As Forests Are Cut Down, Butterflies Are Losing Their Colours (theguardian.com)
(Monday October 06, 2025 @05:30PM (msmash)
from the losing-their-lustre dept.)
- Reference: 0179681376
- News link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/10/06/1627246/as-forests-are-cut-down-butterflies-are-losing-their-colours
- Source link: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/06/butterflies-losing-colour-cutting-down-tropical-forests-aoe
Deforestation is [1]draining color from butterfly populations in Brazil. Researchers studying butterflies in the state of EspÃrito Santo found 31 species in natural forests but only 21 in eucalyptus plantations. The plantation communities were dominated by brown-colored species. Roberto GarcÃa-Roa, part of the research project, said the colors on butterfly wings have been designed over millions of years.
Lead researcher Maider Iglesias-Carrasco from the University of Copenhagen observed a general feeling of emptiness in the plantations. Ricardo Spaniol from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul discovered in 2019 that the most colorful Amazonian species often disappear first after deforestation, probably because of the loss of native vegetation and increased exposure to predators. Eucalyptus plantations cover at least 22 million hectares around the world. Spaniol's research found that forested Amazon habitats regenerating for 30 years after use as cattle pasture showed a remarkable increase in butterfly color diversity.
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/06/butterflies-losing-colour-cutting-down-tropical-forests-aoe
Lead researcher Maider Iglesias-Carrasco from the University of Copenhagen observed a general feeling of emptiness in the plantations. Ricardo Spaniol from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul discovered in 2019 that the most colorful Amazonian species often disappear first after deforestation, probably because of the loss of native vegetation and increased exposure to predators. Eucalyptus plantations cover at least 22 million hectares around the world. Spaniol's research found that forested Amazon habitats regenerating for 30 years after use as cattle pasture showed a remarkable increase in butterfly color diversity.
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/06/butterflies-losing-colour-cutting-down-tropical-forests-aoe
Would make sense (Score:2)
by smooth wombat ( 796938 )
When you're in a forest, things are darker than in the open. You would need to stand out.
That and the colorful butterflies either go somewhere else or die off because humans are cutting down their habitat.
Re:Just natural selection at work (Score:4, Informative)
Actually, it's colorful species dying out, not adapting to a less colorful environment.
> [...] Ricardo Spaniol from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul discovered in 2019 that the most colorful Amazonian species often disappear first after deforestation, probably because of the loss of native vegetation and increased exposure to predators.
Re: (Score:2)
> Actually, it's colorful species dying out, not adapting to a less colorful environment.
That's how evolution works. Those less suited to the environment die or are killed. The offspring with better suited genetic variations succeed. Due to better camouflage.
Re: (Score:2)
> That's how evolution works.
While this part is correct, the second
> Those less suited to the environment die or are killed. The offspring with better suited genetic variations succeed. Due to better camouflage.
has nothing to do with the article at hand.
What you are describing is a genetic drift within a species, like the [1]Peppered moth [wikipedia.org], caused by changing environmental conditions.
What the article is talking about is species disappearing completely, and the fact that it's the most colorful ones. The Peppered moth never disappeared. It even changed back to a majority of lighter colored specimens when industrial smoke no longer darkened the birch bark.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peppered_moth_evolution