collection of bones and shells photographed on a white background

Animal Remains: Warm Period

Archaeological sites can provide clues to past climate change, including warm periods with increased storm activity. These remains provide evidence…
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Pinned Zebra Longwing (Heliconius charithonia tuckeri) butterfly specimens showing slight color variation but large size variation

Zebra Longwing

Zebra Longwings live an unusually long life, and can survive more than a month as adults rather than the typical…
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Xerces Blue (Glaucopsyche xerces) four small pinned butterfly specimens. Two butterflies are blue and brown, one is light brown with small white spots and the last is brown with small black spots with a white border around each black spot.

Xerces Blue

Xerces Blue butterflies were last seen in the early 1940s in the San Francisco Bay area. It is one of…
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Schaus' Swallowtail (Heraclides aristodemus ponceanus)

Schaus’ Swallowtail

Once abundant in the greater Miami area and the Florida Keys, these endangered butterflies are now limited primarily to Biscayne…
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Paynes Prairie Moths (various species)

Paynes Prairie Moths

Museum staff began surveying local moths in 2005. So far nearly 1,000 different moth species have been recorded from Paynes…
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Luna Moths (Actias luna)

Luna Moth

Evolutionary changes are sometimes driven by relationships to other organisms. Researchers discovered that the Luna Moth evolved long spinning tails…
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Heliconius Butterflies (various species)

Heliconius Butterflies

Heliconius Butterflies are a model group for studying evolution of wing patterns due to the vast variations within the group….
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Mosaic Gynandromorphs, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Male and female butterflies often have different colors or patterns. Gynandromorphs—part male, part female—show a mix of both. Such anomalies,…
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