Study: Butterflies and Moths Have Reused Same Genetic Toolkit for 120 Million Years

May 4, 2026 - 10:30
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Study: Butterflies and Moths Have Reused Same Genetic Toolkit for 120 Million Years
Ben Chehida et al. studied convergent evolution in multiple mimetic Neotropical lepidopteran lineages that diverged between 1 and 120 million years ago, including seven species of Ithomiini and Heliconius butterflies and a day-flying Chetone moth. Image credit: Ben Chehida et al., doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3003742.

A landmark study of several butterfly lineages and a day-flying moth in South America shows that convergent evolution -- when unrelated species arrive at the same solution -- isn’t just a coincidence; it follows a surprisingly consistent genetic script, and this discovery could help predict how species adapt to climate change.

The post Study: Butterflies and Moths Have Reused Same Genetic Toolkit for 120 Million Years appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

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