Solar-powered hornets steal thunder from plants, incite jealousy in humans

This flower is delicious
I am totally buzzed right now.

In a discovery making plants greener with envy, the Oriental hornet’s abdomen has been shown to gather and convert sunlight into electrical energy.

The amazing process is pulled off by the hornet’s brown shell, which captures the sunshine, and a pigment, xanthopterin, in the yellow stripes of its abdomen, which converts the light into energy.

Of course, researchers tried to copy the hornet so they too could flit about and live the high life with the power of little more than a nice day. Alas, their efforts paled next to the hornet’s, so the hunt is on for copying this technology for humans’ energy needs. Someday I’m sure I’ll be dressed up in brown and yellow stripes.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.