Butterfly Diversity & Evolution Lab

L’equip d’investigació de l’IBE i col·laboradors recol·lectant papallones per al Projecte Psyche. Crèdit a Gerard Talavera.

El projecte Psyche situa les papallones a l’avantguarda de la genòmica de la biodiversitat 🦋

📕L’ #IBE_Barcelona participa en el projecte Psyche, la primera iniciativa transnacional destinada a generar i estudiar genomes de referència d’un ordre animal complet.🧵

👉https://shorturl.at/9ofIE

1,000 butterfly and moth genomes to investigate evolution, climate change resilience, and tackle food security issues These freely available genomes can be used to answer evolutionary questions, inform conservation and improve food security around the world.

The DNA of butterflies & moths is supporting conservation, shedding light on evolution, and could find new ways to stop pests 🦋
1,000 genomes have been released, and @projectpsyche.bsky.social aims to continue until all 11,665 European species have been sequenced🧬

www.sanger.ac.uk/news_item/10...

Project Psyche: reference genomes for all Lepidoptera in Europe Project Psyche is a transnational initiative to generate and study chromosome-level reference genomes of all ~11 000 species of Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) found in Europe. Here, we describe t...

(1/5)Thrilled to announce our paper on #ProjectPsyche is out! 🦋We describe how we’ve generated 1000+ high-quality genomes for European Lepidoptera, providing an unprecedented resource for biodiversity, conservation, and evolutionary research.
#Genomics #Biodiversity
www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...

Project Psyche: reference genomes for all Lepidoptera in Europe Project Psyche is a transnational initiative to generate and study chromosome-level reference genomes of all ~11 000 species of Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) found in Europe. Here, we describe t...

One of the most exciting projects I have ever been involved in: Project Psyche! Read all about our ambitions and aims. It's ground breaking stuff, just mind blowing and even surreal (27 years ago we did single genes for lep phylogenetics)! @projectpsyche.bsky.social
www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...

🐜 The red fire ant is now established in Europe and could reach the UK

This insightful @cnn.com interactive draws on research led by #RogerVila in #Sicily, tracing the origins, expansion, and potential impact of this invasive species.🌍

👉https://shorturl.at/XM1Ft

📣 Mattia Menchetti’s PhD thesis at #IBE_Barcelona — “Exploring the genetic diversity of European ants and butterflies” 🐜🦋 — has received both the Extraordinary Doctoral Award from #UPFBarcelona and the III Premio Tesis Doctoral Relevante from @csic.es . 🏆

👉https://shorturl.at/hbOjE

Colonization, diversification and speciation of the genus Hipparchia (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in the Canary Islands Abstract. The Canary Islands harbor numerous endemic species, showcasing a wide array of colonization and diversification patterns. Butterflies belonging t

Very cool paper from @rogervilalab.bsky.social on the Canary islands Hipparchia butterflies just came out! Each island has its own species, seems like no gene flow between the islands!
academic.oup.com/isd/article/...

GBE | Polyommatine Blue Butterflies Reveal Unexpected Integrity of the W Sex Chromosome Amid Extensive Chromosomal Fragmentation Linked to Telomere Restoration

Hospodářská, @petrnguyen.bsky.social et al. investigated genome size and karyotype in Polyommatus and Lysandra butterflies, rejecting polyploidy to confirm karyotypic diversification via chromosome fragmentation in Polyommatinae butterflies.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf157

#genome #evolution

To celebrate the genomes for 1,000 (!) species of Lepidoptera in Europe, Project Psyche has released a preprint outlining our ambitions to jointly sequence & leverage genomes of all 11,000 species in Europe to propel science, conservation & society.

This was a joy to write together as a community!

Genome sequencing progress for Lepidoptera. Stacked bar charts represent the cumulative number of lepidopteran species with a reference genome per year. The colours represent the different levels of genome assembly quality, ranging from contig to chromosome-level. Numbers in brackets represent the range in numbers of species that have a given assembly level per year. Data derived from GoaT on 05.09.2025.

(1/6) 🦋 We are thrilled to announce the release of the 1,000th reference genome of Lepidoptera species found in Europe!
This goal was reached with the release of Stenoptilia islandicus, also known as the mountain plume moth.
Read the story below!👇🏽

Constraints on chromosome evolution revealed by the 229 chromosome pairs of the Atlas blue butterfly The genome of the Atlas blue butterfly contains ten times more chromosomes than most butterflies, and more than any other known diploid animal. Wright et al. show that this extraordinary karyotype is ...

How many chromosomes can an animal have?

In our paper out now in @currentbiology.bsky.social we show that the Atlas blue butterfly has 229 chromosome pairs- the highest in diploid Metazoa! These arose by rapid autosome fragmentation while sex chromosomes stayed intact.
www.cell.com/current-biol...

The Atlas Blue Butterfly. Credit: Roger Vila / The Institute of Evolutionary Biology.

