News Inputs from Swasti Sharma
Vietnam, August 29: Scientists have recently for the first time have found that Asian paper wasp (genus Polistes) nest can glow in fluorescent green colour, when kept under UV (ultraviolet) rays. This was observed in the tropical rainforests of Vietnam.
The nests are made up of numerous hexagonal cells with their underside sealed off, known as cocoon caps made up of silken fibres. This covering protects the growing larvae found inside the nest. These cocoon caps appear white under regular light but show fluorescent greenish glow when exposed to UV light between 360- 400 nanometres in wavelength. The glow can be seen at night, upto 20 metres away. It was found that other species of the same genus also have similar fluorescent properties. Though their glow varied in intensity and range of UV light. The researchers are still to find the reason for this fluorescence.
Image credits: Bernd Schollhorn and Serge breathier