This is the 93-year-old Xerces blue butterfly specimen that researchers collected tissue samples from for this study. Field Museum The Xerces blue butterfly has the dubious distinction of being the ...

It’s been roughly 80 years since the Xerces blue butterfly was last spotted flitting about on pastel wings across coastal California sand dunes. But scientists are still learning about the insect. The ...

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters. At Vox, our mission is to help you make sense of the world — and that work has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own. We ...

DNA extracted from a preserved 93-year-old Xerces blue butterfly confirms it is first known insect to go extinct from urbanization in the US. The butterfly, with stunning, iridescent periwinkle wings, ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- About 80 percent of all animals on the planet are insects, and the Enns Entomology Museum at the University of Missouri has one of the most important collections in the world. The ...

A butterfly that could be almost 400 years old has been discovered pressed between the pages of an ancient library book at Cambridge University. The perfectly preserved specimen, thought to be a small ...