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Bálint Z, Katona G, Kertész K, Piszter G, Tóth B, Biró LP. Not all apparently gynandromorphic butterflies are gynandrous: The case of Polyommatus icarus and its relatives (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae). ARTHROPOD STRUCTURE & DEVELOPMENT 2024; 80:101359. [PMID: 38688173 DOI: 10.1016/j.asd.2024.101359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2024] [Revised: 04/19/2024] [Accepted: 04/19/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024]
Abstract
Beside the more than two thousand normal specimens of Polyommatus icarus (Rottemburg, 1775) yielded by rearing experiments, there was one perfectly bilateral dichromatic individual first considered to be gynandrous. On the basis of analysing genitalia traits, wing surface covering scale micromorphology, and the spectral characteristics of the blue colour generated by the cover scales, the gender of the specimen has been identified as female. This exemplar was investigated in comparison with gynandrous specimens from the collections of the Hungarian Natural History Museum exhibiting various degrees of intermixing of blue and brown coloration. Focus stacking microscopy for detailed scale morphology and UV-visible reflectance spectroscopy was used for the characterization of the optical properties. Inspecting literature references and the Lycaenidae collection of the museum, further examples have been found for female bilateral dichromatism in the closely related polyommatine lycaenid species Lysandra bellargus (Rottemburg, 1775) and Lysandra coridon (Poda, 1761) what suggests that polyommatine female dichromaticity may be displayed by the manner of bilaterality and mosaicism, phenomena hitherto solely connected to gynandromorphy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zsolt Bálint
- Department of Zoology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Baross utca 13, Budapest, H-1088, Hungary; Institute of Technical Physics and Materials Science, HUN-REN Centre for Energy Research, P. O. Box 49, Budapest, H-1525, Hungary
| | - Gergely Katona
- Department of Zoology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Baross utca 13, Budapest, H-1088, Hungary
| | - Krisztián Kertész
- Institute of Technical Physics and Materials Science, HUN-REN Centre for Energy Research, P. O. Box 49, Budapest, H-1525, Hungary
| | - Gábor Piszter
- Institute of Technical Physics and Materials Science, HUN-REN Centre for Energy Research, P. O. Box 49, Budapest, H-1525, Hungary.
| | - Balázs Tóth
- Department of Zoology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Baross utca 13, Budapest, H-1088, Hungary
| | - László Péter Biró
- Institute of Technical Physics and Materials Science, HUN-REN Centre for Energy Research, P. O. Box 49, Budapest, H-1525, Hungary
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Piszter G, Bálint Z, Kertész K, Szatmári L, Sramkó G, Biró LP. Breeding Polyommatus icarus Serves as a Large-Scale and Environmentally Friendly Source of Precisely Tuned Photonic Nanoarchitectures. INSECTS 2023; 14:716. [PMID: 37623426 PMCID: PMC10455773 DOI: 10.3390/insects14080716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Revised: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
The colour of the butterfly wing serves as an important sexual and species-specific signal. Some species produce structural colouration by developing wing scales with photonic nanoarchitectures. These nanostructures are highly conservative, allowing only a ±10 nm peak wavelength deviation in the reflectance spectra of the blue structural colour in natural Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) populations. They are promising templates of future artificial photonic materials and can be used in potential applications, too. In this work, we present methodology and infrastructure for breeding laboratory populations of Common Blue as a cost-effective and environmentally friendly source of nanostructures. Our technology enables the production of approximately 7500 wing samples, equivalent to 0.5-1 m2 of photonic nanoarchitecture surface within a year in a single custom-made insectarium. To ascertain the reliability of this method, we compared reflectance properties between different populations from distant geographic locations. We also provide genetic background of these populations using microsatellite genotyping. The laboratory population showed genetic erosion, but even after four generations of inbreeding, only minimal shifts in the structural colouration were observed, indicating that wild Common Blue populations may be a reliable source of raw material for photonic surfaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gábor Piszter
- Centre for Energy Research, Institute of Technical Physics and Materials Science, Konkoly-Thege Miklós út 29-33, H-1121 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Zsolt Bálint
- Centre for Energy Research, Institute of Technical Physics and Materials Science, Konkoly-Thege Miklós út 29-33, H-1121 Budapest, Hungary
- Hungarian Natural History Museum, Baross utca 13, H-1121 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Krisztián Kertész
- Centre for Energy Research, Institute of Technical Physics and Materials Science, Konkoly-Thege Miklós út 29-33, H-1121 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Lajos Szatmári
