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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Weird crystal makes beetle a living jewel

An insect owes its bright green covering to an unusual type of ‘photonic crystal’.
Optical micrograph of the scales of a Longhorn beetle

The scales (pictured) of an African beetle species contain crystalline structures that colour the insect a brilliant green. Credit: Y. Kobayashi et al./J. R. Soc. Interface

An African beetle achieves its glittering green forewings thanks to a unique type of light-reflecting crystal in its scales1.

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Nature 599, 350 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-03076-3

References

  1. Kobayashi, Y. Ohnuki, Y. & Yoshioka, S. J. R. Soc. Interface https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2021.0505 (2021).

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