Flights of Fancy and Findings

Who hasn't lingered to watch the beauty of a monarch butterfly? Here one pauses to feed on the nectar of a summer flower.

Last summer, the beloved butterfly became a topic of widespread interest following a piece in the journal Nature that indicated genetically improved Bt corn, which produces its own insecticide, might also increase risk to butterflies. At issue was whether the small amount of pollen spread outside corn fields could affect butterfly larvae in the natural habitat as they feed on milkweed plants. University of Maryland entomologist Galen Dively is a part of a nine-member team drawn from six major public universities conducting research on milkweed distribution, pollen movement, monarch biology and the biochemistry of Bt pollen. Dively says that the findings to date indicate the concerns were largely overblown by media reports. The good news: entomologists are looking more closely at the nontargeted effects of transgenic crops not considered before the published report.
--DB