Color Transformation
Powdery scales on the wings of the male butterfly Apatura ilia under optical microscopy reveal parallel fibers with a spacing of about 710 nm; these fibers, together with tiny transverse grooves, cause violet blue or blue iridescence due to interference of light on the wings that ordinarily have brown pigmentation, establishing the dependence of the sudden color changes on variable illumination and observation angle
Der Kleine Schillerfalter: Die Falter kommen in der Grundfarbe als braun-weiße (Blauschiller) und als rötlichbraune Form (Rotschiller) vor, wobei die Flächen der Flügeloberseiten schillern bei den Männchen blau
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Babenhausen 28AUG2019 – Lesser Purple Emperor Butterfly:
This male Apatura ilia form clytie butterfly flew onto my shoe! And as if that were not amazing enough, as it turned, its color changed from 42 shades of ordinary brown to become iridescent blue!
Billions of tiny scales – in 2 types – on the dorsal wing overlap like roof tiles and cover the membrane surface, to the naked eye appearing as dust, producing a brilliant color due to multilayer photonic crystal micro- and nanostructure, transforming a plain brownish hue to a stunning violet-blue, a phenomenon used to attract mates, camouflage, and startle predators: wingtop color changes in the wake of the variation of the incident light angle.
Even though this is the first time I've identified it, the Lesser Purple Emperor butterfly's range, the Palearctic [Palaearctic] (first identified in the 19th century and still used as the basis for zoogeographic classification), is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms on the Earth's surface, stretching across Europe, Asia north of the Himalayan foothills, North Africa, and northern and central parts of the Arabian Peninsula.
Hope you enjoy the 26% of 61 butterfly photos I took this day!
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– Album – Germany – 26AUG-11SEP2019:
Three days before leaving, I got my schedule rearranged to free up time for Joe & me to spend two weeks in and around Babenhausen!
Color Transformation
Powdery scales on the wings of the male butterfly Apatura ilia under optical microscopy reveal parallel fibers with a spacing of about 710 nm; these fibers, together with tiny transverse grooves, cause violet blue or blue iridescence due to interference of light on the wings that ordinarily have brown pigmentation, establishing the dependence of the sudden color changes on variable illumination and observation angle
Der Kleine Schillerfalter: Die Falter kommen in der Grundfarbe als braun-weiße (Blauschiller) und als rötlichbraune Form (Rotschiller) vor, wobei die Flächen der Flügeloberseiten schillern bei den Männchen blau
________________________________________________
Babenhausen 28AUG2019 – Lesser Purple Emperor Butterfly:
This male Apatura ilia form clytie butterfly flew onto my shoe! And as if that were not amazing enough, as it turned, its color changed from 42 shades of ordinary brown to become iridescent blue!
Billions of tiny scales – in 2 types – on the dorsal wing overlap like roof tiles and cover the membrane surface, to the naked eye appearing as dust, producing a brilliant color due to multilayer photonic crystal micro- and nanostructure, transforming a plain brownish hue to a stunning violet-blue, a phenomenon used to attract mates, camouflage, and startle predators: wingtop color changes in the wake of the variation of the incident light angle.
Even though this is the first time I've identified it, the Lesser Purple Emperor butterfly's range, the Palearctic [Palaearctic] (first identified in the 19th century and still used as the basis for zoogeographic classification), is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms on the Earth's surface, stretching across Europe, Asia north of the Himalayan foothills, North Africa, and northern and central parts of the Arabian Peninsula.
Hope you enjoy the 26% of 61 butterfly photos I took this day!
________________________________
– Album – Germany – 26AUG-11SEP2019:
Three days before leaving, I got my schedule rearranged to free up time for Joe & me to spend two weeks in and around Babenhausen!