Evolution of Butterflies

It has long been thought that butterfly and moth evolution was largely driven by bats but recent studies have shown that many of these features have ancient origins predating bats by a large margin. And in fact butterflies may owe their evolution and success to flowers not bats.
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Sources:
www.pnas.org/c...
theconversatio...

[@scotland369]

8:17. Imagine spending your nights feeding on the sadness of others....

[@TheGr3nadeboy]

This made me laugh way harder than it should’ve.

[@WAVE0025]

r/im14andthisisdeep

[@VirgoShelter]

Some tears are produced to keep the eye wet but we don't feel these tears

[@KRJayster]

Got yourself the start of an emo song there. Nicely done.

[@DaisiesInMercury]

This is hillarious! Those moths are cold hearted😂

[@ekszentrik]

8:19 imagine waking up in the middle of the night and some critter a third your length is sitting on your face drinking your tears.

[@Wilbtube]

first came the bees? My understanding is that the first pollinating animals were beetle-like (koleoptera) and that their flowers of choice were big and edible. Then came the bees, who were able to pollinate without damaging the flower - which was a considerable evolutionary advantage. This is also the reason that among the most "primitive" flowers are the large magnolias.

[@komradentomolog7701]

Isn't it spelled coleoptera.also interesting thing is some beetles actually had the normal front wings back then too,some still do to this day,although they don't use it for flight....

[@SouthernEli]

I was literally wondering about the evolution of butterflies just yesterday, after watching one of your videos, and I'm so glad you answered the call of my curious heart!

[@3_up_moon]

Scaled Wing* Not scaled insects Lepidoptera Just like a pterosaur is a winged lizard. (Even thought it wasnt a lizard.)

[@ShmooZeroOmega]

Easy mistake to make, I guess, since every insect order is something-ptera

[@jasperzanjani]

also kinda like how your mother tells you she loves you, when she doesn't

[@3_up_moon]

@@jasperzanjani exactly

[@achi-leanathlos8376]

Jasper Zanjani dude, chill out, it's ok if you don't speak greek, or latin, or science

[@jasperzanjani]

@@achi-leanathlos8376 all that science you speak won't grow your hair back

[@insignificantduck313]

So you're telling me I could potentially scream at a moth and startle it.

[@nickporter4279]

If lepidopterans had ears before bats evolved, it makes me wonder what noises pterosaurs made...

[@bretthess6376]

They were terribly rude. Where were their parents?

[@davidegaruti2582]

WRYYYYYY

[@NinjaTyler]

@@davidegaruti2582 oraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraORA!!!

[@Gasmaskmax]

at least we know that their p was silent

[@bounce9568]

@@Gasmaskmax 😳

[@MrRYANG96]

Nice to see a moth & butterfly topic, they don't get much notice on insect-related videos

[@ryankasch5561]

Been binge watching your vids the past week, first video I've seen close after it's been posted. Anyways, love the videos and I think you'll get bigger given that I personally was just recommended your channel out of the blue and hadn't searched for any topic you've covered, so it appears the algorithm favors you!

[@jakobraahauge7299]

His speak is just sooo nice! 🥰

[@SeanTrn]

Same here with him randomly showing up in my recommended. I'm happy the algorithm favors him. Great channel

[@stefanottomanski]

Fascinating stuff, well presented. Would love to see some more about evolution of insects and other small invertebrates

[@Paul-ou1rx]

Me: Moths have ears and a proboscis? Moths: This is what it sounds like when doves cry.

[@Paulito-ym4qc]

8:04 Moth 1: I use my highly developed mouth tool to drink the tears of my enemies, while they rest beneath the silent moon Moth 2: hehe animal poo

[@LuCa8_]

Im really glad ur channel is getting big I’ve been a fan for awhile so it’s nice to see a KZbinr growing.

[@NSC609]

Your videos are always interesting you do great job congratulations

[@Kretek]

I like moths. They are fluffy and cute.

[@theworthysoul]

Some of us hate on moths when they're the ancestors of the butterflies everyone loves. Show moths some respect!

