Between droughts, super storms and wildfires, it’s easy to overlook some of the smaller, more subtle effects of climate change. As the planet warms, populations of plants and animals shift, adjusting their territories to deal with new conditions. A paper published last year in Nature Climate Change reported on the movement of southern butterfly species in the US. Many are packing up and moving north, establishing themselves in new sites. Subtropical and warm climate butterflies have shown the greatest movement. While southern pollinators are traveling towards states like Massachusetts, more than 75 percent of northern species have shown a decline in population, with those that overwinter eggs and larvae showing the fastest reduction in numbers. This is most likely due to the presence of drought and lack of snow cover resulting from global warming.

Read the rest of Southern Species of US Butterflies are Moving North as Climate Shifts

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: aphrodite fritillary, Atlantis, Butterflies, Climate Change, escalator effect, frosted elfin, global warming, greg breed, Massachusetts, massachusetts butterfly club, nature climate change, US

Butterflies are beautiful, delicate marvels of nature. While their lovely appearance may be inspiring, there’s nothing a butterfly can teach us about renewable energy – or is there? An ambitious University of Pennsylvania professor named Shu Yang recently used holographic lithography to develop a material that mimics the iridescent and water-resistant qualities of butterfly wings. The project garnered enough attention that the teacher landed a grant to develop butterfly-inspired hydrophobic coatings for drier, cleaner and hence more efficient solar panels.

Read the rest of Scientist Develops Water-Resistant Solar Panel Coatings Inspired by Iridescent Butterfly Wings

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Butterflies, butterfly wings, holographic lithography, Shu Yang, solar efficiency, solar panels, University of Pennsylvania

Read the rest of Artist Carlos Amorales Covers Entire Rooms with Thousands of Black Paper Moths

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: art installation, Black Cloud, black cloud installation, black moths, Butterflies, Carlos Amorales, Espacio AV, moths, Yvon Lambert, Yvon Lambert Gallery

It’s been well over a year since a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. During early stages of the fallout, Japanese officials insisted that radioactive contamination did not pose a serious danger to humans or the environment, but in the months that followed, evidence has suggested otherwise. A study published recently in the journal Nature provides evidence that the collapse of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant released a huge amount of radioactive materials into the environment. According to the research, this contamination is already causing physiological and genetic damage to a species of butterfly that used to be common in the region.

Read the rest of Mutant Butterflies Found in Japan After Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Butterflies, earthquake, Fukushima, genetic mutation. nuclear fallout, Japan, radiation, tsunami

Read the rest of 6 Mind-Boggling Examples of Intricate Tiny Art

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: anastassia elias, Anja Markiewicz, Art, bonsai, brazilian art, british art, Butterflies, Cardboard Toilet Paper Rolls, castles, chinese art, Dalton Ghetti, Dragonflies, ephemeral art, Ephemeral Pictures, Foliages Art, French Art, german art, Japanese art, Japanese Bonsai Series, Kyle Beans, Leaves carving, Matchsticks art, Mona Lisa, Paper origami, Pencil Tips, pencils, Recyclable cardboard, Sustainable Materials, Takanori Aiba, Tiny Origami

Read the rest of Christopher Marley’s Mesmerizing Insect Mosaics Help Preserve Critical Habitats

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Art, bug mosaics, bus, Butterflies, christopher marley, eco design, eco-art, environmental art, green art, green design, habitat preservation, Habitats, insect mosaics, insects, Mosaics, pheromone, sustainable art

Read the rest of Stunning ‘Virtue of Blue’ Chandelier Made From 500 Fluttering Solar Butterflies

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "solar energy", Art, Butterflies, Chandelier, eco design, eco-art, green design, Jeroen Verhoeven, solar butterflies, Solar cells, solar chandelier, solar light, Solar Power, solar-powered, sustainable design, virtue of blue

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: art installation, Butterflies, eco design, eco-art, Eiji Watanabe, green art, green design, illustrated field guides, Japan, sustainable design

On October 14th, British artist Damien Hirst’s butterfly painting I Am Become Death, Shatterer of Worlds (2006) sold for 2,2 million pounds (3,5 million dollars) at Christie’s auction in London. This may not be such a shocking figure, considering his pickled shark sold for 17 million pounds in 2008. Nonetheless, it’s a piece of art evoking quite disturbing feelings and questions of life and death – not to mention animal rights.

Read the rest of Art Made From Thousands of Butterfly Wings Sells for £2 Million

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Auction, Butterflies, butterfly wing art, Christie´s, controversial, Damien Hirst, eco-art, green design, green materials, sustainable design