Part of our Color in Nature series, this display shows examples of structural color. Most colors in nature come from pigments, like melanin, embedded in the surface layers of organisms, including insects. Blue, however, results from an interaction of light with surface structures (see What gives the Morpho butterfly its magnificent blue? from KQED Deep Look). This drawer was adopted by Patti Tsai-Steiner in honor of Mason Estes, grandson of John Steiner.
