Researchers have documented painted lady butterflies’ transoceanic migration of over 4200 km, linking Europe and South America through genetic and environmental evidence. This study highlights the significant ecological implications of such long-distance migrations, especially under changing global climatic conditions. An international team of researchers, led by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), has documented a transoceanic flight of more than 4200 km (2600 miles) by painted lady butterflies ( Vanessa cardui ), setting a record for an insect.
The study, published in the journal Nature Communications , involved researchers from the Botanical Institute of Barcelona (IBB), a joint center of the CSIC and the Natural Sciences Museum of Barcelona, as well as from the W. Szafer Botanical Institute (Poland), the University of Ottawa (Canada), the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE, CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), and Harvard University (USA). In October 2013, Gerard Talavera, a CSIC researcher at the Botanical Institute of Barcelona, identified several painted lady butterflies on the Atlantic beaches of French Guiana.
These observations were completely unusual, as this species is not found in South America. Where did they come from? A sum of novel techniques solves the enigma A multidisciplinary approach has deciphered the route and origin of these butterflies. The initial hypotheses were that they could have originated in North America, where the nearest populati.