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There are two types of colour in a butterfly's wings: ordinary (pigmented) and structural. The whites, Oranges and yellows come from urea, a waste product, while the browns and some yellows come from melanin, which is the same substance in human skin which causes one to get freckles or tan. The butterfly's body produces the chemicals necessary to create the blacks and reds as well. The rest of the colouring comes from miniature scales that hang on the butterfly's wing, in a manner which is a bit like shingles on a roof. These tiny scales produce what are called "structural colours", which are produced the same way a prism produces colour when it catches the light a certain way. Light passes through thsese tiny scale and is reflected multiple times, giving the butterfly's wings an iridescence.

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