English
 
Help Privacy Policy Disclaimer
  Advanced SearchBrowse

Item

ITEM ACTIONSEXPORT
Add to Basket
  Local TagsRelease HistoryDetailsSummary

Released
Journal Article

Broadband Mie scattering effects by structural features of setae from the Saharan silver ant Cataglyphis bombycina

MPS-Authors
/persons/resource/persons125135

Fabritius,  Helge-Otto
Biological Composites, Microstructure Physics and Alloy Design, Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH, Max Planck Society;
Bionics and Materials Development, Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences, Marker Allee 76-78, 59063 Hamm, Germany;

External Resource
No external resources are shared
Fulltext (restricted access)
There are currently no full texts shared for your IP range.
Fulltext (public)
There are no public fulltexts stored in PuRe
Supplementary Material (public)
There is no public supplementary material available
Citation

Schwind, B., Wu, X., Tiemann, M., & Fabritius, H.-O. (2023). Broadband Mie scattering effects by structural features of setae from the Saharan silver ant Cataglyphis bombycina. Journal of the Optical Society of America B-Optical Physics, 40(3), B49-B58. doi:10.1364/JOSAB.474899.


Cite as: https://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-000F-5A2D-B
Abstract
The Saharan desert ant Cataglyphis bombycina is densely covered with shiny silver setae (hair-like structures). Their appearance was explained by geometric optics and total internal reflection \[Plos One11, e0152325 (2016)POLNCL1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0152325\]. The setae also increase the emissivity of the ant, as they form an effective medium \[Science349, 298 (2015)SCIEAS0036-807510.1126/science.aab3564\]. This work provides additional data on microstructural details of the setae that are used to simulate the scattering of an individual seta to explain their influence on the optical properties. This is achieved by characterization of their structure using light microscopy and scanning/transmission electron microscopy. How the microstructural features influence scattering is investigated wave-optically within the limits of finite-difference time-domain simulations from the ultraviolet to the mid-infrared spectral range to elucidate the optical effects beyond ray optics and effective medium theory. The results show that Mie scattering plays an important role in protecting the ant from solar radiation and could be relevant for its thermal tolerance.