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These Butterflies Can Live 25 Times Longer Than Their Relatives. They Might Provide Insights Into Healthy Aging in Humans
Key takeaways
- Once one emerges from its chrysalis, it usually flies around for just a few weeks, then it dies.
- Although they still don’t know exactly what those mechanisms are, the findings point to a new way to understand healthy aging, which may translate to other animals, including humans.
- Lifespans among Heliconius butterflies and their kin can vary widely.
Louise Bestea Most butterflies have short lives. Once one emerges from its chrysalis, it usually flies around for just a few weeks, then it dies. But some species of tropical butterfly can live for up to almost a year, making them downright geriatric.
Butterflies in the Heliconius genus, which reside in the rainforests of South and Central America, have evolved mechanisms that allow them to age far more slowly than their peers, researchers report in the journal Nature Communications on June 16. Although they still don’t know exactly what those mechanisms are, the findings point to a new way to understand healthy aging, which may translate to other animals, including humans.
Lifespans among Heliconius butterflies and their kin can vary widely. Heliconius hewitsoni, for instance, has been observed to live up to 348 days, while its close relative Dione juno has been reported to live for merely 14 days—a 25-fold difference.