Presented below is a photomicrograph illustrating various textures seen in this thin section of a moth wing. This digital image was captured with the DXM 1200 ACT-1 control software in single-image acquisition mode utilizing DIC illumination.

The wings of butterflies and moths may be plain-colored or they may have striking and colorful patterns. These structures are unique because they are covered by microscopic scales that aid in flight, waterproofing, and coloring. Each scale has a grid of high and low ribs and it is the size, pattern and spacing of these ribs that reflect and refract light to give the appearance of color. Each wing may have hundreds or thousands of scales that contribute to the wing color pattern.

Over 160,000 species of butterflies and moths together comprise a large order of insects named Lepidoptera, which is Greek for wing scale. There are a number of similarities and differences between butterflies and moths. Most butterflies are brightly colored and fly during the day while a majority of moths have a dull and drab appearance and usually fly by night. Butterflies tend to hold their wings upright over their backs when resting, but most moths spread their wings flat near the surface when not flying. These insects also differ in the construction of their antennae. Butterfly antennae are usually long and thin and knobbed at the tip whereas moth antennae can be much more complex and often have a featherlike appearance.

The first moths appeared about 150 million years ago during the Cretaceous period when the world was largely inhabited by dinosaurs. Butterflies evolved much later, about 40 million years ago, and many of the species alive today have evolved during the last five million years.