Date of Submission

Spring 2024

Academic Program

Biology

Project Advisor 1

Bruce Robertson

Abstract/Artist's Statement

The role of polarized light in the biological functioning of many insects is a fascinating yet seldom researched topic in ecology. Polarized light–light which oscillates in a single plane–is ubiquitous in the natural world and provides important cues for butterflies' functions, such as detecting water bodies. In my study, I measured the effectiveness of butterfly wings at polarizing visible and ultraviolet (UV) light. While some research has been conducted about the role of polarization in butterfly behavior, research that precisely measures and quantifies polarization by their wings is lacking. Butterflies possess intricate and brilliant colorations, but it is unknown how effective the amazing array of colors are at polarizing light. I measured how the darkness of the colors of butterfly wings affects the quantity of reflected polarized light. Then, I compared the degrees of linearly polarized light (DoLP)–a measurement quantifying the amount of light polarized–in the visible and UV ranges. I found that in visible light, darker colored areas are more conducive to polarization, whereas darkness has no effect on polarization in ultraviolet light.

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On-Campus only

Creative Commons License

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