www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Very interesting. We've long been aware how butterflies and moths warm up their wings muscles prior to flight, but this is an interesting new slant on the topic :~

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/w ... anels.html

Very interesting - and a bit tantalising, as so few details are given. It certainly makes sense (for solar panels) to maximise their efficiency by concentrating light on the photoreceptive parts, rather than losing all the engergy that falls on the rest of the surface.

I've often wondered about how butterflies heat their flight muscles. The muscles are in the thorax and there is no circulation system in the wings. So presumably dark butterflies transmit the heat to the musclces by conduction, while light butterflies use reflective techniques (dark wings will get hot in the sun while white wings will heat little). With the hairy thorax trapping a layer of air, a real hotspot must build up between a large white's wings. Some butterflies - especially skippers - use muscle activity to generate heat too.

Guy

Guy, you'll find the full article at http://www.nature.com/srep/2015/150731/ ... 12267.html

I was interested to read the comment that "These white butterflies do indeed show high wing reflectance based upon a unique display of pterin containing nano-beads within their individual wing scales" Perhaps, this is why they are so difficult to photograph without lots of exposure compensation.