Moth wing scales. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of scales on the wing of a moth. All butterflies and moths have these transparent scales

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Moth wing scales. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of scales on the wing of a moth. All butterflies and moths have these transparent scales on their wings, which have tiny ridges on them. These ridges break up and reflect light, giving the wings their shimmering iridescent appearance.

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Size: 4252px × 4252px
Photo credit: © STEVE GSCHMEISSNER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: anatomical, anatomy, animal, biological, biology, brown, close-, coloured, detail, entomological, entomology, false-colour, false-coloured, fauna, insect, insecta, invertebrate, invertebrates, iridescence, iridescent, lepidoptera, lepidopteran, moth, nature, scale, scales, sem, wildlife, wing, zoological, zoology