The distinctive colours on the wings of butterflies and moths arise from intricate patterns of tiny scales.
The red or yellow in a wing comes from tiny grains of pigment on the scales.
The wings of butterflies and moths are pleasant to look at but the colours also serve vital functions.In some species they help attract mates and in some they save the insect from being eaten but not always by helping it to hide.
The brilliant reds and yellows of some butterfly wings serve as a warning"I am not a good to eat"
Monarch butterfly caterpillars feed on milkweed,which contains a poison that doesnot harm the butterfly but makes birds throwup.After eating on of these brightly coloured insects,a bird quickly learns not to capture another,even when they are plentiful.
The South American morpho ,which shimmering,iridescent blue wings,is one of the most beautiful of buttetflies.
Yet when the scales on its wings are examined under a microscope,they appear colourless.The morpho's secret lies in the comblike structure of its scales.which act as prisms to reflect light.
Depending on the angle of the light,the scales either absorb the light and look colourless or reflect it and produce the morpho's distinctive blue colouring,which can be seen for over a kilometre.As its wings flap and the light angle changes,the morpho's blue colour is sometimes visible and sometimes not.
Mosaic: Greatly magnified ,the wing of the orange-tipped butterfly looks like a grid.Each cell holds grain of pigment.
Blue and green , however, are produced not by pigments but by scale surfaces shaped to reflect light-that is,to bounce it off the wing at an angle.
Reflection:The scales of this giant butterfly of the Nymphalidae family reflect light in such a way that it appears purple.
Reflection and pigments can both occur on the same wing ,creating a variety of patterns and colour combinations.
Scales: Magnification of the tiger swallowtail's wing shows a complex pattern of tiny scales.
The black and white close-up photographs below are made by scanning electron microscopes,which do not show colour.
Transparent: Parnassus glacialis ,a primitive swallowtail,has hair like scales where the wings appear transparent.
Two-toned : This gossamer-winged butterfly has a hair like tail.
The red or yellow in a wing comes from tiny grains of pigment on the scales.
The wings of butterflies and moths are pleasant to look at but the colours also serve vital functions.In some species they help attract mates and in some they save the insect from being eaten but not always by helping it to hide.
The brilliant reds and yellows of some butterfly wings serve as a warning"I am not a good to eat"
Monarch butterfly caterpillars feed on milkweed,which contains a poison that doesnot harm the butterfly but makes birds throwup.After eating on of these brightly coloured insects,a bird quickly learns not to capture another,even when they are plentiful.
The South American morpho ,which shimmering,iridescent blue wings,is one of the most beautiful of buttetflies.
Yet when the scales on its wings are examined under a microscope,they appear colourless.The morpho's secret lies in the comblike structure of its scales.which act as prisms to reflect light.
Depending on the angle of the light,the scales either absorb the light and look colourless or reflect it and produce the morpho's distinctive blue colouring,which can be seen for over a kilometre.As its wings flap and the light angle changes,the morpho's blue colour is sometimes visible and sometimes not.
Mosaic: Greatly magnified ,the wing of the orange-tipped butterfly looks like a grid.Each cell holds grain of pigment.
Blue and green , however, are produced not by pigments but by scale surfaces shaped to reflect light-that is,to bounce it off the wing at an angle.
Reflection:The scales of this giant butterfly of the Nymphalidae family reflect light in such a way that it appears purple.
Reflection and pigments can both occur on the same wing ,creating a variety of patterns and colour combinations.
Scales: Magnification of the tiger swallowtail's wing shows a complex pattern of tiny scales.
The black and white close-up photographs below are made by scanning electron microscopes,which do not show colour.
Transparent: Parnassus glacialis ,a primitive swallowtail,has hair like scales where the wings appear transparent.
Two-toned : This gossamer-winged butterfly has a hair like tail.
