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Butterfly Anatomy
Page 4
1 - Head
2 -
Thorax - legs & abdomen
3 -
Wings -
venation & scales
4
- Wing scales - scanning electron microscope images
5
- Hearing organs, flight,
thermoregulation
Wing Scales
Scanning electron
microscope images
On this page you will find a selection of ultra-high magnification
SEM images depicting
butterfly wing scales.
All images © Rob Lineton.
Cleopatra
Gonepteryx cleopatra ( Pieridae:
Coliadinae ):
A group of scales from the
orange part of the wing of
Gonepteryx cleopatra
Butterfly wing scales are laid out
in neat rows like the tiles on a roof. Some scales like those from
the orange area of the wing of Gonepteryx
cleopatra are shield-shaped, others can be shapes like
hearts, spears or very long thin hairs, depending on their location
and function.
A single wing-scale of
Gonepteryx cleopatra
Under high magnification it can be
seen that the scales are constructed from about 20-40 parallel ribs,
each linked by a series of tiny cross bars. The spaces between the
ribs and cross bars diffract light to different degrees and thereby
produce the myriad of hues which form the wing patterns.
SEM image showing a
tiny section from a wing scale of
Gonepteryx cleopatra.
The vertical ribs are connected by tiny rods, each covered with
spore-like protuberances.
2-tailed Pasha
Charaxes jasius ( Nymphalidae:
Charaxinae ):
A
group of scales from Charaxes jasius.
These are longer and narrower than those of Gonepteryx cleopatra,
and show evidence of forking in a few places.
Charaxes jasius. Under extreme
magnification it is apparent that these scales do not have the
tiny spore-like protuberances found in G.
cleopatra.
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