Glasswinged Butterfly (Greta oto)

Glasswinged Butterfly/Glasswing (Greta oto)

Family: Nymphalidae

The glasswinged butterfly, as its name implies, is famous for its transparent wings which resemble glass. The wing tissue does not contain coloured scales and allows most light to pass through. This property is a result of randomly-arranged nanopillars found on the tissues. With this unique trait, glasswings are able to avoid predators more easily. While transparency is a common defence mechanism in aquatic species, glasswings are one of the few terrestrial organisms exhibiting it.

This species is found in Central and South America, although it is able to migrate up to Mexico and Texas. I photographed the glasswings along the Pipeline Trail in Boquete, Panama.

The glasswing lays eggs on plants of the genus Cestrum, which are toxic. The mature males also feed on flowers containing pyrrolizidine alkaloid, a toxic chemical produced in plants for defence.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greta_oto

http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/invisible-butterflies/

https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms7909

https://blogs.unbc.ca/biol202/2015/04/30/greta-oto-the-invisible-butterfly/