Mishra Monalisa, Choudhury Ashutosh, Achary P Sagar, Sahoo Harekrushna
Department of Life Science.
Department of Physics.
Microscopy (Oxf). 2017 Dec 1;66(6):414-423. doi: 10.1093/jmicro/dfx037.
Butterflies wings possess different types of scales to perform diverse functions. Each scale has many nano and microstructures, which interferes with light, resulting in unique coloration for each butterfly. Besides coloration, the arrangement of scales further helps in giving better survivability. Thus, analysis of wing pattern provides an overall idea about adaptation and activity of the animal. The current study deciphers the structure and composition of a wing of a pierid butterfly Catopsilia pomona, which remains active at 42°C at which temperature all other butterflies face a tougher task for existence. In order to know the relation between survivability and adaptation in the wing, we have investigated the structural and physical composition of the wing of C. pomona under optical spectroscopy (absorption, reflectance and transmittance) along with microscopy techniques (optical and scanning electron microscopy), which are not described in earlier studies. The current findings reveal unique structural arrangement within scales to provide the best fit to the animal in variable temperature.
蝴蝶翅膀拥有不同类型的鳞片以执行多样的功能。每片鳞片都有许多纳米和微观结构，这些结构会干扰光线，从而使每只蝴蝶呈现出独特的色彩。除了色彩之外，鳞片的排列进一步有助于提高生存能力。因此，对翅膀图案的分析能提供有关该动物适应性和活动情况的整体概念。当前的研究解析了粉蝶科蝴蝶柑橘凤蝶翅膀的结构和组成，这种蝴蝶在42摄氏度时仍能活跃，而在这个温度下，所有其他蝴蝶都面临着更艰难的生存任务。为了了解翅膀的生存能力与适应性之间的关系，我们利用光谱学（吸收、反射和透射）以及显微镜技术（光学显微镜和扫描电子显微镜）研究了柑橘凤蝶翅膀的结构和物理组成，这些在早期研究中并未涉及。当前的研究结果揭示了鳞片内部独特的结构排列，以便在可变温度下为该动物提供最佳适应性。
