What's behind this butterfly's see-through wings

摘要

Most butterflies sport colorful, eye-catching wing patterns. But some, like the glasswing butterfly (above), use mostly transparent wings to hide in plain sight. To figure out how these Central and South American insects go incognito, researchers put the wings of glasswing butterflies (Greta oto) under microscopes. Sparse, spindly scales overlaying a see-through wing membrane with antireflective properties make these insects so stealthy, researchers report in the May Journal of Experimental Biology. Transparency is the ultimate form of camouflage, says James Barnett, a behavioral ecologist at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, who wasn't involved in the work. Transparent animals can instantly blend into any background (SN: 7/6/19 & 7/20/19, p. 7). "It's really hard to do," Barnett says. "You have to modify your entire body to minimize any scattering or reflection of light."