butterflies Archives

January 14, 2026January 2, 2026

Butterfly Timing Discovery

If you read a textbook on the evolution of butterflies, you will see that the evolutionary model holds that butterflies appeared after flowering plants provided the pollen needed for their survival. There was no fossil evidence to definitively prove this model, but it made sense and fits the evolution model well. A recent discovery, however, has changed scientists’ understanding of butterfly timing.

New studies of coprolite from prehistoric plant-eating animals challenge this model. Coprolite is fossilized animal dung, and one such fossil found in Talampaya National Park in Argentina contains butterfly remains. This fossilized feces predates the existence of flowering plants. The question then is: what did the butterflies eat? The answer appears to be that plants of that era—mainly conifers and cycads—secreted droplets of a sugary substance that would have been an ideal food source for butterflies.

The key point is that the timing of butterfly emergence, based on the fossil record, does not support the traditional evolutionary model. There are many instances where accepted models of life development are contradicted by evidence, and this is another example. Insects are a vital food source for higher life forms, so the creation of various insects laid the foundation for later life. Like all of God’s timing in creation, butterfly timing was perfect.

We can learn much about the history of life on our planet by reading the biblical account, and even more by combining that with insights from the fossil record. One of our publications, titled “God’s Revelation in His Rocks and in His Word,” is available free at doesgodexist.org.

Reference: discovermagazine.com and Discover for January 2026, pages 10-11.

December 17, 2025December 15, 2025

Beautiful Colors in Butterfly Wings

We previously discussed the dynamics of butterfly flight and how human engineers marvel at their design. (See Here and Here.) One of our readers sent us a scientific discussion about the beautiful colors in butterfly wings. These colors have nothing to do with camouflage. We often see butterflies because their colors stand out so vividly against the leaves and flowers where they rest.

The iridescent colors in butterfly wings are produced by scales that are part of the wings. Each square centimeter of wing has tens of thousands of these scales attached with tiny stems that overlap each other. These scales were living cells until a day or two before the butterfly emerged from its pupa. Each tiny scale consists of a vertical and horizontal frame, within which various pigment sacs hang.

Butterfly wings that shimmer with iridescent blues and greens have scales with tiny lattices and ribbed walls designed to create interference patterns in the high-energy part of the visible spectrum (300-700 nanometers). Our eyes are designed to see those wavelengths, but some of the butterfly’s potential predators cannot. That part of the spectrum is invisible to them.

The physics of the light spectrum and the design of our eyes seem specifically built to enable us to see the beautiful colors in butterfly wings that we often take for granted. The more we learn about physics and design, the more we see evidence that the Creator has made beautiful things just for us to enjoy.

May 29, 2025May 28, 2025

Nighttime Pollinators Are Essential

There is considerable media discussion about the plight of bees, attributed to the use of insecticides and to climate change. The media overlooks the fact that bees and butterflies are primarily daytime pollinators. Of the approximately 350,000 flowering plant species, some depend on nighttime pollinators.

The long list of nighttime pollinators includes moths, cockroaches, beetles, slugs, snails, and bats. Many people consider them to be pests, especially cockroaches and beetles. For this reason, they target pollinators by applying chemicals to control them. The result is that desirable plants fail to reproduce and die out.

The answer to this problem is helping people understand the importance of being cautious about what they apply to their plants and why. Christians believe that God has designed all ecosystems, and good stewardship requires protecting what He has given us. People who reject God’s design for life are engaged in chemical warfare, in this case, against nighttime pollinators.

Reference: BBC.com “Where bees won’t go: The unloved pollinators of the underworld.”

March 8, 2023February 28, 2023

Beautiful Insects – Butterflies and Moths

Insects can be beautiful. Today we want to consider a family of insects with about 180,000 described species. They include many of the most beautiful insects on Earth. They are in the Lepidoptera order, and we call them butterflies and moths.

Before they become butterflies and moths, these insects go through a larval stage as caterpillars.

