Raman Signature of the Wings of the Globe Skimmer Dragonfly: Pantala flavescens

Dragonfly wings are membranous and known for their exceptional robustness, primarily due to the unique nanostructure architecture and the chemical composition of the lipids on the wing's surface. Surface properties such as antimicrobial, antiviral, and anti-wetting characteristics are the result of the chemical and physical makeup of the wing's surface. In this study, we present, for the first time, a report on the chemical components of the wing veins and the interveinal cells in the globe skimmer dragonfly (Libellulidae: Pantala flavescens, Fabricus, 1798) from three ecological zones in Ghana. Each component of the wing exhibits a distinct Raman fingerprint; the veins show a characteristic carbon G- and D-bands near 1590 and 1430 cm⁻¹, respectively, while the interveinal cells reveal the presence of both aliphatic carbon chains and aromatic carbon rings, with characteristic peaks around 3000 cm⁻¹ and below 1800 cm⁻¹. The presence of lightweight disordered carbon derivative in the veins and the chemical components of the interveinal cells likely contribute to the extreme strength, robustness, and durability of the wings. Furthermore, despite vast environmental differences among the three ecozones, a comparison of the Raman spectra of P. flavescens wings from each ecozone reveals similar chemical fingerprints, suggesting a common baseline chemical composition for the species' wings. This uniformity may be due to their highly migratory nature with a panmictic distribution across the globe.