The dead animal specimens that comprise natural history collections contribute a lot toward scientific understanding of their still-living counterparts – and those that have gone extinct.
The striking transformation of a caterpillar into a colourful, winged butterfly is one that has captivated scientists for years. The metamorphosis involves the breakdown of most of the caterpillar’s tissues…
Monarch butterflies are known for their striking flame-orange and black appearance, and especially for their mass migration in their millions to spend winters in the mountain forests of Mexico. But despite…
Irradiated plants taken from the evacuated areas around the stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant have been reported to cause growth abnormalities and early death when fed to butterfly larvae…
Natural history museum records are most often associated with preserved specimens, kept with information about the place and time of collection. From these we can generate a record of a species’ geographical…