Can touching a butterfly's wings lead to its death?

Picture yourself strolling peacefully when enormous objects, twice the size of bowling balls, start raining down on you. This terrifying scenario is a daily reality for butterflies during rainfall.

Butterflies, being incredibly light at just 500 milligrams, face life-threatening situations when raindrops, weighing 70 milligrams or more, fall from the sky. Their survival often hinges on finding adequate shelter [source: Raupp].

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It’s natural to assume that if raindrops can harm a butterfly, your touch might also cause damage. While this is partially true, the widespread belief that touching a butterfly’s wings will kill it isn’t entirely accurate.

Although rough handling is discouraged, experts have been capturing and tagging butterflies for decades to study their movements. Using nets, they carefully catch these delicate insects, remove a few scales to reveal the transparent membrane, and attach a tiny tag before releasing them. This research has provided valuable insights into the migration patterns of monarch butterflies.

Butterflies not only endure these seemingly harsh procedures but also escape bird attacks and rainstorms unharmed. Remarkably, some have even flown away after losing a small part of their wings [source: Lerner].

Despite their incredible resilience, butterflies should be handled sparingly and with great care. Next, discover the additional roles their delicate wings play.

Anatomy of a Butterfly Wing

As you might have learned from How Butterflies Work or Where do butterflies get their striking colors?, butterfly wings consist of thin layers of a hardened protein known as chitin. (This protein is also found in your hair and nails.) These layers are covered with thousands of tiny scales, each serving various functions depending on the butterfly species.

In addition to creating the vibrant colors butterflies are known for, scales provide protection, insulation, and assist in airflow during flight. They also help butterflies absorb the heat necessary for flying. Being cold-blooded, butterflies depend on external heat sources to raise their body temperature for optimal functioning. Early studies suggest that even slight variations in scale thickness can significantly influence heat absorption efficiency [source: Chiang].

Returning to the initial question, if touching a butterfly’s wing removes enough scales to impair its heat absorption, it could potentially result in the butterfly’s death. To check if you’ve removed any scales, simply look at your fingers. The fine powder you see is made up of scales, which detach easily—partly to help butterflies escape predators. However, this escape mechanism might ultimately lead to the same fate as being caught.

Aside from removing scales, rough handling can also damage a butterfly’s wings. The forewings (upper wings) and hindwings (lower wings) are incredibly delicate. While they are sturdy enough to support the butterfly in flight, they are also flexible to facilitate movement. Invisible to the naked eye, a network of tiny veins runs through the wings. If a vein in the forewing is damaged, the butterfly often cannot survive [source: Opler].