A Caligo butterfly from the family Nymphalidae, transitions (wait for it) from the beautiful top side to the underside which acts as a camouflage for the insect. Butterflies and moths appear to be very delicate creatures, and yet they turn out to be much tougher — both in terms of their anatomy and survival skills — than previously imagined.
What is the evolutionary connection between the moth and the butterfly? Unlike dinosaurs, moths and butterflies do not have bones that can fossilize and preserve. Their many wing scales, however, are made of chitin, which is the primary component of hard natural materials like crustacean exoskeletons and cephalopod beaks.
The Late Triassic scales come from insects in the order Lepidoptera, which is the second largest order in the class Insecta and includes butterflies & moths, However, these butterflies evolved from moth-like ancestors.
About 70 sturdy of scales from their wings have been identified in a drilled core from northern Germany. The ancestors of today's moths and butterflies, therefore, date to at least the latter part of the Late Triassic (251–199 million years BCE). The findings, published in the journal Science Advances, extend the origin of these insects by 5 million years since the previously related fossil record-holders — from the United Kingdom — date to 195 million years ago. There is little doubt that dinosaurs and other iconic animals from the time saw the insects fluttering around them, just as many of us do today.
Thanks @davesweeneyphoto & @lookandseen
#Butterfly #Mariposa #Farfalla #Papillon #Borboleta #Fluture #Paruparo #Schmetterling #Drugelis #Sommerfug @atedge #Evolution #EvolutionaryBiology
Top Shot: A Bouquet in the Air | Photograph by Fumiya Hirano (@fumiya0408)
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#YourShotPhotographer Fumiya Hirano captured this spectacle of fireworks in the summer of 2017. Your Shot Producer David Y. Lee (@davidylee) writes “Wow. I love how wide you made this frame, visually revealing the size of the fireworks show in comparison to the city below. I love how there is a faint red glow behind the skyline on the left. I can only imagine how exciting this must have been to witness in real life. What a show!” This image was selected for the Daily Dozen on August 16, 2018.
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Top Shot features the photo with the most votes from the previous day’s Daily Dozen, 12 photos chosen by the Your Shot editors from thousands of recent uploads. Our community votes for their favorite photo from the selection, and the Top Shot is showcased on the @natgeoyourshot Instagram account.
Sleeping under the milky way in Finland! Tag your love one 
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Picture by 
@eljackson & @hilvees
#wonderful_places for a feature
GIVEAWAY! National Dog Day is 10 days away and we’d love to get two lucky pups ready for this very important holiday with some new swag from @lucyand.co. Here’s how to enter:
1. Follow @lucyand.co and tap the link in their bio
2. Comment here and tag one deserving friend, telling them which bandana is your favorite
That’s it! We’ll DM the lucky winner + lucky friend tomorrow!
Photo by @bunnymelv
Hello, world! Meet today’s #WeeklyFluff: Melvin and Bianca (@bunnymelv), two bunnies living their best cage-free life in Sweden. “Melvin and Bianca liked each other immediately, but have two very different personalities,” says their human, Felicia Ohlsson. “Melvin is very curious and outgoing and follows me around everywhere. Bianca is independent and has a lot of energy — she loves to climb on furniture and windowsills.”
With her account, Felicia hopes to educate others on keeping rabbits as cage-free pets. “The training process from caged to cage-free is quite simple but needs to be taken slowly,” she says. “But it’s all worth it, because bunnies make such great company.”
Shibuya Alleys
#HuaweiP20Pro
#followmeto magical Paris with @natalyosmann. ❍Comment here your wildest dream and I will share the best one in my stories!! ❍ Collaboration with the amazing @hobopeeba, inspired by one of the favorite animation films - “UP”. ❍❍❍❍❍❍❍❍❍❍❍
#следуйзамной в магический Париж. Коллаборация с замечательной @hobopeeba. Были вдохновновлены мультфильмом «Вверх».❍ Поделитесь в комментариях вашей самой большой мечтой и я опубликую лучшую в сториз! :) ❍
Photo by @renan_ozturk // The cigar smoke and dripping sweat seemed frozen by the first rays of sun down the narrow streets. Searching for the intersection of natural light and humanity, Old Havana, Cuba, 2016. ~
Follow @renan_ozturk for more images if adventure mixed with culture around the globe.