It's easy to crave cute and fluffy animals, but many creatures that are obviously not so cute in nature also have their fans. In the first of a series of articles, science writer Victoria Neblik and Hungarian scientist Zsolt Balint first discussed men and women who live on insects.
Dr. Zsolt Balint is a world expert in lycaenid butterflies, and he is passionate about his wild boar call. He is also my former collaborator, so I can arrange his short interview, listen to the joy of the high Andes, and why the butterfly is the flash of the rainforest -
VN] What is the most attractive insect?
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ZsB] "People often think that working in entomology is curious, but I am curious not to be interested in insects." Of the thousands of animals around us, 988 are insects or related animals. You can't fire ants, flies, moths, spiders, and of course butterflies in everyday life. If you understand them, you will understand why they invite your garden, sometimes even your house. "
VN] How did you get interested in entomology?
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ZsB] In a hot, humid summer, when I was five years old, I met a group of hundreds of blue butterflies who drank water in a puddle on the asphalt that I lived in front of the house in Lake Balaton. . I also hope to keep this moment forever. The next day, I built my first butterfly net and made my first butterfly.
VN] What is special about Lycaenids compared to other butterfly groups?
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ZsB] lycaenids is a delicate and poorly understood family of butterflies, so this is what I have seen: exploring these previously neglected animals. At first glance, lycaenids are not so colorful and have large shapes of butterflies, but if you look closely and have the insight of the scorpion, you will find the opposite: the carnival on the oddly shaped wings.
VN] In the past few years, you have been involved in a European project to investigate insect coloring: Does lycaenids show an unusually wide range of colors?
ZsB] With our current knowledge, we are not sure that lycaenids are more colorful than other butterfly families. But even a small subset of the species in this group can see a wide variety of color definitions, especially in the tropics. They are matte in color and are suitable for camouflage or imitate other butterflies. They have bright colors that can act as signals and advertise their presence to other butterflies. In fact, if you walk along the forest path in the rainforest, like walking on a very busy avenue, there are many flashing advertisements, cars and ambulances.
VN] As a scientist, one of the biggest benefits of life is travel opportunities - in fact, it can be said that travel is very important for scientists - I am here to think about how Darwin's voyage on the Beagle makes him discover evolutionary theory. And Alfred Russell-Wallace's discovery of the Wallace line - but I suspect that most scientists have their own story about the impact of travel on their research: please tell me about your travel experience and what it is for you. Does the work have an impact?
ZsB] During my Ph.D., I spent a month in the Andes, studying the lycaenid butterflies of the High Andes, where they are little known. This is an unforgettable time in my life. The travel of scientists is a must, not only to participate in expeditions around the world, to find new species of butterflies, but also to attend international conferences and visit museum collections. For the past ten years, I have been fortunate to work in Lima, New York, Paris, London, Vienna and Krakow - just to name a few famous cities; this may seem overexpressive or an excuse for holidays, but Please believe me: The reason I visit all these places is because of their butterflies.
Orignal From: Passionate people - Hungarian scientist Zsolt Balint in the butterfly
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