Humidity-dependent colour change in the green forester moth, Adscita statices
(2019) In Biology letters 15(9).- Abstract
The colours of insects serve important visual functions in aiding mate recognition, camouflage and warning. The display of insects is usually static, as cuticle coloration does not (or hardly) change during the lifespan of a mature imago form. Here, we describe a case of humidity-dependent, brilliant coloration in the green forester moth, Adscita statices. We show, by employing spectroscopic and ultrastructural methods, that the moth's colour results from the interference of incident light with an unusual hydrophilic melanized-chitin multilayer present in the wing scales. Humidity changes in the environment affect the multilayer properties, causing a significant shift of the green-peaking reflectance in the dry state to a rusty colour... (More)
The colours of insects serve important visual functions in aiding mate recognition, camouflage and warning. The display of insects is usually static, as cuticle coloration does not (or hardly) change during the lifespan of a mature imago form. Here, we describe a case of humidity-dependent, brilliant coloration in the green forester moth, Adscita statices. We show, by employing spectroscopic and ultrastructural methods, that the moth's colour results from the interference of incident light with an unusual hydrophilic melanized-chitin multilayer present in the wing scales. Humidity changes in the environment affect the multilayer properties, causing a significant shift of the green-peaking reflectance in the dry state to a rusty colour when damp, resulting in the strong colour change between day and dusk or dawn.
(Less)
- author
- Wilts, Bodo D. ; Mothander, Karolina LU and Kelber, Almut LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2019
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- body colours, camouflage, colour change, Lepidoptera, photonic nanostructures
- in
- Biology letters
- volume
- 15
- issue
- 9
- publisher
- Royal Society Publishing
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85072296435
- pmid:31530115
- ISSN
- 1744-9561
- DOI
- 10.1098/rsbl.2019.0516
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- a18f7151-c05c-4a2f-ac38-d36b65e5d343
- date added to LUP
- 2019-09-30 13:03:29
- date last changed
- 2024-05-14 23:36:49
@article{a18f7151-c05c-4a2f-ac38-d36b65e5d343,
abstract = {{<p>The colours of insects serve important visual functions in aiding mate recognition, camouflage and warning. The display of insects is usually static, as cuticle coloration does not (or hardly) change during the lifespan of a mature imago form. Here, we describe a case of humidity-dependent, brilliant coloration in the green forester moth, Adscita statices. We show, by employing spectroscopic and ultrastructural methods, that the moth's colour results from the interference of incident light with an unusual hydrophilic melanized-chitin multilayer present in the wing scales. Humidity changes in the environment affect the multilayer properties, causing a significant shift of the green-peaking reflectance in the dry state to a rusty colour when damp, resulting in the strong colour change between day and dusk or dawn.</p>}},
author = {{Wilts, Bodo D. and Mothander, Karolina and Kelber, Almut}},
issn = {{1744-9561}},
keywords = {{body colours; camouflage; colour change; Lepidoptera; photonic nanostructures}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{9}},
publisher = {{Royal Society Publishing}},
series = {{Biology letters}},
title = {{Humidity-dependent colour change in the green forester moth, Adscita statices}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2019.0516}},
doi = {{10.1098/rsbl.2019.0516}},
volume = {{15}},
year = {{2019}},
}