Exploring the molecular basis of monarch butterfly color pattern variation

Sensory basis of lepidopteran migration: focus on the monarch butterfly.

In response to seasonal habitats, migratory lepidopterans, exemplified by the monarch butterfly, have evolved migration to deal with dynamic conditions. During migration, monarchs use orientation mechanisms, exploiting a time-compensated sun compass and a light-sensitive inclination magnetic compass to facilitate fall migration south. The sun compass is bidirectional with overwintering coldness...

Genetic basis of sex - specific color pattern variation in Drosophila

Neurobiology of Monarch Butterfly Migration.

Studies of the migration of the eastern North American monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) have revealed mechanisms behind its navigation. The main orientation mechanism uses a time-compensated sun compass during both the migration south and the remigration north. Daylight cues, such as the sun itself and polarized light, are processed through both eyes and integrated through intricate circuit...

The Evolutionary Genetics and Developmental Basis of Wing Pattern Variation in the Butterfly Bicyclus Anynana.

We have studied interactions between developmental processes and genetic variation for the eyespot color pattern on the adult dorsal forewing of the nymphalid butterfly, Bicyclus anynana. Truncation selection was applied in both an upward and a downward direction to the size of a single eyespot consisting of rings with wing scales of differing color pigments. High heritabilities resulted in rap...

MonarchBase: the monarch butterfly genome database

The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is emerging as a model organism to study the mechanisms of circadian clocks and animal navigation, and the genetic underpinnings of long-distance migration. The initial assembly of the monarch genome was released in 2011, and the biological interpretation of the genome focused on the butterfly's migration biology. To make the extensive data associated wi...