This is so finely tuned that butterflies with even slight deviations in colour pattern suffer from higher predation.

BBC: NEWS | Science/Nature | Two species become one in the lab

The technique is mainly passed from fathers to children or from masters to apprentices strictly following ancient Buddhist painting books that provide instruction on line and figure drawing, colour matching and pattern design.

UNESCO: Culture

But the bugs can also be orange in colour and checked in pattern.

BBC: NEWS | UK | Northern Ireland | Hunt on for 'deadly ladybird'

This pattern of digging for information, background and colour went on till late each evening.

BBC: By BBC News Online's Bob Eggington

This methylation pattern played as great a role in determining a mouse's coat colour as did the underlying gene sequence.

ECONOMIST: Genes are not all there is to heredity