[This article originally appeared in print as "Bugged By Design."]
The wing of a butterfly, the web of a spider, the knee of a flea — no, it’s not a medieval recipe for witch’s brew. It’s a short list of the growing number of insect attributes attracting notice for their core utility and ingenious design. From rendering crystal-clear images on screens no matter what the lighting to finding water in the desert, bug-inspired innovation is taking flight. –Gemma Tarlach
The Mirasol screen mimics the structure of butterfly wings to make e-reader and tablet displays easier to see while using less power. Thinkstock; Qualcomm
The brilliant colors on the wings of many butterflies and some bird feathers, such as peacocks, are not, in fact, due to any actual pigment in the wing material itself. Instead, color is created through the prism-like, crystalline structure of the surface. The light is split into ...
