Butterfly wings get their color in ways that almost feel impossible. Up close, each wing is made of countless tiny scales that either hold pigment or manipulate light. The oranges, reds, and browns ...

These wings from a Morpho butterfly are normally bright blue thanks to structural color. Because the nanosized spacing between the wings’ scales (micrograph) matches blue light’s wavelength (between ...

Editor’s Note: Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. Challenging times are ahead for smaller, ...

Pictures: Butterfly Wing Colors Imaged in 3-D The crystals that give butterfly wings their vibrant colors have been revealed in 3-D for the first time, a new study says.

Add Popular Science (opens in a new tab) More information Adding us as a Preferred Source in Google by using this link indicates that you would like to see more of our content in Google News results.

Butterflies have long captured our attention due to their amazing color diversity. But why are they so colorful? A new publication led by researchers from Sweden and Germany suggests that female ...

We all know that camouflage is an important tool in the evolutionary toolbox. But it’s only one of the ways that butterflies and caterpillars use color to keep themselves safe. Image credit: First ...