KEYSTONE PLANTS AND CATERPILLARS
WALNUT SPHINX ACCORDION WORM

When the caterpillar has eaten its fill of nutrients from its favorite plant, it goes into a pupal stage and through a complete metamorphosis to become a butterfly or a moth. It is one of the most amazing transformations in nature.

THE INCREDIBLE BEAUTY OF MOTHS
LEARNING ABOUT LEPIDOPTERA
BUTTERFLY WING DESIGN
PAINTED LADIES OUT MIGRATE MONARCHS
THINKING LIKE A BUTTERFLY

The English word “metamorphosis” is from a Greek word meaning “transformation.” So the caterpillar goes through a dramatic change in form and lifestyle. That word is used in Matthew 17:2 and Mark 9:2 to describe the “transfiguration” of Jesus Christ on the mountain where He met with Moses and Elijah. Paul used the word in Romans 12:2, where he describes the “renewing of your mind” to live a beautiful life according to the will of God.

There is much more to say about beautiful insects, but we will conclude our review of these fascinating creatures tomorrow.

September 8, 2022September 7, 2022

Structural Color in Plants

When you see a peacock with brilliant green in its feathers, realize that it has no green feathers. Its feathers are actually brown, but God has used a clever optical trick to make them look green to us. We call it structural color. Likewise, many butterflies have bright blue spots on their wings, but there are no blue pigments in a butterfly’s wings.

Some plants produce fruits that look blue to us without having any blue pigment in the fruits. The only plants known to produce blue fruits in this way are Viburnum tinus and Lantana strigocamara. You will not get a blue stain if you crush their berries in your fingers. On the other hand, if you crush a common blueberry, its blue pigments will stain your fingers.

When you see a blue pigment, it is blue because it absorbs all other colors while reflecting blue. Structural color uses microscopic pyramid-like structures that manipulate the light. Since blue light has higher energy than other colors, it escapes the structure. Structural color requires no pigments, and you might call it an optical illusion.

Color is essential in the natural world. For example, animals with color vision use colors to camouflage, attract others, or discern whether something is good to eat. The problem with using pigments to produce color is that the chemistry to get a particular color is quite complex, but structural color does not involve any chemistry.

People have used chemicals to produce the colors we see in our fabrics, but some colors can be costly and time-consuming to produce. God has created a chemical-free method to produce much of the beauty we see in the world around us. Beauty in structural color gives evidence of a wise Creator.

Reference: National Science Foundation Research News

August 16, 2022August 15, 2022

Moths Are Incredibly Beautiful Creatures

Most of us probably have negative connotations about moths. We know that moths can cause problems in agriculture and can infest clothes left unattended in a closet. Moth balls have been in our history for a very long time. But it isn’t adult moths that eat holes in your clothing. It’s their larvae. In reality, moths are incredibly beautiful creatures, and perhaps you have not seen the most beautiful specimens because they are nocturnal.

One moth species known as Antheraea polyphemus can have a six-inch wingspan. The name comes from Homer’s epic “The Odyssey,” in which a giant called Polyphemus ate people. The giant polyphemus moth does not eat people, and neither does any other moth species. There are over 160,000 species of moths, and many of them produce larvae that eat crops that humans grow. However, adult moths have no mouths because they don’t eat anything in their adult stage.

Moths are incredibly beautiful creatures, and like virtually all living things, they are essential for humans in various ways. The domesticated silkworm in America is the larva of the moth Bombyx mori, and there are different species in different countries. Moths pollinate plants that open at night. For example, in the Himalayan ecosystem, they are primary pollinators essential to plant survival.

Some moths dig into the ground, and their larvae support underground ecosystems. The Mopane worm is a moth larva harvested as an important food source in regions of Africa. In the Congo, people eat moth larvae from thirty different species.

There are far more moth species than butterfly species – 160,000 compared to 17,500. As is true of just about everything in the natural world, we must learn how to manage and protect this resource. Mass pesticide spraying is not a positive way to manage this valuable resource God has given us.

Reference: The Spokesman-Review for 8/4/22.