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Photonics in nature

Structural colours are the result of the interference of incident light with physical structures on or in the surface of substrata. Their presence, which is well documented in a diverse range of animals and some plants, has in some cases inspired biomimetic applications, fuelling the growth of the field of natural photonics. I am broadly interested in the characterisation, evolution and applications of photonic structures in Nature.

Current projects include:

1. Butterflies. These insects are renowned for their brightly iridescent wing surfaces. They are caused by the nanostructure of the wing scales, which interfere with incident light to produce a variety of colours and visual effects. This work is being carried out as part of a European Union Project, BioPhot (PDF format), in collaboration with:

  • The Hungarian Natural History Museum
  • The Research Institute for Technical Physics and Materials Science of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
  • The Facultes Universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix Namur, Belgium.
  • The Institut des Nanosciences de Paris, France.

2. Brazilian orchid bees. This work is being done in conjunction with the Laboratório de Sistemática e Ecologia de Abelhas Departamento de Zoologia, ICB, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais.

3. Fish colouration using the collections at the Natural History Museum, London.

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Contact Us

Abigail Ingram
Department of Zoology,
Natural History Museum
Cromwell Rd
London
SW7 5BD
UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 7942 5000

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