Pollen metabarcoding reveals the origin and multigenerational migratory pathway of an intercontinental-scale butterfly outbreak. undefined

We collected 264 specimens of Vanessa cardui (Painted Lady, Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in 14 different countries/areas over the course of 9 months (March - November) in 2019. After pollen was collected from the bodies, metabarcoding was performed to determine pollen species composition to test whether the method is applicable to track migratory routes of long-distance migratory butterflies such as Vanessa cardui.