10-11-2021 – During her internship in Naturalis, the natural history museum in Leiden, 18-year-old VET student Noortje Looijenga discovered a new butterfly species. Noortje, a second-grade student in applied biology, has a long-standing interest in butterflies.
She specialised in the Cyme reticulata butterfly species, whose habitat is in New Guinea. The collection manager, during his many visits in this area, noticed that the Cyme reticulata appears in many variations, which might indicate that there are more than one species. It was Noortje’s task to find out whether this is true. Her research confirmed the collection manager’s hypothesis. To make sure, Noortje contacted Anton Volynkin, a Russian specialist in Cyme butterflies, who confirmed her conclusion.
Read the full news item on the Cedefop site.