Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Volume 279, Issue 1738, Pages 2524-2530Publisher
ROYAL SOC
DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2011.2651
Keywords
structural colour; photonic bandgap materials; scatterometry; diffuse reflection; communication
Categories
Funding
- AFOSR/EOARD [FA8655-08-1-3012]
- NCF, The Netherlands
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The neotropical diamond weevil, Entimus imperialis, is marked by rows of brilliant spots on the overall black elytra. The spots are concave pits with intricate patterns of structural-coloured scales, consisting of large domains of three-dimensional photonic crystals that have a diamond-type structure. Reflectance spectra measured from individual scale domains perfectly match model spectra, calculated with anatomical data and finite-difference time-domain methods. The reflections of single domains are extremely directional (observed with a point source less than 58), but the special arrangement of the scales in the concave pits significantly broadens the angular distribution of the reflections. The resulting virtually angle-independent green coloration of the weevil closely approximates the colour of a foliaceous background. While the close-distance colourful shininess of E. imperialis may facilitate intersexual recognition, the diffuse green reflectance of the elytra when seen at long-distance provides cryptic camouflage.
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