The 'spangled' part of the common name refers to BRILLIANT METALLIC SILVER-AND-CREAM SPOT PATTERNS on the hindwing underside — created by structural coloration, flashing dramatically in flight.
A flying blue morpho is visible from a kilometer overhead — the iridescent flash penetrates rainforest canopy.
Waitomo Cave's ceiling can hold tens of thousands of glow-worms — looking up resembles staring at an inverted Milky Way.
The male's iridescent fan reflects nano-structured colors brighter than nearly anything else measured on an arthropod.
Cuckoo wasp colors come from structural iridescence — the same physics as butterfly wings and oil films, NOT pigment.
The Madagascan sunset moth is widely described as the most beautiful insect on Earth — iridescent green, blue, orange, gold, and red shifting with angle.
Orchid bees show brilliant iridescent green, blue, and copper coloration — structural color similar to morpho butterflies.
