Ever gotten up close and personal with a butterfly? Touched those majestic wings? Well, beneath the vibrant exterior lies a hidden treasure – a powdery secret called "scaled powder." It's like Mother Nature's version of glitter, sprinkled generously on these winged wonders. Picture it as the butterfly's way of saying, "I woke up like this, fabulous!"
Now, imagine if these scales decided to play hide and seek or if certain butterfly species preferred a see-through chic vibe – that's right, transparent wings! It's a whole new level of fashion-forward flutter.
But hold on, we're not stopping there. Grab your passport to the microscopic realm as we embark on a journey to uncover the dazzling details of this scaled powder spectacle.
Equipment used: Lo-mag lens, led light, Hi-mag Pro lens, sampling sticker
Difficulty: ★★★★☆ (lo-mag lens only requires getting close to observe; hi-mag pro lens requires some sampling skills )
How to observe:
If you come across a dead butter on the ground in places like parks or trails, you can place the lo-mag lens on the butterfly wings to observe their “hairs” and “scale powder.”
Quick tip: Lighting enhances the 3D effect
Use a sampling sticker to collect the scale powder from the butterfly wings and observe it under hi-mag lens.
If you repeated collect the scale powder until it’s all gone, you can see the wings gradually becoming transparent.
Additional knowledge:
Butterfly wings aren't just a canvas for color; they're a masterpiece based on two principles: "chemical color" and "physical color.”
"Chemical color" refers to the color of the scale powder itself. For example, if the scale powder is yellow, we will see yellow wings with our naked eyes.
The principle of "physical color" is more complex. It's not because the scale powder itself has color, but because there are extremely tiny structures on it that reflect and interfere with light, creating vibrant colors. Since physical color is not based on pigments, it doesn't fade, and when viewed from different angles, it displays various colors!
When observing, you can try shining light on the scales from different angles and see if the colors change. If they do, it indicates that the scale powder on the wings is a physical color!
