Introduction:

Butterflies are a large group of insects, belonging to the order “Lepidoptera”, which means “scaly wing”.
They are characterized by their large, often colorful wings and by their proboscis, which they use to suck
flower nectar. They lay eggs that hatch into a larvae (called caterpillar), which has a totally different
appearance, with its cylindrical body, and feeds mainly on plants leave, before going through the
metamorphosis of the chrysalis.

Caterpillar, chrysalis and adult of the Orange Tip

Anthocharis cardamines
Photographs © Jaap Bouwman, Kars Veling and Chris van Swaay (De Vlinderstichting).

Many butterflies are valued for their beauty, but they have also an economic interest and play
an important role in ecosystems through pollination and as prey for other species. They also support a
wide range of parasitoids, many of which are specific to their host and worthy of conservation in their
own right.
Butterflies are found all over the world. There is approximately 20,000 - 25,000 species worldwide,
which live in many different habitats from the beach dunes to the mountains. Some have special
relationships with other animals or plants. It is suspected that some New Zealand blue and copper
species have some dependency on Ants, but this is yet to be confirmed. But this is known to happen
overseas. Butterflies are insects, so their bodies are divided into 3 segments, the head, thorax and
abdomen. The head has eyes, antennae and proboscis (more commonly known as a feeding tube or
tongue). The Thorax has the wings and legs. Finally, the abdomen has the internal organs like
digestive system, excretory system, nervous system and sexual organs.
Observation:

Butterflies have colors and pattern on their wings that is why they are very attractive, seeing them
flying around the flowers. Out of curiosity I caught one of them and I observed its wings has dust, as I let
the butterfly go the dust were left in my fingers. I wonder how and where they get their wing color that
makes them unique and eye-catching.

Questions:`

-WHERE DO BUTTERFLIES GET THEIR COLOR?

One of the most striking examples of color in nature is found on a small well-known member
of the insect family. As fascinating as they are eye-catching, butterflies have delighted and
intrigued both the casual observer and the well informed expert for years. This is due, in part,
to the intense display of color on their wings that gives off a glistening appearance as they fly.
Despite their outward simplicity, the colors we see come from a complex chemical and structural
system in the butterflies' wings.
These colors come from two sources. The first are pigmented colors which are simply ordinary
chemical pigments that absorb certain wavelengths of light and reflect others. The wavelengths that
are reflected are the colors that you'll see. An example would be that the shades of brown and
yellow seen in most butterflies comes from melanin, the same pigment that tans your skin when you
sit in the sun. When light hits the object it absorbs all the colors except the shades that create brown
or yellow.
The second source of color is called structural color and results from the specific structure of the
butterflies' wings. Butterfly wings are covered by lots of little scales which layer on top of each other
and are separated by little pockets of air. Because of this structure color appears to shimmer and
shift as an observer moves is actually a light effect known as iridescence. Iridescence occurs when
light comes through transparent multilayered surfaces and is reflected more than once. All the
reflections concentrate and compound each reflection, causing more vibrant visual displays of color.
Using spectrophotometers like Instrument Systems' MAS 40, scientists have measured the degree
of iridescence in both butterflies and other creatures like hummingbirds to gain an increased
understanding of how these adaptations have effected their ability to survive as well as merely
investigating how these structural effects influence animal behavior and development.

-Why are Butterflies called Butterflies?

