#this sat in my drafts for an embarrassingly long time but ive had some encouragement from outside sources

[shaiappreciation]

Shaiapouf's Wings

Hello hello, I've returned with another biological meta analysis! This time I'd like to discuss: wings!

When a butterfly first emerges from the chrysalis, its wings need to dry and expand, so the insect will usually hang underneath the chrysalis or a nearby structure so gravity can help to fully draw the wings out. In addition to gravity, the insect will pump body fluid into its wings to help them expand; this is a process it only needs to perform once, as it is done to unfold the wings so they can harden and be used for flight.

Pouf's wings open and close at his will, suggesting a similar but only slightly more complex biology; he seems to have control over either his own bloodflow (forcing it into his wings to open them) or the surrounding muscle structures (guiding bloodflow into the wings). It could also be reasonable to believe that the channels he uses to open his wings may not need to stay open the entire time he's using them - the channels could open as the wings open, then close while they remain open, re-opening once he needs to close them. This excludes the idea of it simply being part of his nen; while the abilities he demonstrates while using his wings (i.e. - Spiritual Message) are nen derived, I believe that the wings themselves are firmly an insect feature he naturally possesses.

Now let's about colors! The biggest draw to the insect is the wings - people can't reliably identify butterflies without their wings (which is something I encountered in research I had personally conducted), with patterning being the quickest way to tell species apart. So, how does color and pigmentation in wings work?

There's a number of factors at work, but the barest answer is, of course, genetics. A study from Cornell University found that a notable amount of genes seem to be preserved across species, suggesting that a lot of the patterns and colors may have emerged from a common ancestor across species. Lots of butterflies also employ forms of mimicry, such as Batesian mimicry (non poisonous species evolving to resemble poisonous ones to evade predators) and the development of characteristics such as eyespots. Wings can also be largely different in the same species due to sexual dimorphism, which certain species of swallowtails being excellent examples of such.

So what does this mean for Pouf? A lot of discussion of genetics goes out the window when it comes to the biology of the chimera ants, so the space for speculation begins to shrink. While a broader discussion isn't totally feasible, I believe the individual aspects of his wings can still be topics for conversation, namely the heart pattern and the rainbow gradient. The gradient can easily be read as iridescence, a property that develops not from the pigmentation of the wing itself, but due to the way light refracts through the scales (most strikingly and famously visible in the blue morpho); this can be interpreted as Pouf having scales that are most likely completely clear and at various angles, making them appear in rainbow colors as he moves. Scales not being fully aligned can also be read in line with him employing them as a offensive/defensive tactic - the scales rapidly repopulate, hence why they may be regenerating unevenly. As for the heart pattern, I believe two biological explanations may be at play. One is that they could represent modified eyespots (prominent in the common buckeye) or general patterning (like the white dots on a monarch), or they could simply be a stunningly unnatural-looking development (like the number pattern on the "89" butterfly).

Another point I'd like to discuss is Pouf's hypnotic scales. Personally, I think it's a bit of a shame it's not known at what dosages the effects kick in, because I think it could make for an excellent contender in a discussion about poison, which is actually something that butterflies fit into quite neatly! Many species employ poison as a defense mechanism, most famously the monarch, which gains it ability from the poison in the milkweed plants the larvae host on. Overwhelmingly, larvae consuming toxic plants is what gives the adult insect a chemical defense; this concept, like the pervious, becomes much more difficult to work with when given the chimera ants' biology, not just with Pouf having begun life as an adult, but also with him being heavily implied to be carnivorous, making him unlikely to be consuming toxic plants in his spare time. I believe this is where some give needs to be given and for the toxic/hypnotic properties to be chalked up more to nen, though it can also be assumed that the poison is just part of his base state, the same way his wings are.

In the future, I'll be returning to this to discuss the mechanics of flight ✨️