[@cicadeus7741]

That video of a butterfly cleaning itself is my new favourite thing

[@samuelcid1726]

Bin here since 2k Buddy, Proud of ur channel growing

[@invisiblejaguar1]

And now lepidoptera is even more fascinating than I gave them credit for

[@Otanisushi08]

wow days ago i was actually thinking how Butterflies evolve to what they're today, and now i see this ❤️

[@jakobraahauge7299]

Ooh! ASMR and learning! Your speak is just amazing, it's so soothing! And the graphics - and content - is awesome! Thank you! 😚♥️

[@thecreepycuck6036]

Your channel name: moth light media This video: moths. 😏

[@eviljoel]

Congratulations, you can read. Want a medal?

[@stefanostokatlidis4861]

Why is it impossible that before the appearance of modern flowers a whole other world of gymnosperm false flowers existed with other types of pollinating insects? After all, many modern gymnosperms have structures equivalent to the flowers and use insects.

[@maximilianaltenkirch6694]

I read that the cycads might have been pollinated by ancient relatives of scorpionflies

[@bretthess6376]

Well considered.

[@VictorAdad]

Angiosperms have been dated at ~175 Million years ago by recent analysis. So they appeared during the Jurassic, not the Cretaceous.

[@tonysposito2826]

This channel is better and more informative than anything I ever did at school.....mmmmh, you don’t know what you wanted till you see it.

[@DeathbyProxy]

I’m very scared of butterflies and moths, but this video is very interesting!

[@jasperzanjani]

what a great video, I never would have researched any of this on my own, and it's fascinating to think that animals so common were once an intrusive newcomer. I guess you had to do a moth video eventually, considering your channel's name...

[@ajackass5950]

Imagine waking up in the middle of the night to a moth suckling on your eye

[@austinarciaga9159]

love your videos man! keep up the good work!

[@idpro83]

Thank you for your videos. They are very interesting and I've learned a lot from them.

[@kyleshore9591]

Very good channel. No bullshit gimmicks, just good, dry information.

[@goldenoriolesilverbirch8220]

Interesting. I enjoy seeing the Micropterix Calthi ( probably misspelt ) on Buttercups, munching the pollen each Spring.

[@alexanderpovey1973]

what is the music you use?

[@kelvinsinconsolableproduct1646]

I've been asking the same thing

[@IRosamelia]

06:54 what a 70s disco stylish look *AWESOME* anyone know its name? 🦋

[@stewsc9]

Thank you so much for focusing on other topics, besides dinosaurs, in Paleo!!!

[@rexmagi4606]

*Bird wakes up in the middle of the night to a strange sensation in its eye* "W..who are you!?" Moth: "The Devil".

[@Mythographology]

The evolution of butterflies!!!! Really!!!! Are you trying to seduce me? Fabulous content, absolutely superb.

[@cerridianempire1653]

if the bug is flying and its not a butterfly or a moth it must die

[@seanpalmer5885]

Lepidoptera means scaled wings not scaled insect

[@endersquid1132]

8:16 imagine a moth flying into your house at night, mistaking you for a large beard, and then drinking your tears

[@ShmooZeroOmega]

More insect videos, plz? Maybe the evolution of eusociality, that'd be neat.

[@joeking3282]

I'd love to see a vid on the evolution of the cocoon

[@jacobpothaar4044]

Yes, I would like to hear the evolutionists story on that one

[@dimetrodon2250]

"first came the bees" pollenating beetles: am I a joke to you?

[@saga960]

The moths drinking the tears of birds caught me off guard, it is just absolutely historical. 😆

[@CrimsonFox36]

I love moths because they are floofy

[@johnr8996]

Moth light media, Trey the explainer and Ben g Thomas need to collaborate a video

[@yvessioui2716]

Some moths get to feed from liquid on cadavers, probably liquid from bacterial decomposition or some exhudation. I caught some species on fish remains relatiely frexh. They were clearly sucking from some liquid at the surface of those remains at night AND under daylight.

[@jjbentley9]

Butterfly evolved from moths they are a type of moth that can see during the day light.

[@justsomeguywithoutabeard.9973]

I don't even know why I'm watching butterfly evolution at 3 AM in morning

[@2345Z]

Now I want to know the history of when metamorphosis began and the evolution of larvae.

[@joshhyyym]

0:43 the scales don't contain coloured pigment, their colour is actually caused by the interference of light due to the structure of the scale. So, if you crush up blue scales you will not get a blue powder as the structure will be destroyed.

[@jainendrasingh8080]

Underrated chanel

[@masotan152]

Thank you for this video keep up the good work❤👌👍

[@scheimong]

Someone probably has mentioned this somewhere, but I'll just put it here for good measure. Can you hear a very slight blank noise in your voiceover track? It seems to be an issue in all your videos, albeit it has gotten a little better compared to the older ones. Just something I noticed that I thought your might want to look into.

