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Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
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Madagascan sunset moth (Chrysiridia rhipheus) scales. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). Source: Wellcome Collection.
Photomacrograph of scales on the Madagascan sunset moth (Chrysiridia rhipheus). This moth flies during the day while most other moths are only active at night. This large colourful moth is native to Madagascar and is often mistaken for a butterfly. They have iridescent wings which are black, red, blue and green in colour. As they move these colours appear to change however their wings hardly contain any colour pigment. Their striking colours are created by an optical illusion with light reflecting and bouncing off the curved scales at different angles. Width of image is 750 micrometres. Photomacrograph 2015.