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Besides providing insulation, dark patterns on wings provided by dark colour scales would allow sunlight to be absorbed and thus probably have a role to play in thermoregulation. Bright and distinctive colour patterns in butterflies which are distasteful to predators help communicate their aposematism (toxicity or inedibility) thus preventing a ...
Lepidopterology (from Ancient Greek λεπίδος (lepídos) 'scale' πτερόν (pterón) 'wing' and -λογία [1]) is a branch of entomology concerning the scientific study of moths and the two superfamilies of butterflies. Someone who studies in this field is a lepidopterist or, archaically, an aurelian.
Scales play an important part in the natural history of Lepidoptera. Scales enable the development of vivid or indistinct patterns which help the organism protect itself by camouflage, mimicry, and warning. Besides providing insulation, dark patterns on wings allow sunlight to be absorbed and are probably involved in thermoregulation.
The colourful patterns on many butterfly wings tell potential predators that they are toxic. Hence, the genetic basis of wing pattern formation can illuminate both the evolution of butterflies as well as their developmental biology. The colour of butterfly wings is derived from tiny structures called scales, each of which have their own pigments.
The brilliant blue color in the butterfly's wings is caused by the diffraction of the light from millions of tiny scales on its wings. It uses this to frighten away predators, by flashing its wings rapidly. The wingspan of the blue morpho butterfly ranges from 7.5–20 cm (3.0–7.9 in).
The Morpho Menelaus' characteristic iridescent wings has a unique wing structure. The ground scales are covered by a set of longitudinal ridges, and within the ridges are layers of lamella. [12] Because the size of the microstructure is the same as the wavelength of light, the layers in the wings react strongly with visible light. [2]
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Optical classification of microstructure in butterfly wing-scales. Photonics Science News, 6, 66–66. Nagypal, Tony. The World of Birdwing Butterflies Archived 2009-02-07 at the Wayback Machine. Haugum, Jan. (1981). Notes on the Aristolochia of the Papuan Region, with particular reference to the larval foodplants of the Ornithoptera. Lep.