Butterfly populations across the United States are in alarming decline, according to a 2025 study in Science, with total abundance falling by 22% in just 20 years. ⁠ ⁠ Such widespread and worrisome losses portend broader environmental threats and emphasize the urgent need for conservation action. “Our national-scale findings paint the most complete—and concerning—picture of the status of butterflies across the country in the early 21st century,” write the authors.⁠ ⁠ The authors also note that butterflies have the potential for rapid recovery under favorable conditions, highlighting the importance of proactive conservation strategies to prevent further declines and to support long-term population stability.⁠ Learn more: scim.ag/3FaRKdU #ScienceMagArchives

The evolution of the human brain may owe as much to fruit and honey as to meat, according to a new Science Analytical Review. The findings challenge one of the dominant ideas about our ancestors' diet. Learn more: scim.ag/4wt6Xfg

The evolution of the human brain may owe as much to fruit and honey as to meat, according to a new #ScienceAnalyticalReview. The findings challenge one of the dominant ideas about our ancestors' diet. Learn more: scim.ag/4wt6Xfg

Between June 2024 and January 2025, a full 62% of commercial honey bee colonies in the United States died, according to an extensive survey.⁠ ⁠ As soon as scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) caught wind of the die-offs, they sprang into action—but their efforts were slowed by a series of federal funding cuts and layoffs. 6 months later, USDA scientists finally identified a culprit.⁠ ⁠ According to a preprint posted last June, nearly all the dead colonies tested positive for bee viruses spread by parasitic mites. Alarmingly, every single one of the mites the researchers screened was resistant to amitraz, the only viable mite-specific pesticide—or miticide—of its kind left in humans’ arsenal.⁠ ⁠ Tracking the rise of miticide resistance is critical, experts say. Honey bees pollinate more than 90 commercial crops in the U.S., generate between $20 billion and $30 billion in agricultural revenue, and play a key role in keeping the U.S. food supply stable.⁠ Learn more on #NationalHoneyBeeDay: scim.ag/3TW8UmR

Homing pigeons orient themselves by the Sun’s position under sunny skies and rely on their magnetic sense when it is cloudy. Under overcast conditions, homing pigeons with their normal liver macrophages had little issue flying a 19-kilometer route for which they had been trained. When injected with clodronate liposomes that knocked out the liver macrophages, the pigeons could navigate the route without issue when it was sunny. Under overcast skies, however, homing pigeons with depleted liver macrophages struggled mightily to find their way home—suggesting the immune cells play a role in the birds’ magnetic sense. Learn more: scim.ag/4gNldvl @NewsfromScience