BLOG 11 Butterfly Wings

Most of you have probably seen these before but I find this phenomenon incredible. Every one of these images comes from the brilliant patterns on the wings of moths and butterflies. These designs - each one unique to its species - are used either to attract a mate or for disguise against predators.  The photographer Kjell Sandved has made it his life's work to capture them and create this amazing butterfly alphabet, with every letter from A to Z. 

Nature continues to amaze me! The patterns that occur in nature are so beautiful and so astounding - the colors, shapes, designs.  It re-enforces my belief that so much in our world is interconnected through science, math, sound, literature, art...  There is so much interconnectedness to discover about this world of ours - the Golden Rectangle which appears in the architecture of the Parthenon and the Great Pyramids of Giza. This same number appears in the number and arrangements of many flower pedals - in how they expand from row-to-row based on the Fibonacci sequence (an infinite, irrational series that defines the Golden Number).  Also, many details of the wings of butterflies have been explained and graphed by fractals. Surprise! Many of the fractals are sequenced and end in the Golden Number! If you are really curious, I can explain a little of the math to you but I won't bore you with more details here!   Anyway, it gives me chills when I think about it.

Picture Source:  Extraordinary Pictures of the Alphabet Spelled Out on Butterflies' Wings, 18 January 2008, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/ushome/index.html