Life is in the details

Life
is in the
details
A selection of
the best macrophotography
images produced
by the 2018 and
2019 cohorts of
the University
of Cape Town
biological science
honours course.
Scales of colour (2019), Jessica Arro
The lattice of scales that cover butterfly wings
produce the colours that we see. Depending on
their structure, the scales either reflect or absorb
light – as seen here on the wing of a green-banded
swallowtail butterfly (Papilio nireus).
Fynbos guardian (2019), Jess Tyrell
Electrostatic charges attract pollen grains from
flowers onto the body hairs of foraging Cape honey
bees (Apis mellifera capensis). From here, they
scrape the grains towards their back legs and into
pollen baskets for storage.
Structural splendour (2018), Jess Lund
Peacock tails may seem deeply pigmented and colourful, but those colours
are a trick of light. The feathers themselves are a dull brown; it’s their
microstructure that gives the peacock its splendid iridescent plumage.
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