From the iridescent blue wings of the Eumaeus atala butterfly to the painted lady’s signature fiery orange, it’s no secret butterflies have some pretty captivating flappers. For a long time ...

Unlike many vibrant insects, who rely on pigment alone for their colors, a butterfly’s radiant shimmer has a special source: The precise structure and arrangement of microscopic scales on its wings.

A butterfly species equipped with tiny ears on its wings can distinguish between high and low pitch sounds, possibly as a way to listen in on nearby birds, new research suggests.

The wings on the left belong to a normal Gulf fritillary butterfly, and the ones of the right belong to one whose optix gene has been deleted. ( Robert Reed ) September 18, 2017 ...