Hornet pigment drives solar cell in lab

Though far from photosynthetic, an insect's light-harvesting apparatus intrigues scientists

The possibility that a hornet might be harvesting sunlight for energy has researchers abuzz. Scientists have constructed an electricity-generating solar cell using a pigment from the oriental hornet, a team reports in the December Naturwissenschaften — but much more evidence would be needed to link solar input to power output in the living beast.