Butterflies are amazing insects. From ugly larvae, they turn into a real miracle of nature. People have a negative attitude towards most insects, take at least ants or cockroaches. Even spiders cause fear in most of the world's inhabitants. The exception is butterflies. They are admired and amazed at their unique color.
Butterflies can be found in the forest, garden, fields and meadows. These insects attract attention from early spring to late autumn. About two hundred thousand species of butterflies are known. The fauna of butterflies is most diverse in the tropics. There are very large forms, striking in the brightness and beauty of color. Moving away from the equator, the variety of butterflies is gradually becoming poorer, but even beyond the Arctic Circle it is still quite abundant and bright. In order to understand how such beauty is created, you need to consider the structure of the wings.
Butterfly wing structure
On each wing, veins are clearly distinguished, which perform two functions: frame and conductor for nerve fibers. The wing structure consists of the following veins: subcostal, radial, medial and anal.
Biologists distinguish which species a butterfly belongs to by the structure of the veins. It is unique to individuals of the same species.
Each wing is covered with scales that form pollen. This phenomenon is typical only for butterflies. Scales are hairs that have changed in the course of evolution. Their number on a winglet can range from several hundred to several hundred thousand pieces.
Features of butterfly wings
Scales can be of various shapes and colors, and it is they that determine the uniqueness of the butterfly. In many tropical butterflies, the scales refract the rays of the sun, which pass through their structure like a prism. This makes the wings look different from different angles. In some, they acquire a brilliant metallic shade, in others - golden, and in others - sparkling with diamonds.
The scales are attached to the winglet like roof tiles. Thanks to this, they can create a variety of patterns - lines, specks, stains. Two butterflies cannot have the same pattern, even in females and males, it is very different.
Smelling scales are an amazing gift from nature. Their tips end with a special brush, from the surface of which the aroma evaporates easily. A pleasant or repulsive butterfly smell is used during mating games. Sometimes the scent of a butterfly is so strong that even a person can smell it.
So, butterfly wings have unique features that make experts from all over the world puzzle over this mystery of nature. The wings have a unique scaly structure, due to which the insect has an amazing color, can collect pollen on the surface of its body and attract a mysterious smell.
