It sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, but butterflies with transparent wings are in fact very real.
Unlike other butterflies whose colorful wing scales help camouflage them or scare off predators, the aptly-named glasswing butterfly (Greta oto) has wings that are practically see-through, making them almost invisible to hungry hunters.
The transparency comes from the fact that the tissues in its wings barely absorb and reflect light, according to researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. Instead, a wide spectrum of light passes directly through the wings.
The researchers discovered that unlike other anti-reflective surfaces in nature, the nanopillars on the butterfly’s wings are irregularly-shaped and distributed, which helps limit glare.
“In contrast to other natural phenomena, where regularity is of top priority, the glasswing butterfly uses an apparent chaos to reach effects that are also fascinating for us humans,” said Radwanul Hasan Siddique, a doctoral student who made the discovery.
They believe recreating these structures could be the key to developing super-thin glare-free screens for smartphones, TVs, and other equipment. Even more exciting? It seems that such a surface could actually be water-repellent and self-cleaning.
Of course, the glass-winged butterfly isn’t completely invisible. The dark body and the brown borders of its wings are still possible to detect. But when they’re zipping through the air or perched on a colorful backdrop, it’s definitely much harder for their predators to track them.
