# Naomi E. Pierce Sidney A. and John H. Hessel Professor of Biology Curator of Lepidoptera in the Museum of Comparative Zoology Senior Fellow of the Society of Fellows ![Naomi Pierce with long grey hair pulled back, glasses on head, dark sweater, light shirt, and colorful scarf](/sites/g/files/omnuum6811/files/styles/hwp_4_5__480x600/public/oeb/files/naomi_pierce_crop.jpeg?itok=7aZRL_nM) location\_on The Museum of Comparative Zoology Labs26 Oxford StreetCambridge, MA 02138 smartphone [617-495-2576](tel:617-495-2576) email laptop\_windows [Naomi Pierce Lab](http://piercelab.oeb.harvard.edu/) Faculty Support: [Maggie Starvish](/people/maggie-starvish) Research in our lab addresses the behavioral ecology of insects. We combine molecular systematics, field ecology, laboratory experiments and specimen-based museum surveys to analyze the ecology and evolution of symbiotic associations. Recent projects include analyses of ‘third party’ fungal and bacterial associations in African ant plants, evolution of caterpillar-ant associations in the Lycaenidae and other Lepidoptera, evolution of sensory perception and signaling in nocturnal and diurnal Lepidoptera, and biomimicry and engineering lessons drawn from the interaction between infrared light and the microstructures of insect cuticle. **Recent Publications** Palahi, A. Garcia-Berro, A. Dinca, V., Voda, R, Dapporto, L. Backström, N., Vila, R. **Pierce, N.E.** and G. Talavera. (2025). Trans-Atlantic dispersal and introgressin explain Holarctic disjunct distributions in *Vanessa* butterflies. *Molecular Ecology* 34: e17781. [https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.17781](https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__doi.org_10.1111_mec.17781&d=DwMFaQ&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=SKOCFW9cqFkJvRnq--RvOyNyi81h-R_yQHOlfX-5HMk&m=Ll4dC8IymMPsvAl3J0UP6x2KSz8ncNGQ0M1fIOFQQPT02o8kX7gFbt8p2194Ob6p&s=jn3C6ahZYiCjvZsyLSWz3jbr73LhKZaa1lh08sNOEXc&e=) Knecht, R.J., Benner, J.S., Swain, A., Azevedo-Schmidt, L., Cleal, C.J., Labandeira, C.C., Engel, M.S., Dunlop, J.A., Selden, P.A., Eble, C.F., Renczkowski, M.D., Wheeler, D.A., Funderburk, M.M., Knoll, A.H., and **N.E. Pierce** (2024). Early Pennsylvanian Lagerstätte reveals a diverse ecosystem on a subhumid, alluvial fan. *Nature Communications* 15: 7876 doi-org.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/10.1038/s41467-024-52181-0 Wang, Z., Huben, R., Boucher, P.B., Van Amburg, C., Zeng, J., Chung, N., Wang, J., King, J., Knecht, R.J., Ng’iru, I., Baraza, A., Baker, C.C.M., Martins, D.J., **Pierce, N.E.** and A.B. Davies. (2024). Automated detection of an insect-induced keystone vegetation phenotype using airborne LiDAR. *Methods in Ecology and Evolution* 15: 978-993 doi:10.1111/2041-210X.14298 Childers, R.A.R.\*, Bernard, G.D.\*, Huang, H., Tsai, C-C., Stoddard, M.C., Greenwood, J.S.F., Soucy, E.R., Hogan, H.G., Cornwall, M., Lim, M.L.M., Liénard, M.A., Yu, N. and **N.E. Pierce**. (2023). A hypothesis for robust polarization vision: An example from the Australian Imperial Blue butterfly, *Jalmenus evagoras. Journal of Experimental Biology* 226: jeb244515. doi:10.1242/jeb.244515/307064 Kawahara, A.Y.\*, Storer, C., Carvalho, A.P.S., Plotkin, D.M., Condamine, F., \[and 71 additional authors\], **N.E. Pierce**\* and D.J. Lohman\*. (2023). A comprehensive phylogeny of butterflies reveals their evolutionary history, ancestral hostplants, and biogeographic origins. *Nature Ecology and Evolution* 7: 903-913; [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-023-02041-9](https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.nature.com_articles_s41559-2D023-2D02041-2D9&d=DwMFaQ&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=SKOCFW9cqFkJvRnq--RvOyNyi81h-R_yQHOlfX-5HMk&m=Ll4dC8IymMPsvAl3J0UP6x2KSz8ncNGQ0M1fIOFQQPT02o8kX7gFbt8p2194Ob6p&s=nko48fOdotZkAKkRMigNKdOMj12W-xuq4KAbqA7YNhM&e=) Chan, W-P., Rabideau Childers, R., Ashe, S., Tsai, C-C., Elson, C., Keleher, K.J., Hawkins Sipe, R.L., Maier, C.A., Sourakov, A., Gall, L.F., Bernard, G.D., Soucy, E.R.,Yu, N. and **N.E. Pierce**. (2022). A high-throughput multispectral imaging system for museum specimens. *Communications Biology* 5: 1318 doi: 10.1038/s42003-022-04282-z **Pierce, N.E**. and E. Dankowicz. (2022). The natural history of caterpillar-ant interactions. In: *Caterpillars in the middle*, Robert J. Marquis and Suzanne Koptur (eds). Springer Nature Switzerland AG, pp. 319-391 Valencia-Montoya, W.A., T.B. Quental, J.F.R. Tonini, G. Lamas, G. Talavera, J.D. Crall, M.A. Liénard, S. Salzman, M.R.L. Whitaker, R.C. Busby, A.Y. Kawahara, D.J. Lohman, R.K. Robbins, and **N.E. Pierce**. (2021). Evolutionary tradeoffs of the hyperdiverse tribe Eumaeini (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae). *Proceedings of the Royal Society B* 288: 20202512 doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.2512 Liénard, M.A., Bernard, G.D., Allen, A.A., Lassance, J.-M., Song, S., Childers, R.R., Yu, N. Ye, D., Stephenson, A. Valencia-Montoya, W.A., Salzman, S., Whitaker, M.R.L., Calongje, M., Zhang, F. and **N.E. Pierce** (2021). The evolution of red color vision is linked to coordinated rhodopsin tuning in lycaenid butterflies. *Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA* 118: e2008986118 Tsai, C.-C., Childers, R.A., Shi, N.N., Ren, C., Pelaez, J.N., Bernard, G.D., **N.E. Pierce**\* and N. Yu\* (2020) Physical and Behavioral Adaptations to Beat the Heat in the Living Wings of Butterflies. *Nature Communications* 11:551. - ## Building [MCZ Labs](/building/mcz-labs) - ## Faculty Affiliation [Museum of Comparative Zoology](/faculty-affiliation/museum-comparative-zoology) - ## Lab Group [Naomi Pierce Lab Members](/lab-group/naomi-pierce-lab) - ## People [Faculty](/people/faculty) [Department Faculty](/people/department-faculty) - ## Research Areas [Evolution](/research-areas/evolution) [Behavior](/research-areas/behavior) [Biodiversity & Systematics](/research-areas/biodiversity-and-systematics) [Neuroethology & Behavioral Ecology](/research-areas/neuroethology-and-behavioral-ecology) - ## Search by Last Name [M-P](/search-last-name/m-p)