WHAT ARE BUT TERFLIES’ WINGS MADE OF?

Butterflies are from the order of insects known as Lepidoptera. A butterfly has four wings – two forewings and two hindwings. Each wing is made up of thousands of tiny scales that sit in overlapping rows over a framework of veins – a bit like tiles on the roof of a house. Some scales contain colour pigments, whereas others are translucent, creating colour by refracting and diffusing light.

The front and back of the wings usually have different patterns. The undersides are often designed to help the butterfly camouflage to its surroundings when it’s resting – like the mottled leafy green on the orange-tip – and butterflies rest with their wings closed. If you see a butterfly sitting with its wings open, it will be absorbing sunlight to raise its body temperature. Peacock butterflies use the eye patterns on their wings to scare off predators when they are basking.

Butterfly wings are very delicate and often tear, but it takes a lot of damage to stop them from flying. Scales containing colour pigment can also fade in sunlight. If a butterfly looks pale, it could mean it’s nearing the end of its life. Sometimes the pigments mutate, causing rare variations to occur like copper butterflies with white wings instead of orange ones. There are often ultraviolet patterns in the wings that we cannot see, but which may possibly be seen by other butterflies.