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Fossil moth reveals colorful hue

Paleontologists deduce how ridges on the creature’s wings reflected light

By Devin Powell

- More than 2 years ago

MINNEAPOLIS — Ancient moths have for the first time shown their true colors to modern humans.

Ancient ancestors of Pollanisus moths, one of which is shown here, sported a yellow-green color that helped the insect protect itself, new researchers report. KeresH/Wikimedia Commons

By piecing together clues from a fossil unearthed in a former German quarry, a team of scientists has figured out how light bounced off a moth that lived 47 million years ago.