Figure 1: Expression of the Yellow protein prefigures adult wing pigmentation. Figure 3: The cis-regulatory sequences governing spot formation evolved in the context of an ancestral wing enhancer.

Heliconius charithonia is one of the species of butterflies whose wing patterns scientists scrutinized to better understand the evolutionary process. This butterfly is wild-type; the genetically ...

New evidence for homoploid hybrid speciation in animals is presented in the June 12, 2006 edition of the journal Nature. In a matter of months, butterflies sporting the yellow and red wing color ...

Butterflies and moths owe their beautiful and diverse wing patterns to genes that were switched on at critical times as the creatures evolved, U.S. researchers have shown. "The wing pattern is really ...

Many butterflies develop wing patterns that mimic other species to protect themselves from predators. While growing complex body parts like wings involves many genes, the difference between two ...

Butterfly wing patterns have a basic plan to them, which is manipulated by non-coding regulatory DNA to create the diversity of wings seen in different species, according to new research. The study, ...

The dainty veins gracing the wings of dragonflies and other insects are like fingerprints: Each wing displays a distinct pattern. A randomized mathematical process may help explain how certain thin ...