New tires allow race cars to take tight turns at high speeds. Hind wings give moths and butterflies similar advantages: They are not necessary for basic flight but help these creatures take tight turns to evade predators.

Butterflies and moths are well known for their striking metamorphosis from crawling caterpillars to winged adults. In light of this radical change, not just in body form, but also in lifestyle, diet and dependence on particular sensory cues, it would seem unlikely that learned associations or memories formed at the larval or caterpillar stage could be accessible to the adult moth or butterfly.

Expanding forests in the Canadian Rocky Mountains are slowly isolating groups of alpine butterflies from each other, which may lead to the extinction of the colourful insects in some areas, says a new study from the University of Alberta.

About five years ago, on the islands of Samoa, most of the male Hypolimnas bolina butterflies, also known as the Eggfly or Blue Moon butterfly, disappeared. Now, scientists report that the males have made a comeback and are almost as common as females.

Butterflies, with their colorful wings and intricate patterns, may be the world's most popular insects. At the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, visitors can see a close-up view of the flying creatures in a summertime exhibit that runs through early September. VOA's Mike O'Sullivan stopped by to get a look at the museum's Pavilion of Wings.

The coming summer vibrates with expressions of insect love and desire. The cicada's songs or the butterflies' bright colours are examples of how an emitting sex attracts conspecific members of the responding sex.