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How a Group of Butterflies Managed to Fly 4,200 Kilometers Without Stopping

When butterflies not native to South America appeared on a beach in French Guiana, entomologists started sleuthing to prove where they came from—and how they might have got there.

First, the team examined the meteorological data for the weeks leading up to the butterflies’ arrival, and found that wind conditions could have supported a journey from Africa to South America. The experts also sequenced the genomes of the butterflies, and found that they showed a closer kinship with populations from Africa and Europe, thus ruling out the possibility that the creatures had flown down from North America. Finally, using innovative molecular techniques, the team sequenced the DNA of pollen grains attached to the insects, and were able to identify the flowers from which the creatures had taken nectar.

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