• Question: why does butterflies wings colours come off??x

    Asked by caitlynfarrar to Jo, Kevin, Louise, Valeria on 20 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: Kevin Mahon

      Kevin Mahon answered on 20 Jun 2012:

      The dust that comes off on your fingers are actually tiny scales that cover the wings of the butterfly. These tiny wing scales plug into equally tiny sockets on the wings and are individually colored to create the incredible wing patterns which are so appreciated by human observers.

      So if you touch a butterfly you’re actually removing part of its wing!

    • Photo: Joanna Cruden

      Joanna Cruden answered on 20 Jun 2012:

      butterflies are very delicate animals so it is important to aviod touching them as the wings are not meant to come off.

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