Name: How Did This Butterfly Get So Old?
Uploaded: undefined
Duration: undefined

Nova

While most butterflies feed on nectar only, this genus of butterfly also feeds on pollen.

A special diet could be the secret to its exceptional longevity.

How Did This Butterfly Get So Old?

Koch Foundation

NOVA Science Trust Logo

While most butterflies feed on nectar only, this genus of butterfly also feeds on pollen.

A special diet could be the secret to its exceptional longevity.

Nature

How Did This Butterfly Get So Old?Published: February 3, 2022Narrator: Many butterflies live only for a few weeks, but one called Heliconius stands out with a lifespan closer to six months.Adriana Briscoe: One of the ways we think they can live so long is because they have changed their diet.Lawrence Gilbert: They live a long time because they have developed this ability to harvest pollen.Narrator: While most butterflies feed mainly on nectar, Heliconius adds pollen to its diet. The pollen sticks to the entire length of its proboscis. The pollen might keep the butterfly healthy, but Adriana has found a possible medical application derive from the way Heliconius digest the nutrient. She's collaborating with chemist Rachel Martin.Briscoe: This is the part of the proboscis where fluids can go in and they can also go out.Rachel Martin: I was really fascinated to find out that it acts like a sponge. I was kind of always picturing this being like a giant drinking straw.Briscoe: Oh yeah, no. You can see that there are these ridges shown in green and those are perfect grooves for pollen to get stuck in, when the butterflies probe the flower and the pollen grains start to get stuck in those grooves. The butterflies then release saliva from the tip of their proboscis and that starts to glue things together.Martin: It makes sense that the butterfly would have enzymes that are really optimized for getting into those little nooks and crannies and digesting the protein because pollen is about 20% protein. So it is a lot.Narrator: The Heliconius' long life might be explained in part by this intake of high protein pollen, which it actually digests on the outside of its proboscis. Thanks to a very particular type of enzyme.Briscoe: That enzyme is known as cocoonase because it was originally discovered in silk moths. Silk moths have one version of this enzyme, which they use to digest their silk cocoons so they can escape. If that enzyme is not functioning, they die in their cocoons.Narrator: By extracting this cocoonase enzyme to reproduce its dissolving properties on a large scale, Adriana hopes to alleviate potentially serious medical conditions like blood clots.Briscoe: Blood clots are very common in the United States. It turns out you can take cocoonase and in a test tube, you can mix it up with a blood clot and it'll break it down into its component parts.

United States

Northern Mariana Islands

Puerto Rico

American Samoa

Guam

U.S. Virgin Islands

U.S. Minor Outlying Islands

US & Territories

NOVA investigates the story of cannabis from the criminalization that has disproportionately harmed communities of color to the latest medical understanding of the plant. What risks does cannabis pose to the developing brain? How much do we know about its potential medical benefits? As cannabis becomes socially accepted, scientists are exploring its long-term health consequences. (Premiered September 29, 2021)Check out a previously recorded panel discussion and audience Q&amp;A featuring experts and producers from "The Cannabis Question" <a href="https://youtu.be/nSTT5RZ_hxA">here</a>.

As state-legalized cannabis spreads, NOVA explores its little-known risks and benefits.

The Cannabis Question

A 2006 composite image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Telescope shows the chaos of baby stars in the Orion nebula some 1,500 light-years away. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/STScI

With the upcoming launch of the James Webb Space Telescope, the Hubble era is gradually drawing to a close. Here are some highlights from the countless wonders Hubble has shown us during its 31 years in space.

10 spectacular Hubble Space Telescope images

A statue of Zheng He at the Sam Poo Kong Temple in Java, Indonesia. Image Credit: Budianto Santosa, Shutterstock

In the 1400s, Zheng He sailed thousands of miles around Asia and Africa in ships the size of soccer fields, spreading Chinese innovations like compasses and gunpowder in the process.

How Did This Butterfly Get So Old?

Support Provided By

Explore More

How the Morpho Butterfly Gets its Iridescent Color

Butterfly Blueprints

These Super Rare Butterflies Thrive on Army Bases. The U.S. Military is Helping Them.

Transcript

Credits

Support Provided By

Explore More

How the Morpho Butterfly Gets its Iridescent Color

Butterfly Blueprints

These Super Rare Butterflies Thrive on Army Bases. The U.S. Military is Helping Them.