What if we could read the DNA of every butterfly and moth species in Europe? 🦋
That’s our goal: Sequencing ~11,000 Lepidoptera genomes to understand how they evolved, how they adapt, and how we can protect them🌎.
Interview led by our hub @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social 🧬:
www.lasexta.com/tecnologia-t...
New paper! A sharp genetic split across the African equator in migratory Belenois butterflies 🦋.
B. aurota is restricted to the Northern Hemisphere, while B. syrinx is reinstated for the Southern African hemisphere. Both species are cryptic!
New #OpenAccess research in #RESSystematicEnt
The evolutionary retreats of #Cyaniris semiargus — beach or mountain? Contrasting paths across #EcologicalGradients
doi.org/10.1111/syen.70034
#ddRADseq #Lepidoptera #GeneticDiversity #Biodiversity #EcologicalSpeciation
Out in MEC!
New study led by @dariashipilina.bsky.social links resource limitation as a driver of migration in the painted lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui). The authors show how resource cues reshape gene expression across development.
Read more: buff.ly/dogof9L
📷: Daria Shipilina
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Do you prefer the mountain 🏔️ or the beach 🏖️? The Mazarine blue chose both. Genomics uncover hidden diversity and lead to the description of two new subspecies from isolated montane and coastal populations in Iberia. New #butterfly #openaccess paper in #SystematicEntomology at doi.org/10.1111/syen...
Painted ladies are the most widespread butterflies, embarking on journeys spanning multiple generations. - Copyright © Niclas Backström
Globetrotting not in the genes | New findings about painted lady butterfly’s annual migration
Painted lady butterflies are world travelers. The ones we encounter in Europe fly from Africa to Sweden, ultimately returning to areas north and sou...
weiterlesen
Les papallones migren en direccions oposades segons l’hemisferi 🦋
📕Un equip internacional liderat per l’@ibb-botanic.bsky.social, amb participació de l’ @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social, documenta el primer cas de “divisió migratòria” en la papallona Vanessa cardui.🧬
👉https://shorturl.at/LVbhf
A migratory divide in insects! 🦋 Vanessa cardui butterflies migrate in opposite directions in the Northern and Southern hemispheres 🌍, a pattern driven by a chromosomal inversion 🧬
Paper @natcomms.nature.com
doi.org/10.1038/s414...
#butterflymigration #insectmigration #migratorydivide #evolution
L’equip d’investigació de l’IBE i col·laboradors recol·lectant papallones per al Projecte Psyche. Crèdit a Gerard Talavera.
El projecte Psyche situa les papallones a l’avantguarda de la genòmica de la biodiversitat 🦋
📕L’ #IBE_Barcelona participa en el projecte Psyche, la primera iniciativa transnacional destinada a generar i estudiar genomes de referència d’un ordre animal complet.🧵
👉https://shorturl.at/9ofIE
The DNA of butterflies & moths is supporting conservation, shedding light on evolution, and could find new ways to stop pests 🦋
1,000 genomes have been released, and @projectpsyche.bsky.social aims to continue until all 11,665 European species have been sequenced🧬
www.sanger.ac.uk/news_item/10...
(1/5)Thrilled to announce our paper on #ProjectPsyche is out! 🦋We describe how we’ve generated 1000+ high-quality genomes for European Lepidoptera, providing an unprecedented resource for biodiversity, conservation, and evolutionary research.
#Genomics #Biodiversity
www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...
One of the most exciting projects I have ever been involved in: Project Psyche! Read all about our ambitions and aims. It's ground breaking stuff, just mind blowing and even surreal (27 years ago we did single genes for lep phylogenetics)! @projectpsyche.bsky.social
www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...
🐜 The red fire ant is now established in Europe and could reach the UK
This insightful @cnn.com interactive draws on research led by #RogerVila in #Sicily, tracing the origins, expansion, and potential impact of this invasive species.🌍
👉https://shorturl.at/XM1Ft
📣 Mattia Menchetti’s PhD thesis at #IBE_Barcelona — “Exploring the genetic diversity of European ants and butterflies” 🐜🦋 — has received both the Extraordinary Doctoral Award from #UPFBarcelona and the III Premio Tesis Doctoral Relevante from @csic.es . 🏆
👉https://shorturl.at/hbOjE
Very cool paper from @rogervilalab.bsky.social on the Canary islands Hipparchia butterflies just came out! Each island has its own species, seems like no gene flow between the islands!
academic.oup.com/isd/article/...
