GAINESVILLE, Florida (KXAN) — Did you ever wonder where butterflies came from? A recently published research paper has revealed a surprising origin: North and Central America.

The paper, published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, examined DNA from nearly 2,300 species of butterfly. The team used the data to develop a family tree and track down where the species came from.

Turns out, butterflies evolved from nocturnal moths around 101.4 million years ago.

According to the National Science Foundation, after the death of the dinosaurs, bats grew in numbers. With moths facing a new threat, they began to take flight during the day, feeding on nectar from flowers.

The researchers used fossil records to connect the family tree they developed to North and Central America. 11 fossils that had been traced to the geological age were used to do this. According to the paper, butterfly fossils are rare.

Tracing butterfly migration

Using the new family tree, the researchers traced the movements of butterflies over millions of years. After leaving North and Central America, they made their way to South America.

About 90 million years ago, they first appeared in Australia, reaching Asia about 75 million years ago. Europe was the last continent to see butterflies migrating there, around 30 million years ago.

According to the researchers, data about butterfly migration wasn’t digitized and was in multiple languages prior to this paper.

Akito Y. Kawahara with the Florida Museum of Natural History served as lead author of the paper. Research results were supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation.