ArticleNature communications2020
Physical and behavioral adaptations to prevent overheating of the living wings of butterflies.
Article in Nature communications, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 49 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
49 citing papers in PubMed, 174 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Moth-Wing-Inspired Multifunctional Metamaterials.Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) · 2026Article
- Comparative Biologists and Aerospace Engineers: Important Allies to Explore the Secrets of Natural Flight.Integrative and comparative biology · 2026Article
- Beyond Conventional Cooling: Advanced Micro/Nanostructures for Managing Extreme Heat Flux.Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) · 2026Review
- Biomimetic Daytime Radiative Cooling Technology: Prospects and Challenges for Practical Application.Materials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Gustatory receptors interact with the serotonin pathway to regulate silkmoth stereotyped courtship behavior.BMC biology · 2025Article
- Bio-Inspired Strategy for Radiation-Based Thermal Management and Utilization.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Review
- Article
- Mid-IR Imaging Can Detect Waste Heat Production in the Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.Journal of biophotonics · 2025Article
- Single-nucleus transcriptomics of wing sexual dimorphism and scale cell specialization in sulphur butterflies.PLoS biology · 2025Article
- Lepidopteran scale cells derive from sensory organ precursors through a canonical lineage.Development (Cambridge, England) · 2025Article
- Using citizen science data to estimate trait and climate drivers of daily activity patterns in temperate butterflies.PloS one · 2025Article
- Nanostructural Influence on Optical and Thermal Properties of Butterfly Wing Scales Across Forest Vertical Strata.Materials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Insect Flight: State of the Field and Future Directions.Integrative and comparative biology · 2024Article
- Suitability of Anodic Porous Alumina as a Passive Radiative Cooler: An In-Depth Study.ACS applied optical materials · 2024Review
- Comprehensive phylogeny of Pieridae butterflies reveals strong correlation between diversification and temperature.iScience · 2024Article
- Article
- Article
- Enhanced dispersal capacity in edge population individuals of a rapidly expanding butterfly.Ecology and evolution · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The wings of Lepidoptera contain a matrix of living cells whose function requires appropriate temperatures. However, given their small thermal capacity, wings can overheat rapidly in the sun. Here we analyze butterfly wings across a wide range of simulated environmental conditions, and find that regions containing living cells are maintained at cooler temperatures. Diverse scale nanostructures and non-uniform cuticle thicknesses create a heterogeneous distribution of radiative cooling that selectively reduces the temperature of structures such as wing veins and androconial organs. These tissues are supplied by circulatory, neural and tracheal systems throughout the adult lifetime, indicating that the insect wing is a dynamic, living structure. Behavioral assays show that butterflies use wings to sense visible and infrared radiation, responding with specialized behaviors to prevent overheating of their wings. Our work highlights the physiological importance of wing temperature and how it is exquisitely regulated by structural and behavioral adaptations.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.