When scientists invented LED light-emitting technology, they had no idea that butterflies had been using this technology for 30 million years.
The fluorescent patches on the wings of the African swallowtail butterfly function similarly to light-emitting diodes (LEDs).
This LED technology is now used in various electronic devices and displays.
A research study from the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom on this subject was published in a scientific journal.
In 2001, Alexei Erchak and colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) presented a method for creating more efficient LEDs.
Meanwhile, Pete Vukusic and Ian Hooper from the University of Exeter demonstrated that the swallowtail butterfly uses a similar method to signal to one another.
The swallowtail butterfly is found in Eastern and Central Africa. This species boasts dark wings adorned with bright blue patches.
The wings of the swallowtail butterfly act like two-dimensional crystal pieces filled with pigments, structured in a way that allows them to produce intense fluorescence.
The colored patches on the butterfly’s wings absorb ultraviolet light and then re-emit it as blue light through fluorescence.
