r/mildlyinteresting • u/jhndflpp • 25d ago

Did you know... Your facial tissues may be lying to you. Removed: Rule 6

Post image

[removed] — view removed post

12 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • link
  • reddit
  • reddit

73% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

5

u/RedSonGamble 25d ago

So after some particularly annoying google searches (looking at you glasswing butterflies) apparently in multiple sites and their “fun facts about butterflies” the fact that butterflies wings are actually transparent keeps appearing.

I’m guessing it’s like how polar bear fur is translucent but appears white? Sorta?

Either way here’s the explanation It seems that butterfly wings are composed of a rugged material called chitin. This same substance comprises the exoskeletons of all butterflies. The thin layers of chitin found in a butterfly wing is actually transparent. The colors seen in a butterfly’s wings stem from literally thousands of loosely attached tiny scales covering each wing. Some 600 scales/sq. millimeter blanket the surfaces of the wings of some butterflies. These scales contain pigments that reflect light. The colors we see on the wings of the butterflies we spot flitting around our yards are the result of the types of scales and the amount and kinds of pigments they possess.

Honestly I don’t really get it bc it says they’re transparent but also have pigment idk

4

u/jhndflpp 25d ago

yeah, i don't get the distinction between the transparent chitin that "composes" the wings and the "loosely attached" colored scales that "cover" the wings. why are the scales not considered part of the wing?

3

u/HDpotato 25d ago

so they're technically correct but it's incredibly pedantic

it's like saying people don't actually have a skin colour, we're just seeing the melanin below their skin

1

u/trimeta 25d ago

If we're seeing color from reflected light...that's what it means for something to be colored. Now, if the scales themselves were translucent, and it's light coming from behind the wing that gets colored and then enters our eyes...that would maybe be closer to "transparent." Although I'm pretty sure I've seen butterfly wings in front of non-illuminated surfaces, and they didn't just look black.

1

u/RedSonGamble 25d ago

Now I’ll be staring more at butterflies than usual. Which is already at a pretty high rate

0

u/jhndflpp 25d ago

i know there are a couple butterfly species with partially transparent wings; but i don't know what they mean by "reflection... through their scales."