Super stoked to share our latest research on the migratory patterns of painted lady butterflies across the Sahara! 🦋🏜️ www.cell.com/iscience/ful... - ThreadSky

megansreich.bsky.social • 155 days ago

Super stoked to share our latest research on the migratory patterns of painted lady butterflies across the Sahara! 🦋🏜️

https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042%2824%2902567-7

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canuckcarl.bsky.social•124 days ago

Thank you for sharing this thread, Megan. Very informative. I had no idea about this migration over all those generations. 🦋

martinswarren.bsky.social•144 days ago

A M A Z I N G

megansreich.bsky.social•155 days ago

Painted ladies in Africa/Europe complete an annual migratory cycle over 8-10 generations. Understanding this complex cycle is vital for predicting changes to migratory patterns and the delivery of ecosystem services. (2/10)

megansreich.bsky.social•155 days ago

While many insects likely migrate across the Sahara, painted ladies are the only species with empirical evidence of these epic journeys. One key tool that is used? Isotopes! 🧪 (3/10)

megansreich.bsky.social•155 days ago

Insect wings retain isotopic values from their larval environment. By analyzing isotopes like hydrogen and strontium in wings and comparing them to “isoscapes”, we can estimate a butterfly's natal origin 🍼 (4/10)

megansreich.bsky.social•155 days ago

We applied isotope-based geographic assignment to 118 painted ladies, captured north of the Sahara in the spring and south of the Sahara in the autumn (5/10)

megansreich.bsky.social•155 days ago

We couldn’t confidently detect painted ladies migrating northwards across the Sahara. We suspect they progress gradually, in short hops north into Europe. Future studies will sample earlier in the spring! 🌸 (6/10)

megansreich.bsky.social•155 days ago

🏜️ But during the southward migration, some painted ladies from Europe crossed the Sahara — travelling over 3500 km! 🚀 (7/10)

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