Butterflies (February 4)

Have you ever noticed how the colors on a butterfly or moth wing seem to change and almost glow as it flies through the air? Pilots flying above the rainforests in South America have reported seeing the bright blues of the morpho butterfly up to half a mile away! What makes the butterfly wing so vibrant and colorful? Butterfly wings are covered with two or three layers of microscopic scales separated by air. Light passing through these layers is scattered, and depending on the angle of view, the light waves recombine in different combinations of different wavelengths. This is called diffraction, which produces iridescence. The multiple layers of scales on a butterfly wing create these intensely shifting color hues.

The scales of butterfly wings are made of very thin layers of a hardened protein called chitin. Your hair and nails are made of this same protein. These scales protect and insulate the insects and aid in the flow of air along their wings. The scales also help the butterfly absorb heat. Since butterflies are cold-blooded, they rely on external sources of heat.

But where did the butterfly’s beauty and complexity come from? Neither the beauty nor the structure of the butterfly wing has ever been explained by evolution. Those who reject creation throw the word “evolution” at such complex creatures and assume that just using the word explains how they developed. To produce these iridescent colors requires complex optical physics and mathematics. Could this phenomenon of iridescence happen by accident and chance? Caterpillars are not made of chitin scales, but butterflies are, so how would the caterpillar develop this characteristic slowly and randomly over time in order to become a butterfly? If evolution were true, we should first find a butterfly without chitin scales and then a butterfly with chitin scales. We find nothing like this in the fossil record. The oldest butterfly and moth fossils are fully formed and developed, looking essentially identical to current moths and butterflies.

Butterflies, with their beauty and complexity, proclaim there is a God!

Psalm 148:13

KJV: Let them praise the name of the Lord: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.

NIV: Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.

Reference

Where do butterflies get their striking colors?

Chiang, Mona. 1999. “You Asked…” Science World.

Learn More

Beautiful black and blue butterflies

Recommended

DVD: Metamorphosis, Illustra Media