The genome sequence of Trichoplusia ni enables the use of this widespread lepidopteran pest as a model for both the study of small RNA pathways and insecticide resistance.

Novel virus-host systems yield insights into how Lepidopterans (moths and butterflies) combat RNA virus infection and reveal that poxvirus A51R proteins can suppress the host's immune system and stabilize microtubules in host cells.

In moths, male receptors tuned to type I female pheromones may not have a monophyletic origin.

The gustatory receptor PxylGr34 is tuned to the steroid plant hormone brassinolide and mediates the deterrent effects of brassinolide on feeding and ovipositing behaviors in Plutella xylostella.

CenH3, the defining component of centromeres in almost all eukaryotes, was independently lost in four insect lineages that transitioned from monocentricity to holocentricity.

The enzyme that allows some mites and insects to detoxify the hydrogen cyanide produced by plants has been identified.

Artificial selection on wing color and CRISPR/Cas9 knockout of the optix gene both alter scale lamina thickness in Junonia coenia, which shifts structural color wavelength and mimics macroevolutionary butterfly diversity.

The synthesis capability of some amino acids is lost during the insect evolution, and hymenopteran parasitoids can make up for these deficiencies by altering free amino acid concentrations in host.

Genome engineering and phenotyping in vivo reveal surprising new features of adaptive amino acid substitutions that were previously inaccessible.

Poxin enzymes are a diverse family of insect and viral 2′3′-cGAMP nucleases, which evolved from self-cleaving RNA virus accessory proteases.