A team from the University of Exeter has examined new techniques for generating photo-voltaic (PV) energy — converting light into power.

It showed that by mimicking the V-shaped posture adopted by Cabbage White butterflies to warm up their flight muscles before take-off, the amount of power produced by solar panels can be increased by almost 50%.

Cabbage White butterflies are known to take flight before other butterflies on cloudy days. This is thought to be because their V-shaped posture — known as reflectance basking — concentrates solar energy onto their thorax.

Furthermore, specific sub-structures of their wings allow the light to be reflected very efficiently, thereby ensuring that their flight muscles are warmed to the optimal temperature as quickly as possible.

The team of scientists found that the optimal angle between the wings to increase body temperature is around 17deg.

They also showed that by replicating the simple mono-layer of scale cells found in the butterfly wings, they could greatly improve the power-to-weight ratio of future solar concentrators, making them significantly lighter and much more efficient.