Seeing Green -- Julia Longwing Butterfly at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, California
by Darin Volpe
Title
Seeing Green -- Julia Longwing Butterfly at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, California
Artist
Darin Volpe
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Spotted green eyes take in the world from the upside-down perspective of this Julia Longwing butterfly.
All that green is clearly visible to this Julia Longwing butterfly. But that's not the only color it can see. Scientists believe that butterflies sense colors better than any other species. Unlike we humans who only have color receptors for red, green, and blue, butterflies have receptors for five or more colors and can see into the ultraviolet range.
And it's not just color they see. Their compound eyes have a nearly 315 degree field of view so they can see nearly everything around them, and all of the individual lenses are extremely efficient at detecting movement to help them evade predators. They have the ability to see 150 images per second (for comparison, humans can detect about 60 images per second), which research suggests makes them perceive time as passing more slowly than us.
This Julia Longwing butterfly was hanging from the leaves in the butterfly house at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History in Santa Barbara. The insect's brown wings stand out against the green vegetation in the background.
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December 31st, 2022
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