Our new paper is officially out ! 🎉 We found that iridescence tends to converge between sympatric Morpho butterflies! This signal is likely driven by predation pressures, bringing new evidence to the evasive mimicry hypothesis, i.e. the evolution of confusion patterns in hard-to-catch prey!

Evolution Letters@evolletters.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Why do different butterfly species evolve the same shimmering blue wings? Morpho butterflies repeatedly converge on iridescence in sympatry, suggesting predators can drive the evolution of shared warning signals. doi.org/10.1093/evle... Image credit: Wikimedia

Why do different butterfly species evolve the same shimmering blue wings? Morpho butterflies repeatedly converge on iridescence in sympatry, suggesting predators can drive the evolution of shared warning signals. doi.org/10.1093/evle... Image credit: Wikimedia

New paper on Biorxiv by Raphaël Dupillier, analyzing escape flight in Morpho menelaus : huge field work effort! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

[RDV 16h !] Pour notre partenariat avec le magazine @epsiloon.com, on s'intéressera aujourd'hui aux hybrides et à leur rôle évolutif ! 🦁🐹🦒 Une émission co-animée par @mathildefontez.bsky.social, avec Violaine Llaurens et @crouxevo.bsky.social #ScienceCQFD www.radiofrance.fr/francecultur...

Hybridation animale : l'amour en roue ligre ?

Deux espèces peuvent se reproduire et échanger des gènes, c’est l’hybridation. Le plus souvent, les descendants survivent mal ou restent stériles. Parfois, des gènes utiles se diffusent, et plus rarem...

radiofrance.fr

Species-specific spectral tuning of motion vision in butterflies: Current Biology www.cell.com/current-biol...

Species-specific spectral tuning of motion vision in butterflies

Supple et al. investigate the spectral sensitivity of motion-sensitive descending neurons (DNs) connecting the brain to thoracic motor centers in butterflies. Optic flow-sensitive DNs are spectrally b...

cell.com

Repeated evolution of convergent iridescence in closely-related species of Morpho butterflies living in sympatry https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.06.704458v1

🦋 New preprint showing the convergent evolution of iridescence, a conspicuous colouration that likely participates in the ability of Morpho butterflies to escape their predators! We bring evidence supporting evasive mimicry, i.e. the evolution of similar confusing patterns in hard-to-catch prey.

bioRxiv Evolutionary Biology@biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Repeated evolution of convergent iridescence in closely-related species of Morpho butterflies living in sympatry https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.06.704458v1

Two rainforest butterflies have evolved to look more alike, likely to confuse shared predators. But why don’t they get confused themselves? To avoid mating with the wrong species, they’ve cleverly evolved distinct scents. buff.ly/fxVrlCI

Finally out in Elife @elife.bsky.social : well done @joledamoisel.bsky.social ! Convergent iridescence and divergent chemical signals in sympatric sister-species of Amazonian butterflies doi.org/10.7554/eLif...

My first paper as a first author is officially out 🎉 @elife.bsky.social We show that the iridescent colour of Morphos 🦋 tends to converge in sympatry while their chemical signals diverge, illustrating the constrasting effect natural and sexual selection on trait evolution. doi.org/10.7554/eLif...

Convergent iridescence and divergent chemical signals in sympatric sister-species of Amazonian butterflies

Ecological interactions exert contrasting evolutionary pressures on sympatric Morpho butterflies, promoting convergence in iridescence but divergence in chemical cues, illustrating how ecological inte...

doi.org

🌍🦋 Across 6 continents, 21 sites & 15,000 paper moths, we joined a worldwide experiment led by @wlallen.bsky.social & Iliana Medina, showing how ecological context shapes the evolution of animal colouration. Proud to be part of this global team effort: doi.org/10.1126/scie...

Very excited to release our new paper ! We characterized the thermal and temporal niches of a community of closely related Morpho butterflies, and found very significant ties between micro-habitat and thermal traits. nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

🦋☀️Vertical and temporal niche partitioning in Amazonian butterflies: implications for the evolution of thermal tolerance 🎨 © Céline Louis-Clyiss vist.ly/45dnq #Butterfly #Community #EvolutionaryEcology #TemporalNiche #ThermalResistance #VerticalStratification

Hybridization and introgression are major evolutionary processes. Since the 1940s, the prevailing view has been that they shape plants far more than animals. In our new study (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... ), we find the opposite: animals exchange genes more, and for longer, than plants

Congrats to Violaine for this well deserved prize!! Champagne! sfecologie.org/2025/07/16/p...

[Prix Recherche SFE²] Lauréate 2025 - Violaine Llaurens - sfecologie.org

Toutes nos félicitations à Violaine Llaurens (DR CNRS, CIRB & ISYEB, Paris & Université des Antilles), lauréate du Prix Recherche SFE² 2025.

sfecologie.org

Evolution of opsin genes in closely-related species of butterflies specialized in different microhabitats. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.06.13.659549v1

Really happy to share our new paper ! We characterized the Morpho butterfly visual system, and found a link between opsin evolution, wing coloration and light habitat. We also highlight correlated evolution between amino acids from different opsin genes at a molecular scale !

bioRxiv Evolutionary Biology@biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social · last yr.

Evolution of opsin genes in closely-related species of butterflies specialized in different microhabitats. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.06.13.659549v1

The list of words the Trump administration has banned from research grants is even longer than the lists I’ve seen online. Here are screenshots of the words confirmed by the NYTimes and listed in this article www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Scientists at the CDC were ordered late on Friday to withdraw any pending publications, at any scientific journal, that mention terms such as “transgender,” “immigrant,” “LGBT” or “pregnant people.”

CDC Scientists Ordered to Withdraw Studies That Say ‘LGBT’ or ‘Pregnant People’

nytimes.com

Remous au CNRS autour du projet de création de labos d’excellence

Remous au CNRS autour du projet de création de labos d’excellence

Suite à l’annonce de la création des « Key Labs » , le 12 décembre, par Antoine Petit, président-directeur général du CNRS, une motion de défiance appelant à leur « arrêt immédiat » et à la démission du PDG a recueilli près de 5 000 signatures.

lemonde.fr

Really happy to share the preprint of my first paper! We investigate the co-existence of Morpho sister-species in sympatry. We find convergent iridescence in sympatry consistent with the hypothesis of evasive mimicry and divergent chemical signals, putatively involved in mate recognition.

bioRxiv Evolutionary Biology@biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social · 2y ago

Sending mixed signals: convergent iridescence and divergent chemical signals in sympatric sister-species of Amazonian butterflies https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.12.12.627956v1

Convergent iridescence in sympatric Morpho butterfly species! New preprint by @joledamoisel.bsky.social

bioRxiv Evolutionary Biology@biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social · 2y ago

Sending mixed signals: convergent iridescence and divergent chemical signals in sympatric sister-species of Amazonian butterflies https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.12.12.627956v1

Testing whether butterfly tails deflect birds attacks - here a Charaxes jasius

Help us understand how conspicuous butterflies are by playing this game! mferickson.github.io/findbutterfly/