Sun Mar 14th, 2021 Learn About Butterflies Day
In keeping with the spirit of Learn About Butterflies Day, celebrate by learning a little more about the wide range of butterflies. With over 20,000 types of butterflies worldwide today is the perfect day to learn about butterflies.
Their wing spans can range from 1/2 inch to 11 inches. Did you know that in their adult stage butterflies can live from a week up to a year, depending on the species?
Butterfly Wings Are Transparent
How can that be? We know butterflies as perhaps the most colorful, vibrant insects around! Well, a butterfly’s wings are covered by thousands of tiny scales, and these scales reflect light in different colors. But underneath all of those scales, a butterfly wing is actually formed by layers of chitin—the same protein that makes up an insect’s exoskeleton. These layers are so thin you can see right through them. As a butterfly ages, scales fall off the wings, leaving spots of transparency where the chitin layer is exposed.
