Nature's miniature solar panels: the thermal properties of butterfly wing scales and their evolution

蝴蝶的翅膀上覆盖着数以千计的鳞片，这些鳞片已经进化成一系列功能，包括空气动力学效率、颜色信号、伪装、疏水性和温度调节。这些功能的基础是鳞片的纳米结构。近年来，随着我们试图了解和预测生物体将如何应对气候变化，人们对生物适应热环境的兴趣有所增长。蝴蝶是在热适应方面研究得最好的昆虫群体之一。它们还有一些不同寻常的地方，因为它们有巨大的、覆盖着鳞片的翅膀，它们用来调节体温，既可以吸收太阳辐射来取暖，也可以辐射身体外的热量来降温。虽然翅膀对体温调节的重要性已经知道有一段时间了，但直到最近才开始认识到翅膀鳞片结构的重要性。

The wings of butterflies are covered in thousands of scalesthat have evolved to serve a range of functions includingaerodynamic efficiency, colour signalling, camouflage,hydrophobicity and thermoregulation. Fundamental tothese functions is the nanostructure of the scales.Interest in organisms' adaptation to their thermalenvironment has grown in recent years as we try tounderstand and predict how organisms will respond toclimate change. Butterflies are one of the best-studiedinsect groups with respect to thermal adaptation. They arealso somewhat unusual in having large, scale-coveredwings, which they use for thermoregulation, both to absorbsolar radiation to warm up and to radiate heat away fromthe body to cool down. While the importance of the wingsfor thermoregulation has been known for some time, onlyrecently has the importance of the wing scalenanostructures begun to be appreciated.