Color Changes Upon Cooling of Lepidoptera Scales Containing Photonic Nanoarchitectures, and a Method for Identifying the Changes

The effects produced by the condensation of water vapor from the environment in the various intricate nanoarchitectures occurring in the wing scales of several Lepidoptera species were investigated by controlled cooling (from 23° C, room temperature to -5 to -10° C) combined with in situ measurement...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Insect Science 2013, Vol.13 (87), p.1-15
Main Authors: Tamáska, István, Kértész, Krisztién, Vértesy, Zofia, Bálint, Zsolt, Kun, András, Yen, ShenHorn, Biró, Lászlo Péter
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ambient temperature
Animals
Cold Temperature
Color
Color of insects
condensation
cooling
drying
Entomology - methods
heat
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera - chemistry
Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
Microscopy, Electron, Transmission
nanomaterials
Natural history
Optics and Photonics - methods
Photonics
Physiological aspects
pigments
reflectance
water vapor
wings
Wings, Animal - chemistry
Zoological research
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Summary:The effects produced by the condensation of water vapor from the environment in the various intricate nanoarchitectures occurring in the wing scales of several Lepidoptera species were investigated by controlled cooling (from 23° C, room temperature to -5 to -10° C) combined with in situ measurements of changes in the reflectance spectra. It was determined that all photonic nanoarchitectures giving a reflectance maximum in the visible range and having an open nanostructure exhibited alteration of the position of the reflectance maximum associated with the photonic nanoarchitectures. The photonic nanoarchitectures with a closed structure exhibited little to no alteration in color. Similarly, control specimens colored by pigments did not exhibit a color change under the same conditions. Hence, this method can be used to identify species with open photonic nanoarchitectures in their scales. For certain species, an almost complete disappearance of the reflectance maximum was found. All specimens recovered their original colors following warming and drying. Cooling experiments using thin copper wires demonstrated that color alterations could be limited to a width of a millimeter or less. Dried museum specimens did not exhibit color changes when cooled in the absence of a heat sink due to the low heat capacity of the wings.
ISSN:1536-2442
1536-2442
DOI:10.1673/031.013.8701