Thin-film iridescence in the eggshell of a stick insect (Myronides glaucus)

Abstract

Colours in nature can be pigmentary, structural or a combination of both. The prevalence, function and nanostructural origin of structural coloration in eggs is largely unknown. Stick and leaf insect eggs display a wide variety of colours, most of which are produced by pigments. The eggs of Myronides glaucus (Phasmida: Lonchodidae; Hennemann, 2021), however, show a clear purple to green iridescence. Here, we use micro-spectrophotometry, Fourier-transform infrared reflectance, transmission- and scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, finite-difference time-domain optical simulations and experimental approaches to elucidate the mechanism for iridescence in M. glaucus eggshells, which together reveal that iridescence is caused by thin-film interference by a 200- to 450-nm-thick outermost layer. These results highlight the diversity of phasmid eggs and the need to study the different mechanisms and functions of structural coloration.