Premium
Iridescence from diffraction structures in the wing scales of Callophrys rubi , the Green Hairstreak
Author(s) -
MORRIS R. B.
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
journal of entomology series a, general entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1365-3032
pISSN - 0047-2409
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3032.1975.tb00079.x
Subject(s) - iridescence , wing , diffraction , reflectivity , optics , materials science , grating , crystallography , physics , chemistry , thermodynamics
The uniform green colour of the under surface of the wing of Callophrys rubi is due to the integrated effect of the iridescence from a mosaic of polygonal grains, 5.4 μ m. diameter and 1 μ m. thick. The ultrastructure of each grain is a simple cubic network, lattice parameter 0257 μ m. The iridescent colour results from this structure acting as a volume diffraction grating giving a peak reflectance at about 0.548 μ m., green, which is found to be close to the observed reflectance with a peak at 0.550 μ m. measured by a spectrometer.