By Katherine J. Wu/Smithsonianmag.com
In nature, sometimes the best way to blend in is to stand out. This oddball strategy seems to work for the jewel beetle (Sternocera aequisignata), a super-sparkly insect famous for the dazzling, emerald-toned wing case that adorns its exterior. Like the florid feathers of a male peacock or the shimmer of a soap bubble, these structures are iridescent, shining with different hues depending on the angle they’re viewed from.
In most other creatures, such kaleidoscopic coloring can’t help but catch the eye, allowing animals to woo their mates or advertise their toxic taste. But according to a study published last week in Current Biology, jewel beetles might just turn this trope on its head, deploying their beguiling gleam for camouflage instead.
As Rodrigo Pérez Ortega reports for Science magazine, this counterintuitive theory was first proposed a century ago, but only recently tested in the wild. To see if the glitz and glam of jewel beetles might help them blend in against a forested backdrop, a team of researchers led by Karin Kjernsmo, an evolutionary and behavioral ecologist at the University of Bristol, placed 886 jewel beetle wing cases, each filled with larvae, atop leaves in a local nature reserve. …..
Carol graduated from Riverside White Cross School of Nursing in Columbus, Ohio and received her diploma as a registered nurse. She attended Bowling Green State University where she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Literature. She attended the University of Toledo, College of Nursing, and received a Master’s of Nursing Science Degree as an Educator.
She has traveled extensively, is a photographer, and writes on medical issues. Carol has three children RJ, Katherine, and Stephen – one daughter-in-law; Katie – two granddaughters; Isabella Marianna and Zoe Olivia – and one grandson, Alexander Paul. She also shares her life with her husband Gordon Duff, many cats, and two rescues.
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As Far as My knowledge goes These Numerous Species of Beetles are Always Hard Shells that are very Colorful and Shiny at Times AND some people are making Quite Beautiful Jewellery out of these and That Jewellery is Stated to be quite Expensive and of course the Colorful Hard Shells Never rot ….
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