Cubists are observing butterflies and addressing various research questions:
1)Studying the lifecycle of butterflies.
2)Identifying the host plant and determining the butterfly species.
3)Conducting comparative morphological studies with moths and fruit flies.
Whiteboard screenshots of Chatshaala:1/08/2024
Other research questions regarding the Butterfly model system:
Papilio polytes (Common Mormon) is a butterfly where the female mimics other poisonous butterflies, such as the Common Rose and the Crimson Rose.
Cubists are collecting caterpillars and eggs from curry leaf plants, as curry leaf is one of the host plants for the Common Mormon.
They are identifying butterflies like the Common Mormon and the Lime Butterfly by using the features of them .
What is special about Common mormon ? What are the colour pattern present in male and female in common mormon
Any guesses regarding A and B markings in the collage? @Amirtha CUBE @Nidhidevdas CUBE @Seethalakhmi @Thikan CUBE and others.
Are you agreeing the above labeling @Amirtha CUBE @Nidhidevdas CUBE ?
Development of Pupa into a Butterfly
An interesting research question addressed by Cubists is how the transformation from pupa to butterfly occurs.
Understanding this transition in butterflies and comparing it with that in fruit flies .
Today we had a very interesting session thanks to @Amirtha CUBE @~Pratibha Maharana @Arunan sir 
@~Batul Pipewala @Chithra Ma’am @~Ajita Banerjee @~GTP and others .What is the mystery behind pupa to a butterfly!?
Larva to pupa to a butterfly 
? Is there any drastic changes are happening? @~Pratibha Maharana @~Ajita Banerjee @Chithra Ma’am @~Batul Pipewala
Congratulations @~Batul Pipewala @~GTP @~Pratibha Maharana for propose a mechanism of wing formation in butterflies ? @~Pratibha Maharana can you please describe this whiteboard?
Follow up WhatsApp group discussions:
[03/08, 9:51 pm] Batil: During development, many organisms first develop miniature versions of their adult body structures, which eventually increase in size. However, Drosophila undergo substantial morphological changes during the life cycle, forming precursor structures during earlier molting stages that will not simply grow but be substantially transformed during metamorphosis. Adult flies have well-developed appendages (eyes, wings, legs, halteres, and genitals), while larvae require less complex structures for simple behaviors such as feeding or foraging. The structures that will give rise to external appendages in the adult remain protected within the larva. These precursor structures are referred to as “imaginal,” as they will give rise to the adult body structures known as the “imago
[03/08, 9:51 pm] Batul : The legacy of Drosophila imaginal discs - PMC
[03/08, 10:15 pm] Prathibha: In today’s Chatshaala, we were discussing the different stages of development in the butterfly with emphasis on the metamorphosis in the pupal stage that helps in the transition of a caterpillar to an adult butterfly.
It was concluded that in the pupal stage of the butterfly, there are specific regions called imaginal discs that develop into various organs like wings, legs, antennae, etc. by the process of cell division and differentiation with the help of different proteins and enzymes.
Discussion was about the host plants of butterflies and comparison with other organisms
What are the nectar feeding and larval host plants of Common mormon? @~Pratibha Maharana @Sakshi @~Smiti @~GTP and others .
@Amirtha CUBE @Anusreee SN college can you please share the photos of all the lifecycle studies that you did using Common mormon ? Have you got male and female common mormon? @~Sneha @Amirtha CUBE @~Snigahh! and others
Photo: Theertha
How do butterflies sense host plants?
Butterflies choose specific host plants for laying eggs, which serve as food for the caterpillars once they emerge.
Related References:
Swallowtail butterflies belonging to the family of Papilionidae selectively utilize a limited number of plants from a single or a few families. Female butterflies lay eggs on their host only when they detect specific chemicals through their foreleg chemosensilla while drumming on the leaf surface. Here we show that the butterfly, Papilio xuthus, uses a gustatory receptor specific for synephrine to select its host in oviposition behaviour. We identify a gustatory receptor gene involved in the recognition of an oviposition stimulant, synephrine, from the P. xuthus by a combination of in silico, in vitro and in vivo approaches. The receptor, PxutGr1, responds specifically to synephrine in Sf9 cells. The sensitivity of tarsal taste sensilla to synephrine and the oviposition behaviour in response to synephrine are strongly reduced after injecting double-stranded RNA of PxutGr1 into pupae. These observations indicate that the receptor PxutGr1 represents a key factor in host specialization in P. xuthus.
https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms1548
We discussed various receptors:
1)Chemoreceptors
Taste: Gustatory receptors
Smell: Olfactory receptors
2)Touch: Thigmoreceptors
3)Heat: Thermoreceptors
4)Mechanical stimulus: Mechanoreceptors
5)Light: Photoreceptors
Related references:
