Ant body hairs cause total internal
reflection of light, prevent overheating
Date: April 13, 2016
Source: PLOS
The body hairs of the Saharan silver ant
cause total internal reflection of light to make the ants almost ten times more
reflective, preventing overheating and yielding their silver sheen, according
to a study published April 13, 2016 in the open-access journal PLOS
ONE by Quentin Willot from the University Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium, and
colleagues.
The Saharan silver ant is one of the
terrestrial living organisms best-adapted for high temperatures, and can forage
in the desert even when temperatures exceed 50 degrees Celsius. It has
previously been shown that its dorsal body hairs are responsible for its silver
color and help prevent overheating. However, the details of the hairs' optical
properties had not been elucidated.
The authors of the present study used a
Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) to examine the ant hairs and trace the path
of incoming light rays. They also compared normal 'hairy' ant samples with ants
that had been shaved, measuring how light was reflected and how quickly ants
heated under simulated sunlight.
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