By Devin Powell
MINNEAPOLIS — Ancient moths have for the first time shown their true colors to modern humans.
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. Today, the insect’s remains are bluish. But before time alchemized its wings, the creature was mostly yellow-green, with only a fringe of blue.
“The original colors aren’t preserved, but they can be reconstructed,” said Yale paleontologist Maria McNamara, who presented the new findings October 9 at the Geological Society of America annual meeting.