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. 2010 Jun 14;107(26):11676–11681. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0909616107

Fig. 1.

Fig. 1.

Anatomy of the structural color-producing nanostructure in lycaenid and papilionid butterflies. (A) Light micrograph of the ventral wing cover scales of Callophrys (formerly Mitoura) gryneus (Lycaenidae). The opalescent highlights are produced by randomly oriented crystallite domains. (Scale bar: 100 μm.) (B) SEM image of the dorsal surface of a C. gryneus scale showing disjoint crystallites beneath windows created by a network of parallel, longitudinal ridges and slender, spaced cross-ribs. (Inset) Simulated SEM (111) projection from a thick slab of a level set single gyroid nanostructure. (Scale bar: 2.5 μm.) (C) TEM image of the C. gryneus nanostructure showing a distinctive motif, uniquely characteristic of the (310) plane of the gyroid morphology. (Inset) A matching simulated (310) TEM section of a level set single gyroid model. (Scale bar: 200 nm.) (D) Light micrograph of the dorsal wing cover scales of the Parides sesostris (Papilionidae). (Scale bar: 100 μm.) (E) SEM image of the lateral surface of the wing scale nanostructure of P. sesostris showing fused polycrystalline domains beneath columnar windows created by a network of ridges and spaced cross-ribs. The fractured face features a square lattice of air holes in chitin. (Inset) Simulated SEM (100) projection from a thick slab of a level set single gyroid nanostructure. (Scale bar: 2 μm.) (F) TEM image of the P. sesostris nanostructure showing a distinctive motif, uniquely characteristic of the (211) plane of the gyroid morphology. (Inset) A matching simulated (211) TEM section of a level set single gyroid model. (Scale bar: 2 μm.) c, chitin; a, air void.