Where do butterflies get their striking colors?
Butterflies possess some of the most striking color displays found in nature. As they fly from flower to flower gathering nectar, their brightly colored wings seem to shimmer and change colors before your eyes. Pilots flying above the rainforest can see the bright blues of the morpho butterfly of South America up to half a mile away [source: Vukusic]. A butterfly’s rich color can act as camouflage, mate attraction and warning signal. But what is it that makes the vivid colors of butterfly wings appear to dance? How can they possess such intense hues? Butterflies actually get their colors from two different sources: ordinary (or pigm
