Thermal radiation management by natural photonic structures: Morimus asper funereus case

Abstract

Convective, conductive and radiative mechanisms of thermal management are extremely important for life. Photonic structures, used to detect infrared radiation (IR) and enhance radiative energy exchange, were observed in a number of organisms. Here we report on sophisticated radiative mechanisms used by Morimus asper funereus, a longicorn beetle whose elytra possess a suitably aligned array of lenslets and blackbodies. Additionally, a dense array of microtrichia hyperuniformly covers blackbodies and operates as a stochastic, full-bandgap, IR-photonic structure. All these features, whose characteristic dimensions cover a range from several hundred down to a few micrometres, operate synergistically to improve the absorption, emission and, possibly, detection of IR radiation. We present a morphological characterization of the elytron, thermal imaging measurements and a theoretical IR model of insect elytron, uncovering a synergistic operation of all structures.