Trends and progress in studying butterfly migration

Abstract

BackgroundSeveral hundred butter y species show some form of migratory behaviour. Here we identify how the methodologies available for studying butter y migration have changed over time, and document geographic and taxonomic foci in the study of butter y migration. MethodWe review publications on butter y migration published in six languages [English, Simpli ed Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish], summarise how migration in butter ies has been studied, explore geographic and taxonomic patterns in the knowledge base, and outline key future research directions. ResultsUsing English search keywords, we found only 58 studies from Asia; however, after searching in local languages, we found an additional 99 relevant studies from China, Japan, and Taiwan. Overall, butter y migration studies are mostly concentrated in North America and Europe, with only 4.6% from Africa. Most studies focus on three species: monarch [Danaus plexippus], painted lady [Vanessa cardui] and red admiral [Vanessa atalanta]. About 62% of publications are focused on the monarch, with nearly 50% of migratory butter ies mentioned in no more than a single paper. ConclusionsSeveral research methods have been applied to ascribe migratory status and to study the physiology, neurobiology, and ecology of migration; however, virtually all this research is focused on a handful of species. There remain hundreds of species for which we do not understand the full seasonal pattern of movement, ight destinations, wintering, or breeding grounds. A full understanding of movement ecology and migratory connectivity is needed to effectively conserve migratory butter ies.'Butter y migration' and 'Migratory butter ies' we searched in Google Scholar for papers in Simpli ed [' ', ' ', ' ' and ' ''] and Traditional [' ', ' ', ' ' and ' ] Chinese, Japanese [' ' ' ', ' ', ' '], Korean [' ' and ' '] and Spanish ['Mariposas migratorias' and 'Migración de mariposas']. Because some of the relevant Japanese literature may not be found using the keywords, ' , ' and ' ', we made an additional search using the keywords, ' ' and ' '.

Studies on Centipede Ecology (Myriapoda: Chilopoda) a Bibliometric Review

“…Although our summary aimed to target the international situation, we only used papers published in the Web of Science to ease the use of the bibliometric software. Therefore the methodology could have easily overlooked information published in various local languages as proved for other invertebrates studies (Chowdhury et al, 2022;Amano et al, 2023). WoS categories, like many classification schemes, are not without flaws (Milojević, 2020), and some documents with prominent ecological subjects, like the paper of Lacasella and Zapparoli (2015) classified under Entomology and Biodiversity Conservation categories, might have been overlooked in our analysis.…”

Butterfly movements recorded from a UAV depict migratory flight behaviour in the wild.

“…Migratory behaviour has been documented in about 600 butterfly species (Chowdhury 2021(Chowdhury , 2022. In butterflies, migration often occur over several generations, with successive generations following different flight azimuths to achieve a round-trip annual travel that can cover thousands of kilometers in some Nymphalidae species (e.g.…”

“…First, the classic mark-recapture method allows to demonstrate the movement of an individual from one point to another, and was thus used for studying insect migrations (e.g. butterflies; Chowdhury et al 2021Chowdhury et al , 2022. Trapping techniques along migratory routes, sometimes combined with isotope analyses to determine the geographical origin of individuals, can also provide information on migrations (e.g.…”

Environmental stress during larval development induces DNA methylation shifts in the migratory painted lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui)

“…Butterflies and moths (lepidopterans) have adopted strategies to cope with unfavourable conditions by either entering a state of dormancy and metabolic inactivity (diapause) or by migrating to regions with more favourable conditions, or a combination thereof (Urquhart, 1976; Williams, 1930). While the mechanistic underpinnings of diapause in lepidopterans have been investigated in some detail (e.g., Denlinger, 2002; Hasegawa, 1957; Kozak et al, 2019; Leal et al, 2018; Lehmann et al, 2016; Süess et al, 2022; Watanabe, 1924; Yamashita, 1996), the molecular machinery underlying migratory behaviour is somewhat less known, with research focused on a few species of moths and the monarch ( Danaus plexippus ) butterfly (Chowdhury et al, 2022; Jiang et al, 2011; Reppert & de Roode, 2018).…”

“…DNA methylation, environmental stress, migration, painted lady butterfly, Vanessa cardui machinery underlying migratory behaviour is somewhat less known, with research focused on a few species of moths and the monarch (Danaus plexippus) butterfly (Chowdhury et al, 2022;Jiang et al, 2011;Reppert & de Roode, 2018).…”