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Emerald-patched Cattleheart Butterfly Wing
Image courtesy Vinod Saranathan
Resembling a patch of reptile skin, these green-orange structures are actually wing scales of the emerald-patched Cattleheart butterfly, as seen under a microscope.
Scientists have long known that the insect's vibrant green wing colors are due to complex crystals in the scales called gyroids, which bend and refract light in specific ways.(See picture: "Glowing Butterflies Outshine LEDs.")
But since these gyroids are only a few hundred nanometers across, scientists had only captured the structures in fuzzy 2-D snapshots.
Now, thanks to an x-ray imaging technique, "we were able for the first time to unambiguously diagnose the 3-D structures of these complex materials," said study co-author Vinodkumar Saranathan, a biologist at Yale University.
The research appears this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.—Ker Than
Published June 24, 2010
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Juniper Hairstreak Butterfly
Image courtesy Vinod Saranathan
The wing scales of the juniper hairstreak butterfly shimmer with a green iridescence thanks to crystals called gyroids.
But not all butterflies use gyroids to produce wing color—most get their color from pigments or simpler structures, said study co-author Saranathan. (Watch a video of monarch butterflies congregating in Mexico.)
"Evolutionarily speaking, each of these butterfly families have independently stumbled upon this," Saranathan said. "By using these butterflies as templates, we could reproduce [the gyroids] for artificial technological purposes."
For example, gyroids could be used to produce fade-resistant fabrics that don't require pigments and are visible from all directions.Published June 24, 2010
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Emerald-patched Cattleheart Butterfly
Image courtesy Richard Prum
The green patches on an emerald-patched Cattleheart butterfly (pictured) are the result of gyroids embedded in the wing scales.
"The green color is very similar to the leaves [in the butterfly's environment], so we think it helps with camouflage," study co-author Saranathan said.
Scientists think the gyroids only form during the butterflies' cocoon phase, and can't be replaced once the adult insects emerge from their cases.Published June 24, 2010
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