Multimedia Gallery
A longwing butterfly (Heliconius erato)
A longwing butterfly (Heliconius erato) rests on a Lantana flower. Its wing patterns have been modified through CRISPR gene editing, which removed a crucial RNA molecule, leading to the loss of melanic scales (or black pigment).
[Research supported by U.S. National Science Foundation grants IOS 2110534 and OIA 1736026.]
Learn more in the George Washington University news story Genomic dark matter solves butterfly evolutionary riddle. (Date of image: 2024; date originally posted to NSF Multimedia Gallery: Oct. 4, 2024)
Credit: Luca Livraghi, Biology Department, The George Washington University
Images and other media in the National Science Foundation Multimedia Gallery are available for use in print and electronic material by NSF employees, members of the media, university staff, teachers and the general public. All media in the gallery are intended for personal, educational and nonprofit/non-commercial use only.
Images credited to the National Science Foundation, a federal agency, are in the public domain. The images were created by employees of the United States Government as part of their official duties or prepared by contractors as "works for hire" for NSF. You may freely use NSF-credited images and, at your discretion, credit NSF with a "Courtesy: National Science Foundation" notation.
Additional information about general usage can be found in Conditions.
Also Available:
Download the high-resolution PNG version of the image. (1.4 MB)
Use your mouse to right-click (Mac users may need to Ctrl-click) the link above and choose the option that will save the file or target to your computer.