GBE | Polyommatine Blue Butterflies Reveal Unexpected Integrity of the W Sex Chromosome Amid Extensive Chromosomal Fragmentation Linked to Telomere Restoration
Hospodářská, @petrnguyen.bsky.social et al. investigated genome size and karyotype in Polyommatus and Lysandra butterflies, rejecting polyploidy to confirm karyotypic diversification via chromosome fragmentation in Polyommatinae butterflies.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf157
#genome #evolution
To celebrate the genomes for 1,000 (!) species of Lepidoptera in Europe, Project Psyche has released a preprint outlining our ambitions to jointly sequence & leverage genomes of all 11,000 species in Europe to propel science, conservation & society.
This was a joy to write together as a community!
Genome sequencing progress for Lepidoptera. Stacked bar charts represent the cumulative number of lepidopteran species with a reference genome per year. The colours represent the different levels of genome assembly quality, ranging from contig to chromosome-level. Numbers in brackets represent the range in numbers of species that have a given assembly level per year. Data derived from GoaT on 05.09.2025.
(1/6) 🦋 We are thrilled to announce the release of the 1,000th reference genome of Lepidoptera species found in Europe!
This goal was reached with the release of Stenoptilia islandicus, also known as the mountain plume moth.
Read the story below!👇🏽
How many chromosomes can an animal have?
In our paper out now in @currentbiology.bsky.social we show that the Atlas blue butterfly has 229 chromosome pairs- the highest in diploid Metazoa! These arose by rapid autosome fragmentation while sex chromosomes stayed intact.
www.cell.com/current-biol...
The Atlas Blue Butterfly. Credit: Roger Vila / The Institute of Evolutionary Biology.
The Atlas blue butterfly evolved 229 chromosome pairs — the most of any animal — over 3 million years, enabling new research 🦋
www.sanger.ac.uk/news_item/the-tale-of-th...
@rogervilalab.bsky.social @charlottewright.bsky.social @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social
Blaveta de l'Atles. Crèdit a Roger Vila.
La historia del animal con más cromosomas 🧬🦋
📕 Un equipo del @sangerinstitute.bsky.social y del @ibe-barcelona.bsky.socialha confirmado genéticamente que la mariposa Niña del Atlas posee el mayor número de cromosomas de todos los animales multicelulares del mundo.
👉 https://shorturl.at/MQVOc
Plebejus argus (credit: Vlad Dincă)
Plebejus argyrognomon (credit: Vlad Dincă)
Plebejus idas (credit: Vlad Dincă)
New #OpenAccess research by @rogervilalab.bsky.social in #RESSystematicEnt
Genomic analysis of #Plebejus Kluk (#Lycaenidae: Polyommatinae) clarifies #taxonomy within Europe
doi.org/10.1111/syen.70001
#Genomics #ddRAD
@gkergoat.bsky.social @wiley.com
Photos: Plebejus spp. (credit: Vlad Dincă)
Another paper on polyommatine blue butterflies just published in @genomebiolevol.bsky.social. Blues have high chromosome numbers associated with increased diversification and their karyotypes reveal strategies to maintain genomic integrity amidst profound karyotypic changes doi.org/10.1093/gbe/...
Desde ZERYNTHIA, mediante un proyecto financiado con fondos europeos del MITECO identificamos una nueva subpoblación en Orce. Contamos con la colaboración del IBE - CSIC.
🎥 acortar.link/nBRrKw
📺 Fragmento del programa ConCiencia - Canal Sur 08/06/25. acortar.link/0kliQp
@rogervilalab.bsky.social
🦋 La #Mariposa Euchloe bazae, una joya de muestra fauna, protagonista en Canal Sur. En ZERYNTHIA llevamos años trabajando por la conservación de Euchloe bazae, la azufrada ibérica, una de las mariposas más amenazadas de Europa.
Constant Bloom, bridging science and art, nature and human societies, is being displayed in New York and Taiwan, and is scheduled in other top art museums.
www.lucasfoglia.com/constant-blo...
Check also the beautiful book www.setantabooks.com/products/con...
We never imagined our scientific articles would be displayed in an art museum!
Thanks so much, Lucas, for the joint experiences in Kenya, following the migrating butterflies, and in The Hague, admiring the outcome of your work!
I shared this experience with friends Gerard Talavera and Aurora García-Berro @phylomigrationlab.bsky.social
@ibe-barcelona.bsky.social
@ibb-botanic.bsky.social
@csic.es
@guggfellows.bsky.social
www.fotomuseumdenhaag.nl/en/exhibitio...
Being invited to the opening of the photo exhibition Constant Bloom in Fotomuseum Den Haag was a privilege. The author, Lucas Foglia, followed the migration of Vanessa cardui across 17 countries to show how this butterfly connects societies, an art project that won the 2024 Guggenheim Fellowship.
