Why do butterflies have colourful wings?
Most butterflies are active in the daytime and have good eyesight. Visual attraction is the primary way they attract the opposite sex. The more beautiful they look the better chance they have of gaining the appreciative attention of a mate. For the butterfly, evolution has favoured beauty as the mechanism to ensure their survival. Moths are closely related to butterflies and have a similar body structure with large scaled wings. However, because most moths are active at night, visual attraction is not so important to them and they are dull in colour. Although there are some moths active in daylight and therefore colourful and some butterflies active after sunset, such as the Evening Brown Butterflies, which are quite dull. Their wing patterns are similar to those of a moth and they attract mates with fragrance.
