Iridescence as Camouflage

Kjernsmo, Karin; Whitney, Heather M.; Scott‐Samuel, Nicholas E.; Hall, Joanna R; Knowles, Henry D.; Tálas, László; Cuthill, Innes C.

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2019.12.013

Cited by 57 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…The most prominent functionalities of biological light manipulation are signaling, e.g. to attract conspecifics [13] and pollinators or to scare off predators [14][15][16][17][18], drably colors are often used as disguise and camouflage [19,20], while depending of the ambient characteristics their "optical necessity" may vary and can be attributed as extreme light absorption [21], anti-reflection [22] or selective reflection (iridescence) [23,24].…”

Section: Learning From Nature: Design Principles Of Natural Surfaces mentioning

confidence: 99%

Laser engineering of biomimetic surfaces

Stratakis

Bonse

Heitz

et al. 2020

Materials Science and Engineering: R: Reports

189

132

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The exciting properties of micro-and nano-patterned surfaces found in natural species hide a virtually endless potential of technological ideas, opening new opportunities for innovation and exploitation in materials science and engineering. Due to the diversity of biomimetic surface functionalities, inspirations from natural surfaces are interesting for a broad range of applications in engineering, including phenomena of adhesion, friction, wear, lubrication, wetting phenomena, self-cleaning, antifouling, antibacterial phenomena, thermoregulation and optics. Lasers are increasingly proving to be promising tools for the precise and controlled structuring of materials at micro-and nano-scales. When ultrashort-pulsed lasers are used, the optimal interplay between laser and material parameters enables structuring down to the nanometer scale. Besides this, a unique aspect of laser processing technology is the possibility for material modifications at multiple (hierarchical) length scales, leading to the complex biomimetic micro-and nano-scale patterns, while adding a new dimension to structure optimization. This article reviews the current state of the art of laser processing methodologies, which are being used for the fabrication of bioinspired artificial surfaces to realize extraordinary wetting, optical, mechanical, and biological-active properties for numerous applications. The innovative aspect of laser functionalized biomimetic surfaces for a wide variety of current and future applications is particularly demonstrated and discussed. The article concludes with illustrating the wealth of arising possibilities and the number of new laser micro/nano fabrication approaches for obtaining complex high-resolution features, which prescribe a future where control of structures and subsequent functionalities are beyond our current imagination.

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Section: Learning From Nature: Design Principles Of Natural Surfaces mentioning

confidence: 99%

Laser engineering of biomimetic surfaces

Stratakis

Bonse

Heitz

et al. 2020

Materials Science and Engineering: R: Reports

189

132

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…5H), señalan que la iridiscencia podría estar asociada a la pérdida rápida de calor, debido a que solo algunas longitudes de onda específicas no son reflejadas y se trasmiten al interior del cuerpo (transmitancia y absorbancia), básicamente para contribuir al mantenimiento del calor corporal requerido en animales ectotermos (= poiquilotermos), en otras palabras, aquellos que no cuentan con mecanismos metabólicos o fisiológicos para generar su propio calor interno; por el contrario, las especies de tono café tienen la posibilidad de absorber mayor radiación, de este modo, se cree que las mariposas en localidades con baja temperatura (como altas montañas y zonas templadas-frías del planeta), reemplazan la iridiscencia por un tono café que absorbe mejor la radiación solar (Biró et al 2003). Diversos autores aceptan que la termorregulación, así como la reducción de fricción, la repelencia del agua, el fortalecimiento tegumentario y la fotoprotección, entre otras, son funciones no comunicativas de la iridiscencia (Doucet y Meadows 2009;Kjernsmo et al 2020;Koon y Crawford 2000).…”

Section: Discussionunclassified

Algunas notas sobre el integumento quitinoso e iridiscente en la clase Insecta (Arthropoda: Hexapoda)

Salazar-Escobar

Villalobos-Moreno²

2021

RCHE

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Se aportan algunos aspectos del integumento quitinoso en los insectos, enfocados a la naturaleza iridiscente del mismo y a la relación con algunas especies tropicales. Se suministran diagramas e ilustraciones realizadas con estereomicroscopio y MEB de las partes quitinosas tratadas. Se incluyen fotos de especies iridiscentes de los órdenes Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, Mantodea y Lepidoptera. Buena parte de estas especies presentan una coloración verdosa iridiscente que es la dominante y puede ser útil en estudios taxonómicos aplicados.

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“…Recent studies have brought to forefront a seemingly counterintuitive explanation of structural coloration in insects-as a form of camouflage. Studies with human, bird and insect models have shown that iridescent objects may be difficult to identify against a similarly coloured background, such as green leaves, and make the coloured insect more difficult to target [42,43]. Notably, it has been shown that bright iridescence can make it difficult for some hymenopterans to recognize shapes [43], explaining how the striking coloration of cuckoo wasps may conceal them from their hosts.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structural colours in diverse Mesozoic insects

et al. 2020

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Structural colours, nature's most pure and intense colours, originate when light is scattered via nanoscale modulations of the refractive index. Original colours in fossils illuminate the ecological interactions among extinct organisms and functional evolution of colours. Here, we report multiple examples of vivid metallic colours in diverse insects from mid-Cretaceous amber. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy revealed a smooth outer surface and five alternating electron-dense and electron-lucent layers in the epicuticle of a fossil wasp, suggesting that multilayer reflectors, the most common biophotonic nanostructure in animals and even plants, are responsible for the exceptional preservation of colour in amber fossils. Based on theoretical modelling of the reflectance spectra, a reflective peak of wavelength of 514 nm was calculated, corresponding to the bluish-green colour observed under white light. The green to blue structural colours in fossil wasps, beetles and a fly most likely functioned as camouflage, although other functions such as thermoregulation cannot be ruled out. This discovery not only provides critical evidence of evolution of structural colours in arthropods, but also sheds light on the preservation potential of nanostructures of ancient animals through geological time.

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Iridescence as Camouflage

Cited by 57 publications

References 28 publications

Laser engineering of biomimetic surfaces

Laser engineering of biomimetic surfaces

Algunas notas sobre el integumento quitinoso e iridiscente en la clase Insecta (Arthropoda: Hexapoda)

Structural colours in diverse Mesozoic insects

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