Taste the Rainbow
With a scatterogram in hand, a physicist can determine a crystal structure, as in the previous slide. Depending on the angle, a diamond weevil’s tiny scales reflect blue-green light from the square parts of the crystal and orange-yellow light from the hexagonal sections.
Now that the structure is known, and a high-tech process is in place to analyze the photonic materials in other weevils, butterflies and birds, Wilts said materials scientists can have a field day imagining crafting new types of paints, electronic screens and even better solar cells with such materials.
But until synthetic photonic crystal manufacturing catches up — and it has a long way to go, Wilts says — his team is focusing on the weevil’s use of photonic crystals.
“We’d really like to know what is the biological function,” he said. “The first and best idea is that it must be used for signaling between bugs,” he said. Perhaps flashing a weevil’s flashing its diamond bling, for example, is a good way to lure a mate.