Why are butterflies so colorful?

The brilliant blue of the morpho butterfly helps the insect communicate with others of its kind. Photograph by Christian Richter, Westend61/Corbis. This insect's strikingly blue wing color "is used to communicate among butterflies, so they'll display it when they're courting or mating," she says. read more

The structural color of butterflies is where things get interesting. This type of color stems from the specific structure of the butterflies' wings and explains why some of a butterfly's colors seem to shift and appear so intense. read more

“They loved all of it! Guessing about why butterflies had the colors and then being able to make the butterfly and card was a great. They could also apply what they learned about the colors on butterflies. read more

This insect's strikingly blue wing color "is used to communicate among butterflies, so they'll display it when they're courting or mating," she says. Underneath the wing is a dull brown decorated with fantastic eyespots, which alarm and confuse predators. read more