[@MrSaemichlaus]

Imagine an animal a fifth your size sneaking up on you at night and sucking tears from your eyes. Bet they don't even pay sales tax on that.

[@beula1703]

I really like this

[@fredfoulkes1521]

Brilliantly interesting video!

[@oranplan1630]

for a video about butterflies, there's a suspicious amount of moths... but that's about what I'd expect from a channel called 'Moth Light Media'

[@brianorr308]

I love this evolution and even seeing some of the primitive forms. My wonder is the change of an aquatic larval period like in caddisflies to a terrestrial one in modern moths

[@dougthedonkey1805]

Moths: “hey man can I copy your homework” Bees: “yeah just change it up a little so that nobody notices” Moths: *turns into butterflies*

[@MaestroLives]

Their scales don’t “contain pigment” they are clear and use light refraction to display those colors. Mind blowing I know.

[@ZetaEntity101]

This was a little bit something to learn about butterflies 🦋

[@samiamrg7]

What sugary food sources would have been available before the evolution of flowers and fruit? Tree sap? That’s the knly one I can think of.

[@kage769]

Wonderful video but I think that the saying 'evolved X so that they could X' is used too often and gives the impression that there was an intention by the species to develop that new thing. It may be good to at least once in a while state that evolution is simply the ones that don't get caught and eaten, or managed to catch prey more effectively. They managed these things because of a slight mutation or variation that gave them an advantage and so that version of the species thrived. It may seem obvious to those that study it, but there are some that don't tend to be aware and good education allows all levels to be included and taught.

[@gregoryfenn1462]

Super fascinating! But still, these creatures are hideous and give me the shivers when around.

[@bretthess6376]

What, BUTTERFLIES? HIDEOUS? SHIVERS? I take it you are an infrequent camper, as all those big scary flutterbyes would send you screeching in dismay into the nearest structure to escape their fierce jaws.

[@marccolten9801]

But no mention of the most interesting part of butterflies and moths - metamorphosis. A fascinating adaptation that allows them to completely change creatures.

[@tonysims111]

The other difference is that Butterflies have an erratic flight that makes them hard to catch. The Australian Noisy Miner (a Honeyeater Bird) pursues Moths, but ignores Butterflies (personal obsevation).

[@apdroidgeek1737]

I also notice that moths doesnt fly as much as butterfly and doesnt react as fast, i use to catch butterflies and they always fly away the moment i get near, but when i encounter a moth they wouldn't even react when i touch them.

[@aum3.146]

great nature channel

[@geoffreyM2TW]

It's very rare to hear someone in a youtube videoclip pronouncing scientific names correctly. Great video, too!

[@Katze822228]

wow i just realized by watching this video that the word Germans use most commonly to describe butterflies actually is the word for Lepidoptera. If you look up that word (Schmetterling) pretty much everywhere its being translated to butterfly but that translation is wrong. Butterfly actually translates to "Tagfalter" (day Lepidoptera) and moth translates to "Nachtfalter" (night Lepidoptera). We also have a similar word to moth (motte) which is only used for a selection of small moths. I got pretty confused before i knew all this when i started watching this video

[@napalmholocaust9093]

My arch nemesis is a hawk moth. The dreaded squad vine borer.

[@freddypedraza2066]

Humans just invented light bulbs and the bats started to win the evolutionary war

[@chheinrich8486]

butterflies and moths, taking the proportional size of their wings to the extrem for over 100 million yeras

[@CookKidOfficial]

I can’t believe there was a chance of bats that weren’t nocturnal

[@TheAmazinRaven]

The ultra violet butterfly omg 🤯

[@Myemnhk]

I love how just in 2 million years humans have changed so much yet in 100 million years moths barely have

[@jkjjkjuobguiuyhbnkkk]

they evolve a lot, some are evolving to not be attracted to light(as an article said) and some are still evolving to protect themselves, butterflies haven't in really long though, as far as i know

[@theoccidilian4896]

Scales also help to not stick to spider webs

[@IanCookUS]

@0:33 lepidoptera means 'scaled wings'

[@dynamosaurusimperious6341]

Now I know the evolution of butterflies.

[@stianbirkholz]

Make a video on the Stegosaur or the Stegosauria sub-family.

