!

    Fall 2025 TV Schedule: Your Guide to the Complete Lineup – Wyoming News Now

    Get Ready for Fall 2025: Your Ultimate Guide to the Exciting TV Lineup!

    Blackstone River Theatre presents music from Scotland with Cantrip – The Valley Breeze

    Experience the Enchanting Sounds of Scotland: Cantrip Takes the Stage at Blackstone River Theatre!

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Comings and goings: MPT hires VP of technology, NPR announces changes to Business Desk – Current – For people in public media

    Exciting Leadership Changes: MPT Welcomes New VP of Technology and NPR Revamps Business Desk!

    Harnessing emerging technologies to power a small business – The Oaklandside

    Unlocking Success: How Emerging Technologies Can Transform Your Small Business

    Artificial intelligence (AI) – The Guardian

    Unlocking the Future: How Artificial Intelligence is Transforming Our World

    Technology Innovation to Take Center Stage at The 2025 National Restaurant Association Show – Restaurant Technology News

    Get Ready for a Tech Revolution: The 2025 National Restaurant Association Show Unveils Cutting-Edge Innovations!

    Newmont signs deal to use Chrysos Corporation technology – Capital Brief

    Newmont Partners with Chrysos Corporation to Revolutionize Mining Technology

    Air Force Invests in Whisper’s Ultraquiet Propulsion Technology – FLYING Magazine

    Air Force Invests in Whisper’s Ultraquiet Propulsion Technology – FLYING Magazine

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Flutter Entertainment eyes U.S. prediction markets amid growing interest – Sports Business Journal

    Flutter Entertainment Sets Its Sights on U.S. Prediction Markets as Interest Soars

    SXSW Rom-Com ‘I Really Love My Husband’ Acquired for U.S. Release – Variety

    Heartfelt Romance: ‘I Really Love My Husband’ Set to Captivate U.S. Audiences!

    Georgia Entertainment CEO says large-scale production is slowing down – Decaturish

    Georgia Entertainment CEO Warns of Slowdown in Large-Scale Productions

    Zugalu Entertainment Welcomes Crimson Herring Studios to Its Family!

    Fall 2025 TV Schedule: Your Guide to the Complete Lineup – Wyoming News Now

    Get Ready for Fall 2025: Your Ultimate Guide to the Exciting TV Lineup!

    Blackstone River Theatre presents music from Scotland with Cantrip – The Valley Breeze

    Experience the Enchanting Sounds of Scotland: Cantrip Takes the Stage at Blackstone River Theatre!

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Comings and goings: MPT hires VP of technology, NPR announces changes to Business Desk – Current – For people in public media

    Exciting Leadership Changes: MPT Welcomes New VP of Technology and NPR Revamps Business Desk!

    Harnessing emerging technologies to power a small business – The Oaklandside

    Unlocking Success: How Emerging Technologies Can Transform Your Small Business

    Artificial intelligence (AI) – The Guardian

    Unlocking the Future: How Artificial Intelligence is Transforming Our World

    Technology Innovation to Take Center Stage at The 2025 National Restaurant Association Show – Restaurant Technology News

    Get Ready for a Tech Revolution: The 2025 National Restaurant Association Show Unveils Cutting-Edge Innovations!

    Newmont signs deal to use Chrysos Corporation technology – Capital Brief

    Newmont Partners with Chrysos Corporation to Revolutionize Mining Technology

    Air Force Invests in Whisper’s Ultraquiet Propulsion Technology – FLYING Magazine

    Air Force Invests in Whisper’s Ultraquiet Propulsion Technology – FLYING Magazine

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Science

The monarch butterfly’s spots may be its superpower

June 22, 2023
in Science
The monarch butterfly’s spots may be its superpower
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

ByJason Bittel

Published June 21, 2023

• 6 min read

Every year, millions of monarch butterflies fly up to 3,000 miles from southern Canada and the upper reaches of the United States to their wintering grounds in mountain forests outside Mexico City.

“Everybody knows about the monarchs’ migration,” says Andy Davis, an animal ecologist at the University of Georgia. “But one of the things that we still don’t understand very well is how they’re capable of making such a tremendous flight while being such a small animal with limited energy.”

Amazingly, some of the monarch’s continent-spanning magic may be owed to the size of its itty bitty wing spots, according to a study published today in PLOS One.

By studying photos of wing patterns of nearly 400 monarchs collected at various locations on their migration path, Davis and his co-authors discovered an interesting pattern—butterflies that make the journey all the way to Mexico tend to have white wing spots that are three percent larger than those of monarchs found in places such as Georgia or Minnesota. At the same time, the Mexican animals have three percent less black coloration on their wings than monarchs collected during earlier phases of the multi-generational migration. (Read how monarch butterflies migrate 3,000 miles.)

Now, here’s why this is interesting.

Migrating monarchs soar at heights of up to 1,200 feet. As sunlight hits those wings, it heats them up, but unevenly. Black areas get hotter, while white areas stay cooler. The scientists believe that when these forces are alternated, as they are with a monarch’s white spots set against black bands on the wings’ edges, it seems to create micro-vortices of air that reduce drag—making flight more efficient.

Similar drag-reducing characteristics have been discovered in shark skin and the coloration of seabird wings. All of it adds up to some serious potential for the future of human technologies.

“If you want to develop drones that are flying for longer time and harnessing energy from sunlight, this is the best thing that we can look at,” says study co-author Mostafa Hassanalian, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at New Mexico Tech. 

How the monarch butterfly got its spots

The second part of the study evaluated size differences in white spots between the monarch and six of its closest cousins in the genus Danaus.

