How butterflies wings keep them from overheating! 🦋

Delicate butterfly wings are pretty cool — literally, thanks to special structures that protect them from overheating in the sun.
New thermal images of butterflies show that living parts of the wing — including veins transporting insect blood, or hemolymph, and scent patches or pads that males use to release pheromones — release more heat than surrounding dead scales, keeping the living areas cooler.
Small changes in body temperature can affect a butterfly’s ability to fly, as muscles in the thorax must be warm so that the insect can flap its wings fast enough for takeoff.

Read more about this fascinating butterfly-related science story here:

➡️https://www.sciencenews.org/article/butterfly-wings-heat-temperature-nanostructures

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