No one seems to really know, but the most plausable explaination is that white and yellow
butterflies are common in the rest of the world (New Zealand has no natural white or yellow butterfly
until someone brough some 'butterfly eaten' Cabbages to New Zealand which introduced the White
Butterfly in 1929-30) and could be described as butter-coloured. In Britain the common answer is
because of a bright yellow butterfly called the Brimstone. Which is ironic as most books say it's
called Brimstone because it is Brimstone coloured!
Data Analysis:
In Europe, there are 482 species of butterflies, divided into six families: the largest one is the
Nymphalidae, also called brush-footed butterflies, with often large and brightly-colored species, such
as the fritillaries, admirals, emperors, and tortoiseshells; the subfamilies Libytheinae and Satyrinae
were until recently a separate family, the latter including the large group of the browns, but are now
part of the Nymphalidae; then the Lycaenidae, including the blues, the coppers and the hairstreaks,
generally small brightly colored butterflies, sometimes with a metallic gloss; the Pieridae, where the
adults are mostly white or yellow with black spots; the Hesperiidae, named skippers due to their
quick and darting flight; the Papilionidae, or Swallowtail butterflies, which are, as their name
suggests, often tailed like the forked tail of some swallows. Finally, there is one representative of the
Riodinidae family whose members are mainly distributed in the Neotropical region: Hamearis lucina,
the Duke of Burgundy Butterfly which is similar to the Fritillaries, although this family Riodinidae is
closely related to the Lycaenidae. Cacyreus marshalli, a South African species that was introduced
in the Balearic Islands in 1989 and is rapidly spreading across the Mediterranean and up to the
Netherlands is not a native species and therefore not considered in this assessment.
Butterflies can't fly if they're cold
Butterflies need an ideal body temperature of about 85ºF to fly. Since they're cold-blooded animals,
they can't regulate their own body temperatures. The surrounding air temperature has a big impact
on their ability to function. If the air temperature falls below 55ºF, butterflies are rendered immobile,
unable to flee from predators or feed. When air temperatures range between 82º-100ºF, butterflies
can fly with ease. Cooler days require a butterfly to warm up its flight muscles, either by shivering or
basking in the sun. Even sun-loving butterflies can get overheated when temperatures soar above
100° F and may seek shade to cool down.
Butterflies are nearsighted, but they can see and discriminate a lot of colors
Within about 10-12 feet, butterfly eyesight is quite good. Anything beyond that distance gets a little
blurry to a butterfly, though. Butterflies rely on their eyesight for vital tasks, like finding mates of the
same species and finding flowers on which to feed. In addition to seeing some of the colors we can
see, butterflies can see a range of ultraviolet colors invisible to the human eye. The butterflies
themselves may have ultraviolet markings on their wings to help them identify one another and
locate potential mates. Flowers, too, display ultraviolet markings that act as traffic signals to
incoming pollinators like butterflies – "pollinate me!"
Butterflies employ all kinds of tricks to keep from being eaten
Butterflies rank pretty low on the food chain, with lots of hungry predators happy to make a meal of
them. Some butterflies fold their wings to blend into the background, using camouflage to render
themselves all but invisible to predators. Others try the opposite strategy, wearing vibrant colors and
patterns that boldly announce their presence. Bright colored insects often pack a toxic punch if
eaten, so predators learn to avoid them. Some butterflies aren't toxic at all, but pattern themselves
after other species known for their toxicity. By mimicking their foul-tasting cousins, they repel
predators.
Conclusion:

Butterflies possess some of the most striking color displays found in nature. As they fly from
flower to flower gathering nectar, their brightly colored wings seem to shimmer and change colors
before your eyes. Pilots flying above the rainforest can see the bright blues of the morpho butterfly of
South America up to half a mile away [source: Vukusic]. A butterfly's rich color can act as
camouflage, mate attraction and warning signal. But what is it that makes the vivid colors of butterfly
wings appear to dance? How can they possess such intense hues?

Butterflies actually get their colors from two different sources: ordinary (or pigmented) color
and structural color. The ordinary color comes from normal chemical pigments that absorb certain
wavelengths of light and reflect others. For example, the pigment chlorophyll colors plants green.
The chlorophyll soaks up the blue and red colors of the spectrum, but not the green, which you see
when it bounces back to your eye. Most butterflies get their different shades of brown and yellow
from melanin, the same pigment that makes you tan in summer and gives some people freckles.
The structural color of butterflies is where things get interesting. This type of color stems from the
specific structure of the butterflies' wings and explains why some of a butterfly's colors seem to shift
and appear so intense. This quality of changing colors as you, the observer, moves is known as
iridescence, and it occurs more in nature than you might think. Mother of pearl seashells, fish and
peacocks are just a few examples of animals with this quality, but it is most pronounced in the
butterfly family. It happens when light passes through a transparent, multilayered surface and is
reflected more than once. The multiple reflections compound one another and intensify colors. Learn
how the qualities of iridescence and the structure of a butterfly's wings join forces to create such
awesome effects on the next page.

Butterfly wing colors and patterns can teach us many important aspects of insect survival
techniques in the insect kingdom. It also throws light on the evolution aspect and provides vital clues
as to how quickly wing patterns emerge. It is evident that the color pattern variation from species to
species has a definite role to play in the protection of the species. Understanding the diversity of
wing colours will enable scientists to learn more about butterflies and how they adapt to changes.
This may be critical to their existence. As science continues to learn more about these incredible
flying jewels, they find more possible applications for innovations in technology that will benefit
mankind. We all need to live in a coexistence world where the actions of one will provide
opportunities to the other.
 Where do butterflies
get their colors?

Submitted by: Janine L. Pitogo

Nichole Kate s. Garcia
Submitted to: Mrs. Mary Candar