When study co-author Christina Vu, then a student of Davis’, quantified the size of all those butterflies’ spots, she found the monarchs had by far the largest white markings. Next were the southern monarchs (D. erippus), which are semi-migratory, followed by the other five species—including the Jamaican monarch (D. cleophile), the solider or tropical queen (D. erisimus thetys), the queen (D. gilippus Berenice), and striated queen (D. g. strigose)—none of which migrate.

Indeed, it seems spot size—and, the scientists theorize, its ability to reduce drag—might be linked to migration itself.

“I think that the fall migration is already a major selective event each year,” says Davis. “It ensures that only the fittest individuals reach the finish line. The ones without any infections; or disease; or with the biggest, most robust wings.” (See National Geographic’s amazing photos of monarchs.)

“And in this case, the best spot patterns,” he says.

The butterfly effect

“A butterfly can flap its wings in Peking and in New York, you get rain instead of sunshine,” quips Jeff Goldblum’s character in the original Jurassic Park.

From Havana to Donnie Darko, many films have introduced audiences to the so-called “butterfly effect,” or the general idea that small changes can sometimes create large consequences. And while many references misinterpret the idea originally laid out by MIT meteorology professor Edward Lorenz in 1963, it’s tempting to use the metaphor as a way to understand how a monarch’s wing patterns could be of any consequence.

After all, we’re talking about spots the size of a pencil eraser on an insect that weighs about as much as a kernel of corn.

“But the sheer distance that they have to travel, they’re spending 10 hours a day in the air, for 60 days in total, to get to their destination,” says Davis. (Read how monarchs may be doing better than we thought.)

So a minor difference—in this case, spot size—”is compounded on a daily basis. And so that could be the difference between life and death in during the migration.”

‘Revolutionary’ research

The next step would be to test whether such a small difference in coloration could have observable effects on drag, Michaël Nicolaï, a biologist at Ghent University in Belgium, said in an email.

For instance, the new research found just a three percent difference in coloration, whereas a study he conducted on seabirds revealed a 20 percent increase in efficiency for darkly colored wing feathers.

Nicolaï does agree that even tiny differences could be beneficial over such large distances, however, until real experimental measurements are provided, he will remain “very optimistic” but “not convinced.”

Davis hopes his study inspires others to research that question.

“No one in the world of butterflies is looking at their wings in this way,” says Davis. “People are going to be looking at every other butterfly species out there now thinking, ‘Oh my God, now what does this color do for its flight?’”

“I think this is going to be revolutionary.”

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : National Geographic – https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/monarch-butterflies-spots-flight-mexico

Tags: butterfly’smonarchscience
Previous Post

How the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge made a lasting impact

Next Post

Canada’s best wildlife encounters on a small-ship cruise of British Colombia

Opinion | The Politics of Medicaid Reform – WSJ

Navigating the Complex Landscape of Medicaid Reform: A Critical Perspective

May 10, 2025
Comings and goings: MPT hires VP of technology, NPR announces changes to Business Desk – Current – For people in public media

Exciting Leadership Changes: MPT Welcomes New VP of Technology and NPR Revamps Business Desk!

May 10, 2025
CNBC Sport: Versant CEO Mark Lazarus outlines his sports strategy – CNBC

CNBC Sport: Versant CEO Mark Lazarus outlines his sports strategy – CNBC

May 10, 2025
‘Active Management’ Harms Forests — And It’s About to Get a Whole Lot Worse – The Revelator

‘Active Management’ Harms Forests — And It’s About to Get a Whole Lot Worse – The Revelator

May 10, 2025

Unlocking the Future: How Innovation Funds Propel Breakthroughs in AI, Bioengineering, and Materials Science

May 10, 2025
Talking Animals: Veteran science journalist Stephen S. Hall recounts reporting and research that yielded Slither, singular book on snakes – WMNF 88.5 FM

Unraveling the Secrets of Snakes: A Journey with Veteran Science Journalist Stephen S. Hall

May 10, 2025
Lifestyle Lookout: Mother’s Day brunch in Bellingham, Big Jam Stories in Ferndale and The Spring Wine Walk – My Bellingham Now

Unforgettable Mother’s Day Brunch, Big Jam Stories, and the Spring Wine Walk: Exciting Events in Bellingham and Ferndale!

May 10, 2025
WCK Forced to Halt Cooking in Gaza as Supplies Run Out – World Central Kitchen

World Central Kitchen Suspends Operations in Gaza Amid Supply Crisis

May 10, 2025
China Reacts to Trump Claims About ‘Suffering’ Chinese Economy – Newsweek

China Responds to Trump’s Claims of Economic Struggles: What You Need to Know

May 10, 2025
Flutter Entertainment eyes U.S. prediction markets amid growing interest – Sports Business Journal

Flutter Entertainment Sets Its Sights on U.S. Prediction Markets as Interest Soars

May 10, 2025

Categories

Archives

May 2025
MTWTFSS
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031 
« Apr    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (597)
  • Economy (608)
  • Entertainment (21,521)
  • General (15,210)
  • Health (9,650)
  • Lifestyle (613)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (611)
  • Politics (616)
  • Science (15,830)
  • Sports (21,119)
  • Technology (15,599)
  • World (598)

Recent News

Opinion | The Politics of Medicaid Reform – WSJ

Navigating the Complex Landscape of Medicaid Reform: A Critical Perspective

May 10, 2025
Comings and goings: MPT hires VP of technology, NPR announces changes to Business Desk – Current – For people in public media

Exciting Leadership Changes: MPT Welcomes New VP of Technology and NPR Revamps Business Desk!

May 10, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version