A new study from the University of Georgia explored how butterfly specimens from museums can track the spread of disease.
Researchers from UGA are tracking a parasite causing infections to butterflies which will hinder their growth and flight. This parasite can also affect caterpillars by eating spores on plants and infecting them as they reach adulthood.
The name of the parasite is called the Ophryocystis elektroscirrha. Researchers found that of the 61 butterfly species sampled, five were infected with cases going back as far as 1909.
“A lot of people don’t think about butterflies as getting sick, but butterflies and other insects can be host to microbes that cause problems for them,” said Sonia Altizer, Martha Odum Distinguished Professor in UGA’s Odum School of Ecology and a corresponding author of the study.
By collecting these butterflies' specimen from five museums in the U.S and abroad, including the Georgia Museum of Natural History. Researchers are able to better understand this parasite and other threats that could help guide conservation efforts.
