The Glasswing Butterfly

The Glasswing Butterfly

This breath-taking beauty is The Glasswing Butterfly. It thrives only in Central America. Its distribution ranges from the country of Panama up into parts of Mexico. They are common butterflies but difficult to see because of their transparent wings.

The wings have clear patches because they have, through the course of evolution, shed the microscopic scales that give butterflies their color. While many butterflies have evolved colors and patterns designed to ward of predators, this one has opted to make itself nearly invisible to it's hunters.