Butterfly scale form birefringence related to photonics

Wings of the butterflies Morpho aega and Eryphanis reevesi were investigated in the present study by fluorescence, polarization and infra-red (IR) spectroscopic microscopy with the aim of identifying the oriented organization of their components and morphological details of their substructures. These wings were found to exhibit a strong iridescent glow depending on the angle of the incident light; their isolated scales exhibited blue fluorescence. Parallel columns or ridges extend from the pad and sockets to the dented apical scale's region, and they are perpendicular to the ribs that connect the columnar ridges. The scales reveal linear dichroism (LD) visually, when attached on the wing matrix or isolated on slides. The LD was inferred to be textural and positive and was also demonstrated with IR microscopy. The scale columns and ribs are birefringent structures. Images obtained before and after birefringence compensation allowed a detailed study of the scale morphology. Form and intrinsic birefringence findings here estimated and discussed in the context of nonlinear optical properties, bring to the level of morphology the state of molecular order and periodicity of the wing structure. FT-IR absorption peaks were found at wavenumbers which correspond to symmetric and asymmetric (-N-H) stretching, symmetric (-C-H) stretching, amide I (-C=0) stretching, amide II (-N-H), and beta-linking. Based on LD results obtained with polarized IR the molecular vibrations of the wing scales of M. aega and E. reevesi are assumed to be oriented with respect to the long axis of these structures. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.