Biomimicry otherwise known as biomimetic is a process whereby scientist and innovators turn to the mechanism of Mother Nature to derive inspiration for man-made technologies and designs.

Stretching from the fashion industry to the aerodynamics field of forensic sciences the exquisite Butterfly morphological design and the entire process of the making of the butterfly (metamorphosis) have inspired ground-breaking technological inventions.

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Lessons derived from the butterfly wings

Shining bright under the dazzling sunlight rays, the iridescent wings of the butterfly, specifically the blue morpho has pushed the boundaries of innovative technology to unimaginable lengths.

Under its belt already is the inspirational designs in cosmetics and fabrics. It doesn’t stop there. Recent research spearheaded by a group of scientist from general electric and the University of Exeter has made a breakthrough in further exploring the physical and chemical properties of the wings.

The study is quite promising as exemplified by the special interest it has attracted to the extent of being funded by the research and development wing of the United States Army-DARPA.

The butterfly metamorphosis is so precise that the alignment of the scales on the butterfly’s wing creates a false illusion with light. A property that enables other colors to be suppressed while others optimized.

Caning and dazzling

Owing to this property, we get to see different and varied shades of butterflies. In a nutshell, butterflies aren’t pigmented! The above phenomenon referred to as structural color, is being explored to make photonic security tags.

The physical ability of the wing to fend off water, manage the vapour flow and absorb heat is being reconnoitered in making, industrial sensors and protective personal gears.

The morpho wing as well as other butterfly species wings offer a treasure house full of biomimetic ideas. Interesting times await ahead indeed.

Butterfly metamorphosis a Step Ahead of L.E.D Technology

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Seeking perfection of the 1960 invention of the light emitting diode, the answer lay in the scales of the wings of the African swallowtail butterfly. Borrowing heavily the efficient butterfly’s scales, engineers have been able to produce bright diodes by introducing mirrors that had microscopic apertures on the original L.E.Ds.

The tiny holes a feature that corresponds to the morphological feature on the butterfly wing called photonic crystal. It plays a major role in condensing and focusing light for ease of butterfly communication.

According to Pete Vukusic, a researcher at the University of Exeter, butterflies have a mirror mirror like feature beneath the wing scales which enables the butterflies to take charge of the direction in which the light is emitted.

Milkweed A Pharmaceutical Cafeteria of the Monarch

Considered the most famous of the butterfly species, the monarch caterpillar derives its name (most probably) from the sheer size and its color pigment-orange. His majesty king William III before ascending to the throne was referred to as Prince William of Orange! (You copy?)

Sericulture (silkworm rearing) and ornamental butterfly farming face threats of parasitic infections that infest the monarch caterpillars.

All the same, thanks to the reproductive behavior of the monarch butterfly scientist have been able to identify the compound in milkweed- cardenolides which are highly potent against these parasitic infections of the butterflies.

The monarch caterpillar (pupa) feeds on the leaves of the milkweed as it undergoes the transformation process from a caterpillar to butterfly. This should explain why an adult female butterfly will lay its eggs on the milkweed which is highly toxic.

The above scenario is a case in point of how caterpillar to Butterfly Metamorphosis is spearheading agro-chemical innovations for a sustainable commercial breeding of butterflies.

However, as rightly pointed by the discoverers of the milkweed and monarch observation (Hunter and De Roode), it’s still early days to mimic the animals’ response to diseases in nature to fashion human pharmaceutical products.

Perpetually brightly colored

Scientists are in congruence that the colors we see on the body of the butterflies are neither dyes nor pigments. What are they then?-that’s should be the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question.

According to a Bioinspired, Biomimetic and Nanobiomsterials publication, a majority of the butterflies’ wings and other insects are translucent. Owing to the three dimension structures on the wings of the butterflies, they are in a position to manipulate light through bending and filtering mechanism akin to a prism and hence gives an impression of a brightly colored organism.

Scientists fail to replicate nature

Scientists are still scratching their pates in an attempt to reproduce this nature marvel in the laboratory. A fate that would translate to the creation of unfading color coats. Theoretical this will be a game changer in developing of fabric and building paints as reported by Townley and Parker studies.

The butterfly life cycle stages present a fertile idea incubator that remains to be exploited. Some are simple (presentation and design mimic of the wings) while some remain a work in progress- the theoretically unfading color pigment.

It, therefore, goes without saying that the intricately designed nature, is by no doubt a great source innovative idea incubator.