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.
Diffusive structural colour in Hoplia argentea
Currently Viewing Accepted Manuscript - Newer Version Available
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
Download citation file:
Advertisement
2023 JEB Outstanding Paper Prize shortlist and winner
The JEB Editors are delighted to announce the shortlisted authors for the 2023 JEB Outstanding Paper Prize. Read the winning paper - Tiny spies: mosquito antennae are sensitive sensors for eavesdropping on frog calls - by Hoover Pantoja-Sanchez and Brian Leavell from Ximena Bernal's lab at Purdue University, USA.
JEB Science Communication Workshop for ECRs
If you’re an early-career researcher interested in science communication and are attending the SEB Annual Conference in Prague this summer, come a day early and join the JEB Editors at a sci comm workshop to learn the key writing skills needed to promote your research to a broad audience beyond your peers (1 July at 14.30-17.30). Places are limited to 24 attendees, and applicants should apply through the SEB registration page by 30 April 2024.
Bridging the gap between controlled conditions and natural habitats in understanding behaviour
Novel technologies enable behavioural experiments with non-model species, in naturalistic habitats and with underexplored behaviours. In their Commentary, Scholz and colleagues discuss how to obtain a deeper understanding of the natural ecology and lifestyle of study animals.
How a macrourid fish remains buoyant at depths it should be unable to reach
Fish with swimbladders should not be capable of descending below 7200m, but when Alan Jamieson and Todd Bond spotted a macrourid fish at 7259m, they knew they had seen something miraculous. Working with Imantes Priede, they reveal that the swimbladder of a 1 kg fish could hold 37.9 g of oxygen, sufficient to offset the weight of the fish's bones, and take 221-440 days to fill, which is plausible because it takes years for the fish to descend to such depths.
ECR Workshop on Positive Peer Review
Are you an ECR looking for tips on how to write concise, astute and useful manuscript reviews? If so, join the JEB Editors at a 2-hour JEB-sponsored Workshop on Positive Peer Review at the Canadian Society of Zoologists annual meeting in Moncton on 9 May 2024 at 13.00-15.00. There are 25 spaces for ECRs and selection is first come, first serve. To sign up, check the ECR Workshop box when you register for the CSZ meeting.