[@edwhatshisname3562]

Sonar absorbing scales? I wonder if that would work with submarines as well.

[@weirdyoutubevideostowatcha9931]

You make really good vids even though I’ve only watched 5

[@_-Dante-_]

I remember reading about cases of certain Butterflies (maybe moths not sure?) using their probiscus to fucKIN DRINK OTHER INSECTS

[@bcast9978]

A moth went into a podiatrist's office.

[@chrisball3778]

It doesn't really make sense to discuss lepidopterans only in terms of their adult forms (imagos). Many of them only spend a short portion of their overall life cycle in this state, and will spend much longer as caterpillars and chrysalises. In these species, the imago's primary purpose is to find a mate and breed, and evolution has optimised them for this purpose, rather than any other. Butterflies are highly conspicuous and distinctive so that members of the same species can find eachother easily. Most of their calories over their life cycle will be consumed in the caterpillar stage, so their primary food source is often leaves, not flowers. It is not unusual in flying insects for the imago stage to lack the ability to feed entirely (e.g. mayflies and periodical cicadas). So long as they can store enough energy as juveniles to find a mate and a safe place to lay their eggs before they starve to death, feeding as adults is unnecessary. I don't know whether this is a common strategy in lepidopterans or not, but it would have been entirely possible for them to evolve it, or to have evolved from insects that used it. Similarly, the evolution of bats could still have caused modern butterflies to evolve, as it would have created an evolutionary pressure to reproduce faster. Flying by day and becoming more colourful could have sped up the mate-finding process, so makes sense as an evolutionary response to new night-flying predators, even with all the day-flying predators that already existed.

[@TheRonaldbaxter]

Great video. Really useful information. I work in conservation and will share. 👍

[@darrencaldwell3703]

dope ass butterflies

[@vassa1972]

Interesting video

[@2msvalkyrie529]

Yes , but what came first .? Pollinated flowers or butterflies .Or simultaneously .

[@ToastCarnotaurus]

And that is why without moths butterflies wouldn't exist and why people should stop hating on moths

[@rowanheart8122]

When I was little, I was told that if I touched a butterflies wing, even lightly, I would rub off the scales and it wouldn't be able to fly

[@FixedFace]

dito

[@danilonascimento9866]

Please, refrain from using the expression: "Living Fossils." Your channel has a good productio, well written scripts and is very informative. Thankyou for your videos.

[@valeriavagapova]

May I ask why? (the living fossils bit)

[@danilonascimento9866]

​@@valeriavagapova Primarily, because it is a oxymoron who became popularized as a buzzword. Second: as a expression, is devoided of any cientific meaning or value. The PBS Eons channel has a very good video about that. (sorry for the poor english) kzbin.info/www/bejne/o4HZi51ogMidd7s

[@spacecadet28]

What word or phrase would you prefer to refer to an animal or plant that is morphologically the same in the past as now?

[@spiderdog07]

@@spacecadet28 I'm personally okay with the term living fossil since it conveys a "primitive" animal. Even if evolution still occurs. I think if Moth Light said "is considered a living fossil" that would convey the same meaning while removing the implication that the animal has not evolved at all

[@danilonascimento9866]

​@Donald Piniach I'm calm. And much enjoyed the video! I'm not policing, I just made a suggestion about only one expression and explained to the woman above why I think this observation was relevant. This is an educational channel about a science field and, to science and education, is very important to handle well criticism and try to improve. To educate is also important to be clear and concise, the problem is not about being "poetical" or about a subconcious projection, it is about convey information clearly, in what I think this channel succeed exceptionally.

[@toascranill5464]

So this means the TRUE nemesis of Batman would be Mothman

[@mrmotionman665]

Beetles were pollinators way before Bees evolved into pollinating.

[@remtheram1979]

A moth living on the sadness of others..

[@thomasedgerley7453]

Finally a moth video

[@nt5083]

So if I wear UV reflecting material, like sunglasses for instance, will I attract butterflies since they can see ultraviolet light?

[@brianedwards7142]

There are so few butterfly fossils because they were trodden on by time travelling big game hunters and their bodies were caught up in the mud on their boots only to be noticed back in the future.

[@larslionheart]

Moths are just 3 steps ahead in terms of evolution it seems

[@atti1120]

Isn't their color often not due to pigments but the microstructures of their wings interacting with light?

[@GustafUNL]

you are gud youtuber