Butterfly Gallery: Beautiful Wings Take Flight

Advanced Optics ... on Butterfly Wings

(Image credit: University of Southhampton.)

The full grown morpho rhetenor butterfly, a native to South America.

Mobility Key to Animals Surviving Human Sprawl

(Image credit: Howard Fescemyer/Pennsylvania State University)

Glanville fritillary butterfly.

(Image credit: Sylvain Charlat/Science)

A male Hypolimnas bolina, the Eggfly, or Blue Moon Butterfly.

New Butterfly Discovered with Mustache Disguise

(Image credit: copyright Natural History Museum, London)

The Splendeuptychia ackeryi butterfly, or Magdalena valley ringlet, whose distinguishing feature is unusually hairy mouthparts.

Butterfly's Wing Ears May Detect Birds

(Image credit: Kathleen Lucas.)

The blue morpho butterfly shows off its brightly colored wings when in flight. But at rest, with closed wings, the butterfly reveals a dull brown color that helps the animal blend in with its surroundings.

Source of Shimmering Butterfly Wing Colors Revealed

(Image credit: Richard Prum)

A museum specimen of the amazonian butterfly, Emerald-patched Cattleheart.

Billions of Butterflies Descend on California

Billions of Butterflies Descend on California

Migrating Monarch Butterflies Have Longer Wings

(Image credit: Andrew Davis and Sonia Altizer/UGA)

North American monarch butterflies migrate thousands of miles to California and Mexico each winter.

Cool Weather Heats Up Female Butterfly Quest for Sex

(Image credit: William Piel & Antonia Monteiro.)

Female Bicyclus anynana butterflies had less ornamentation on their wings when they had been raised as caterpillars in wet conditions with lots of nutrients.

Butterflies Evolved UV-vision to Help Find Mates

(Image credit: Bill Berthet)

Heliconius erato butterflies have evolved photoreceptors in their eyes for detecting UV colors and express UV-yellow pigment on their wings.

Butterfly

Live Science Staff
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