A part of evolutionary science in which the entire global scientific community takes part is the seemingly insurmountable task of mapping out the histories of all living organisms on the planet, particularly determining when each new genus and species sprang into being and when they made key adaptations along their evolutionary path. Woven into the tapestry of what’s already been pieced together, for example, is enough data on fowers to know that they’re older than butterflies, yet in spite of this established fact, scientists are now turning that on its head with new fossil evidence of the butterfly having predated any and all flowers. This is especially significant in light of a study this past August wherein it was shown that the first ever …show more content…
The amount of time they spend active after metamorphosis and when they emerge is now serving as a marker of the effects of climate change according to Shapiro. He says that regional climate has been warming and causing them to emerge progressively earlier. “The first person to catch the first one of the year will get a pitcher of beer,” Shapiro explains. It’s a way of helping him mark the earliest sightings of his favorite butterfly and thereby contribute more data to his long-term …show more content…
Obviously, the real analogy would be the butterfly preceding the cocoon, but animals in the Lepidoptera order coexisted with dinosaurs. These were not just butterflies but also moths, and they lived during the Triassic period, which is a big deal. Fossil-based data collected in this new study suggests they lived over 200 miion years ago but possibly as much as 250 million years ago, and this prehistoric butterfly was reportedly much more like a moth in the first place than any butterflies currently