Butterflies add color to our gardens, help pollinate our crops and play an important part in ecosystem biodiversity as a pollinator and food source for a number of species. Millions of years of evolution have allowed the seemingly delicate butterflies to survive. Their ability to fly in unpredictable zig-zag patterns prevents them from getting eaten by predators, and their intricately designed wings – that are organized into photonic crystals – give them control of light waves to create iridescent colors. These creatures are inspiring great strides in the scientific community through their unique biology.
Researchers have recently turned to butterfly anatomy to improve scientific technology,
Chunlei Guo, Professor of Physics and Materials Science at the University of Rochester, has been studying how butterfly wings are so efficient at harnessing solar energy. Since butterflies are cold-blooded insects, they need to efficiently harness solar energy to maintain a high body temperature. Their intricately designed wings are organized into photonic crystals which are crystals that interact with light and give them control of light waves to create iridescent colors.
Guo’s research has involved studying the vividly blue morpho butterfly. The blue morpho’s intense wing color is not due to pigment but to the nanoscale structure of the wing itself. The wing is composed of millions of nanoscales, tiny structures that reflect only blue frequencies of light.
This discovery of structural color allows researchers to control light and produce color without the use of chemicals or paint. It also led to the creation of a highly light absorbent material called “absolute black,” which absorbs all colors of the spectrum and thereby increases heat absorption. Infrared lasers could mimic butterfly wing structures and etch similar micro-nano structures onto metals. Guo and his team found that administering these nanostructures to a solar panel improved its efficiency by 130%.
Studying the makeup of a butterfly’s cocoon also enabled scientists to identify an innovative and strong material called fibroin, the proteins found in caterpillar cocoons. Researchers at the Tufts Silklab in Boston were able to isolate the fibroin, which has many potential uses. It can be very flexible or as hard as the strong, synthetic fiber Kevlar and can have different medical applications. The material can be used as bandages or implants in reconstructive surgery. Fibroin can also be shaped into small screws which can be used to reconstruct bones, and contain human growth factor compounds to allow bones to come together.
The liquid form of fibroin has valuable applications, such as reacting in the presence of hazardous substances in the environment or lab. Ink made from liquid fibroin has been used to make gloves that turn from blue to red when in contact with a contaminated surface.
Butterflies have also aided in the advancement of sustainable development. As ocean levels continue to rise due to climate change, many cities may have to be built on water. Again using the model of the Morpho butterfly, Guo discovered that the nanometric structure of the butterfly’s wing breaks down water into small droplets that easily flow off its surface.
Guo created a metal surface with this nanoscale pattern based on the morpho butterfly’s wing. When he added droplets to the metal surface, the water repelled and bounced off of the surface.
“If we can deploy this in simple metal for the construction of the floating city, then the city will never sink,” Go said in an interview on PBS’ science series Nova.
Butterflies may also hold the secret to mitigating blood clots. UCI Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Adriana Briscoe, discovered an enzyme called “cocoonase” found in silk moths which has dissolving properties and is compatible with the human body like the protein, fibroin.
“Blood clots are very common in the United States. It turns out you can take cocoonase and, in a test tube, you can mix it up with a blood clot, and it’ll break it down into its component parts,” Briscoe said.
Today, butterflies’ ecosystems are under attack due to the effects of climate change and habitat loss. If butterflies go extinct, the entire food chain would be negatively impacted, as many predators such as birds depend on butterflies for food.
In addition, butterflies have inspired scientists to begin solving the pressing environmental issues of sea-level rise.
“There are many problems that humans haven’t solved that butterflies and moths already have,” entomologist Jessica Ware said.
Butterflies have allowed scientists to make breakthroughs in medicine and sustainable development. Without these incredible insects, inventions such as fibroin, which can be used as implants in reconstructive surgery, or an incredibly hydrophobic metal that can be modeled for a city on water would not be possible.
Sera Selin Guven is a Contributing Writer for the STEM section this Winter Quarter. She can be reached at guvens@uci.edu.