Nature's nanostructures can bring about vivid and iridescent colours seen in many insects, notably in beetles and butterflies. While the intense structural colours can be advantageous for display purposes, they may be also appealing to predators and therefore constitute an evolutionary disadvantage. Animals often employ absorption and scattering in order to reduce the directionality of the reflected light and thereby enhance their camouflage. Here, we investigate the monkey beetle Hoplia argentea using microspectrophotometry, electron microscopy, fluorimetry and optical modelling. We show that the dull green dorsal colour comes from the nanostructured scales on the elytra. The nanostructure consists of a multi-layered photonic structure covered by a filamentous layer. The filamentous layer acts as a spatial diffuser of the specular reflection from the multilayer and suppresses the iridescence. This combination leads to a colour-stable and angle-independent green reflection that likely enhances the camouflage of the beetles in their natural habitat.
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RESEARCH ARTICLE|
01 January 2019
Diffusive structural colour in Hoplia argentea
Cédric Kilchoer
,
Cédric Kilchoer
1
Adolphe Merkle Institute, University of Fribourg, Chemin des Verdiers 4, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland
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Primož Pirih
,
Primož Pirih
2
Department of Biology, Biotechnical faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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Ullrich Steiner
,
Ullrich Steiner
1
Adolphe Merkle Institute, University of Fribourg, Chemin des Verdiers 4, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland
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Bodo D. Wilts
Bodo D. Wilts
*
1
Adolphe Merkle Institute, University of Fribourg, Chemin des Verdiers 4, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland
*Author for correspondence: bodo.wilts@unifr.ch
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Cédric Kilchoer
1
Adolphe Merkle Institute, University of Fribourg, Chemin des Verdiers 4, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland
Primož Pirih
2
Department of Biology, Biotechnical faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Ullrich Steiner
1
Adolphe Merkle Institute, University of Fribourg, Chemin des Verdiers 4, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland
Bodo D. Wilts
*
1
Adolphe Merkle Institute, University of Fribourg, Chemin des Verdiers 4, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland
*Author for correspondence: bodo.wilts@unifr.ch
Received:
28 Aug 2019
Accepted:
19 Nov 2019
Online ISSN: 1477-9145
Print ISSN: 0022-0949
J Exp Biol jeb.213306.
Article history
Received:
28 Aug 2019
Accepted:
19 Nov 2019
Currently Viewing Accepted Manuscript - Newer Version Available
12 Dec 2019
Citation
Cédric Kilchoer, Primož Pirih, Ullrich Steiner, Bodo D. Wilts; Diffusive structural colour in Hoplia argentea. J Exp Biol 2019; jeb.213306. doi: https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.213306
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