True colors: Using X-rays to trace the evolution of insects' structural colors
Monday, May 18, 2020 - 10:01
in Biology & Nature
Many colors in nature are produced using pigments that absorb light to varying degrees and reflect the rest, creating shades of red and brown, for instance. Our clothes and other objects are colored the same way, using chemical dyes. But the iridescent blue and green colors found on insects and other animals are different. These organisms have somehow evolved the ability to grow complex nanostructures that scatter or diffract light to produce metallic-looking colors.