A Gem of a Beetle

A researcher has discovered that a beetle, Pachyrhynchus argus, has scales that emulate the structure of opals. The effect of this structure is that the beetle displays a metallic green color for the same reason that opals display fire. Scientists are trying to discover how this beetle creates this structure so that they can learn to emulate it. Success would be a technological breakthrough in the synthesis of opals. Opals have many industrial uses. Currently there is research being done on chemical detection using synthetic opals. This beetle could potentially save lives in the future when synthetic opals are employed to detect dangerous chemicals in a terrorist attack.

These pictures depict an electron microscope magnification of beetle scales (left) and the silica spheres in precious opal (right).

Learn more about why these
spheres create the fire in opals.

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