Wing color of 200-million-year-old insect revealed via fossil scales in Nanjing

Photo taken on April 11, 2018 shows Micropterigidae samples at Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province. An international team led by Chinese scientists has revealed the wing color of a 200-million-year-old insect via fossil scales. The study, published in the journal Science Advances, found that tiny photonic structures of lepidopterans could produce metallic bronze to golden color appearances in the insect wings. (Xinhua/Sun Can)