Scientist views butterflies as flying sculptures

In today’s Toronto Star, science reporter Peter Calamai describes results of investigations into the monarch butterfly’s navigational abilities, published online in periodicals from the Public Library of Science, PloS Biology and PloS ONE. Calamai interviews Dr. Steven Reppert, "the U.S. neurobiologist who led the seven-member research team." According to Calamai, Reppert

"... said studying a butterfly brain is much more physically challenging than studying the mouse, whose brain is pumpkin-sized in proportion to the monarch's. "I love butterflies. I think they're a metaphor for life. I view them as flying sculptures, which appeals to me as a scientist who has artistic leanings."

This quotes resonates with a thread on the Barque: Thomas Moore Forum about appreciating scientific knowledge and the unknowable.