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Butterflies boast ultrablack wings

Nature (2004)Cite this article

Insects use optical trick to get the blackest black out of dark pigments.

'Ultrablack' is the new black - if you're a butterfly. The insects use optical trickery to make dark pigment in their wings look even darker, a new study has revealed1. Other researchers have already used a similar trick to make blacker-than-black surfaces.

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References

  1. Vukusic, P., Sambles, J. R. & Lawrence, C. R. Structurally assisted blackness in butterfly scales. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, published online, doi:10.1098/rsbl.2003.0150 (2004).

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Authors
  1. Michael Hopkin
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Hopkin, M. Butterflies boast ultrablack wings. Nature (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/news040126-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/news040126-4

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