'Geriatric' butterfly species lives nearly three times as long as their relatives

A tropical butterfly has evolved an ingenious anti-aging strategy by delaying the aging process, enabling it to live far longer than its closest relatives, according to a new University of Bristol-led study published in Nature Communications. Found throughout the tropical rainforests of South and Central America, butterflies of the Heliconius tribe are among the longest-lived species ever recorded and could provide a new model for studying the biology of longevity.