UC Davis postdoctoral researcher Kathy Darragh will discuss “All About Heliconius Butterflies” at noon today (Feb. 8) as part of the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Month. Link to https://bit.ly/3q0KiWf for Zoom access.
She will discuss and answer questions about Heliconius tropical butterflies, found from Mexico through Central and South America. She will cover her work in the tropics, tropical butterflies, and their life cycle. A pre-recorded version of her talk is in Spanish at https://bit.ly/3q0KIvN. A YouTube link will be provided soon.
Darragh is the lead author of a Jan. 19, 2021 study published in PLOS Biology that examines how butterflies produce a strongly scented chemical in their genitals that they leave behind after sex to deter other males from mating with the female.
“For a long time it was thought insects took the chemical compounds from plants and then used them, but we have shown butterflies can make the chemicals themselves--but with very different intentions," according to a Jan. 19, 2021 article in SciTech Daily about the research project. "Male butterflies use it to repulse competitors and flowers use the same smell to entice butterflies for pollination."
Titled "Anti-Aphrodisiac: Male Butterflies Mark Their Mates With Repulsive Smell During Sex to 'Turn Off' Other Suitors," the article indicates that "There are around 20,000 species of butterflies worldwide. Some only live for a month but the Heliconius melponene butterflies found in Panama that were studied live for around six months. The females typically have few sexual partners and they store the sperm and use it to fertilize their eggs over a number of months after a single mating."
An excerpt from SciTech Daily:
"Male butterflies have as many mates ‘as they can' and each time they transfer the anti-aphrodisiac chemical because they want to be the one to fertilize the offspring. This chemical, however, is not produced by all Heliconius butterflies. Whilst Heliconius melpomene does produce ocimene, another closely related species that was analyzed--Heliconius cydno --does not produce the strong smelling pheromone."
Darragh is quoted: “The visual cues the butterflies get will be important--when the scent is detected in the presence of flowers it will be attractive but when it is found on another butterfly it is repulsive to the males — context is key.”
Publication: “A novel terpene synthase controls differences in anti-aphrodisiac pheromone production between closely related Heliconius butterflies” by Kathy Darragh, Anna Orteu, Daniella Black, Kelsey J. R. P. Byers, Daiane Szczerbowski, Ian A. Warren, Pasi Rastas, Ana Pinharanda, John W. Davey, Sylvia Fernanda Garza, Diana Abondano Almeida, Richard M. Merrill, W. Owen McMillan, Stefan Schulz and Chris D. Jiggins, 19 January 2021, PLOS Biology.
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001022
UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day
The 10th annual UC Davis Biodiversity program is all virtual this year and will encompass the month of February. For the last nine years, it was a single day and an opportunity to meet scientists first-hand and discuss their work. More than 4000 visitors attended the program last year. This year the program will feature 12 museums or collections:
- Anthropology Museum
- Arboretum and Public Garden
- Bohart Museum of Entomology
- Botanical Conservatory
- California Raptor Center
- Center for Plant Diversity
- Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven
- Nematode Collection
- Marine Invertebrate Collection
- Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology
- Paleontology Collection
- Phaff Yeast Culture Collection
For the schedule, access the live talks and demonstrations and pre-recorded talks and activities on the UC Davis Biodiversity program website.
Like to donate to the UC Biodiversity Museum Day/Month program? You can do so through Crowdfund UC Davis "where alumni, students, parents and friends can make donations to support innovative projects that propel student engagement, new research discoveries, and efforts to expand UC Davis impact on California and the world." The funding program will continue through the end of February.
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