- Hungarian Natural History Museum, Baross utca 13, H-1121 Budapest, Hungary
- ELKH-DE Conservation Biology Research Group, Egyetem tér 1, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Gábor Sramkó
- ELKH-DE Conservation Biology Research Group, Egyetem tér 1, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
- Department of Botany, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - László Péter Biró
- Centre for Energy Research, Institute of Technical Physics and Materials Science, Konkoly-Thege Miklós út 29-33, H-1121 Budapest, Hungary
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Dexheimer E, Despland E. Newly introduced butterfly species’ urban habitat use driven by shorter vegetation and exotic plants. Biol Invasions 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-023-03009-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/10/2023]
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Piszter G, Kertész K, Kovács D, Zámbó D, Baji Z, Illés L, Nagy G, Pap JS, Bálint Z, Biró LP. Spectral Engineering of Hybrid Biotemplated Photonic/Photocatalytic Nanoarchitectures. NANOMATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 12:nano12244490. [PMID: 36558345 PMCID: PMC9782751 DOI: 10.3390/nano12244490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2022] [Revised: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2022] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Solar radiation is a cheap and abundant energy for water remediation, hydrogen generation by water splitting, and CO2 reduction. Supported photocatalysts have to be tuned to the pollutants to be eliminated. Spectral engineering may be a handy tool to increase the efficiency or the selectivity of these. Photonic nanoarchitectures of biological origin with hierarchical organization from nanometers to centimeters are candidates for such applications. We used the blue wing surface of laboratory-reared male Polyommatus icarus butterflies in combination with atomic layer deposition (ALD) of conformal ZnO coating and octahedral Cu2O nanoparticles (NP) to explore the possibilities of engineering the optical and catalytic properties of hybrid photonic nanoarchitectures. The samples were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy and optical and scanning electron microscopy. Their photocatalytic performance was benchmarked by comparing the initial decomposition rates of rhodamine B. Cu2O NPs alone or on the butterfly wings, covered by a 5 nm thick layer of ZnO, showed poor performance. Butterfly wings, or ZnO coated butterfly wings with 15 nm ALD layer showed a 3 to 3.5 times enhancement as compared to bare glass. The best performance of almost 4.3 times increase was obtained for the wings conformally coated with 15 nm ZnO, deposited with Cu2O NPs, followed by conformal coating with an additional 5 nm of ZnO by ALD. This enhanced efficiency is associated with slow light effects on the red edge of the reflectance maximum of the photonic nanoarchitectures and with enhanced carrier separation through the n-type ZnO and the p-type Cu2O heterojunction. Properly chosen biologic photonic nanoarchitectures in combination with carefully selected photocatalyst(s) can significantly increase the photodegradation of pollutants in water under visible light illumination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gábor Piszter
- Institute of Technical Physics and Materials Science, Centre for Energy Research, 29-33 Konkoly Thege Miklós St., 1121 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Krisztián Kertész
- Institute of Technical Physics and Materials Science, Centre for Energy Research, 29-33 Konkoly Thege Miklós St., 1121 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Dávid Kovács
- Institute of Technical Physics and Materials Science, Centre for Energy Research, 29-33 Konkoly Thege Miklós St., 1121 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Dániel Zámbó
- Institute of Technical Physics and Materials Science, Centre for Energy Research, 29-33 Konkoly Thege Miklós St., 1121 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Zsófia Baji
- Institute of Technical Physics and Materials Science, Centre for Energy Research, 29-33 Konkoly Thege Miklós St., 1121 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Levente Illés
- Institute of Technical Physics and Materials Science, Centre for Energy Research, 29-33 Konkoly Thege Miklós St., 1121 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Gergely Nagy
- Surface Chemistry and Catalysis Department, Institute for Energy Security and Environmental Safety, Centre for Energy Research, 29-33 Konkoly Thege Miklós St., 1121 Budapest, Hungary
| | - József Sándor Pap
- Surface Chemistry and Catalysis Department, Institute for Energy Security and Environmental Safety, Centre for Energy Research, 29-33 Konkoly Thege Miklós St., 1121 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Zsolt Bálint
- Department of Zoology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, 13 Baross St., 1088 Budapest, Hungary
| | - László Péter Biró
- Institute of Technical Physics and Materials Science, Centre for Energy Research, 29-33 Konkoly Thege Miklós St., 1121 Budapest, Hungary
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