The Atlas blue butterfly evolved 229 chromosome pairs — the most of any animal — over 3 million years, enabling new research 🦋

https://www.sanger.ac.uk/news_item/the-tale-of-the-creature-with-the-most-chromosomes/

@rogervilalab.bsky.social @charlottewright.bsky.social @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social

Blaveta de l'Atles. Crèdit a Roger Vila.

La historia del animal con más cromosomas 🧬🦋

📕 Un equipo del @sangerinstitute.bsky.social y del @ibe-barcelona.bsky.socialha confirmado genéticamente que la mariposa Niña del Atlas posee el mayor número de cromosomas de todos los animales multicelulares del mundo.

👉 https://shorturl.at/MQVOc

Plebejus argus (credit: Vlad Dincă)

Plebejus argyrognomon (credit: Vlad Dincă)

Plebejus idas (credit: Vlad Dincă)

New #OpenAccess research by @rogervilalab.bsky.social in #RESSystematicEnt

Genomic analysis of #Plebejus Kluk (#Lycaenidae: Polyommatinae) clarifies #taxonomy within Europe
doi.org/10.1111/syen.70001

#Genomics #ddRAD
@gkergoat.bsky.social @wiley.com

Photos: Plebejus spp. (credit: Vlad Dincă)

Another paper on polyommatine blue butterflies just published in @genomebiolevol.bsky.social. Blues have high chromosome numbers associated with increased diversification and their karyotypes reveal strategies to maintain genomic integrity amidst profound karyotypic changes doi.org/10.1093/gbe/...

Desde ZERYNTHIA, mediante un proyecto financiado con fondos europeos del MITECO identificamos una nueva subpoblación en Orce. Contamos con la colaboración del IBE - CSIC.

🎥 acortar.link/nBRrKw

📺 Fragmento del programa ConCiencia - Canal Sur 08/06/25. acortar.link/0kliQp

@rogervilalab.bsky.social

🦋 La #Mariposa Euchloe bazae, una joya de muestra fauna, protagonista en Canal Sur. En ZERYNTHIA llevamos años trabajando por la conservación de Euchloe bazae, la azufrada ibérica, una de las mariposas más amenazadas de Europa.

Constant Bloom, bridging science and art, nature and human societies, is being displayed in New York and Taiwan, and is scheduled in other top art museums.

www.lucasfoglia.com/constant-blo...

Check also the beautiful book www.setantabooks.com/products/con...

We never imagined our scientific articles would be displayed in an art museum!

Thanks so much, Lucas, for the joint experiences in Kenya, following the migrating butterflies, and in The Hague, admiring the outcome of your work!

I shared this experience with friends Gerard Talavera and Aurora García-Berro @phylomigrationlab.bsky.social
@ibe-barcelona.bsky.social
@ibb-botanic.bsky.social
@csic.es
@guggfellows.bsky.social
www.fotomuseumdenhaag.nl/en/exhibitio...

Being invited to the opening of the photo exhibition Constant Bloom in Fotomuseum Den Haag was a privilege. The author, Lucas Foglia, followed the migration of Vanessa cardui across 17 countries to show how this butterfly connects societies, an art project that won the 2024 Guggenheim Fellowship.

Photos: Scientists trace a butterfly migration route that is millions of years old Scientists have recently mapped the painted lady butterfly's annual flight from equatorial Africa to northern Europe and back, the world's longest butterfly migration. In Constant Bloom, photographer ...

Scientists have recently mapped the painted lady butterfly's annual flight from equatorial Africa to northern Europe and back, the world's longest butterfly migration. In Constant Bloom, photographer Lucas Foglia documents the journey.

1/6) New paper out in Molecular Ecology! We uncover the intriguing biogeographic history behind the Holarctic disjunct distributions in Vanessa butterflies. @phylomigrationlab.bsky.social
#biogeography #insectmigration #butterflymigration #butterflies #evolution
shorturl.at/UFrrU

📣 AGCTually Annotating Genomes

The #IBE Biodiversity Program launches the Workshop on Genome Annotation, bringing together researchers, technicians, and master’s & PhD students.🧬🧩

👉https://www.ibe.upf-csic.es/home/-/asset_publisher/T2caeLMECPvW/content/agctually-annotating-genomes/maximized

Day 2 of the #ProjectPsyche Spring Meeting is complete! Participants made great progress with productive discussions on key tasks and role assignments. Stay tuned for what’s next! 🦋🧬

Here is a link to freely access the publication authors.elsevier.com/a/1karS3QW8S...

@IBE_Barcelona
@GerardTalavera
@ZEN_Laboratory
@Vlad_E_D
@fleshflies

The disguise is completed by chemical mimicry: the surface chemical hydrocarbons are identical to those of the termites. See the discovery and analyses published in @CurrentBiology Blow fly larvae socially integrate termite nests through morphological and chemical mimicry

The false eyes are the spiracles through which it breathes. The body is surrounded by “tentacles” that imitate the termite antennas, so that it can communicate with multiple termites simultaneously.

It’s not the head, it’s the butt!
Meet a completely unknown organism: a blow fly (Calliphoridae) that evolved social integration in termite nests using a false termite head in the posterior part of the body.
@CurrentBiology www.cell.com/current-biol...