scholarly journals Pterin pigment granules are responsible for both broadband light scattering and wavelength selective absorption in the wing scales of pierid butterflies

2006 ◽  
Vol 274 (1608) ◽  
pp. 359-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan I Morehouse ◽  
Peter Vukusic ◽  
Ron Rutowski
Keyword(s):  
Dense Granule ◽  
Colour Pattern ◽  
Sexual Dichromatism ◽  
Light Reflection ◽  
Selective Absorption ◽  
Signal Evolution ◽  
Wing Scale ◽  
Male Wing ◽  
Colour Signal ◽  
Wing Scales

A small but growing literature indicates that many animal colours are produced by combinations of structural and pigmentary mechanisms. We investigated one such complex colour phenotype: the highly chromatic wing colours of pierid butterflies including oranges, yellows and patterns which appear white to the human eye, but strongly absorb the ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths visible to butterflies. Pierids produce these bright colours using wing scales that contain collections of minute granules. However, to date, no work has directly characterized the molecular composition or optical properties of these granules. We present results that indicate these granules contain pterin pigments. We also find that pterin granules increase light reflection from single wing scales, such that wing scales containing denser granule arrays reflect more light than those with less dense granule collections. As male wing scales contain more pterin granules than those of females, the sexual dichromatism found in many pierid species can be explained by differences in wing scale pterin deposition. Additionally, the colour pattern elements produced by these pterins are known to be important during mating interactions in a number of pierid species. Therefore, we discuss the potential relevance of our results within the framework of sexual selection and colour signal evolution.

scholarly journals Male courtship decisions are influenced by light environment and female receptivity

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1839) ◽  
pp. 20160861 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gemma L. Cole ◽  
John A. Endler
Keyword(s):  
Poecilia Reticulata ◽  
Light Environment ◽  
Colour Pattern ◽  
Light Spectrum ◽  
Female Receptivity ◽  
Female Response ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
Visual Contrast ◽  
Signal Efficacy ◽  
Colour Signal

The appearance of animal colour signals depends jointly upon the ambient light spectrum and the signal's reflectance spectra. Light environment heterogeneity might, therefore, allow individuals to enhance their signal by signalling in an environment that increases signal efficacy. We tested this hypothesis by providing male guppies ( Poecilia reticulata ), a choice of three light environments in which to display their colour signal to females: green, lilac, and clear. We paired males with both receptive and non-receptive females to test whether female response might affect male behavioural decisions. Males preferred the clear environment in all trials and this environment also resulted in males having the highest average visual contrast. Sexual behaviour was influenced by complex interactions between female receptivity, light environment, and male colour pattern contrast. Males spent significantly more time in the environment in which their colour signal had the highest contrast, but only when paired with receptive females. Significant interactions between light environment and individual male colour components were also seen only in receptive trials. Our results suggest that males use light environment to enhance their colour pattern, but only in the presence of receptive females.

scholarly journals Coloration using higher order optical interference in the wing pattern of the Madagascan sunset moth

2007 ◽  
Vol 5 (21) ◽  
pp. 457-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Yoshioka ◽  
T Nakano ◽  
Y Nozue ◽  
S Kinoshita
Keyword(s):  
Multilayer Structure ◽  
Hind Wing ◽  
Ventral Side ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Dorsal Side ◽  
Colour Pattern ◽  
Optical Interference ◽  
Wing Scale ◽  
Abrupt Changes ◽  
Colour Patterns

Colour patterns of animals' bodies are usually produced by the spatial distribution of pigments with different colours. However, some animals use the spatial variation of colour-producing microstructures. We have studied one distinctive example of such structurally produced colour patterns, the wing of the Madagascan sunset moth, to clarify the physical rules that underlie the colour variation. It is known that the iridescent wing scale of the sunset moth has the alternate air–cuticle multilayer structure that causes optical interference. The microscopic and optical investigations of various parts of the wing have confirmed that the thickness of the cuticle layers within the scale largely varies to produce the colour pattern. However, it varies in very different ways between the dorsal and ventral sides of the hind wing; the thickness gradually varies on the dorsal side from scale to scale, while the abrupt changes are found on the ventral side to form distinctive borders between differently coloured areas. It is also revealed that an unusual coloration mechanism is involved in the green part of the ventral hind wing: the colour is caused by higher order optical interference of the highly non-ideal multilayer structure. The physical mechanism of the colour pattern formation is briefly discussed with the several mathematical models proposed so far.

scholarly journals F-actin Re-organization Mediates Hierarchical Morphogenesis of Swallowtail Butterfly Wing Scale Nanostructures

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kwi Shan Seah ◽  
Vinodkumar Saranathan
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Study ◽  
Butterfly Wing ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
Fundamental Interest ◽  
Actin Bundles ◽  
Wing Scale ◽  
Nanostructural Organization ◽  
Made In ◽  
Wing Scales

AbstractThe development of color patterning in lepidopteran wings is of fundamental interest in evolution and developmental biology. While significant advances have recently been made in unravelling the cell and molecular basis of lepidopteran pigmentary coloration, the morphogenesis of wing scales, often involved in structural color production, is not well understood. Contemporary research focuses almost exclusively on a few nymphalid model taxa (e.g., Bicyclus, Heliconius), despite an overwhelming diversity across lepidopteran families in the hierarchical nanostructural organization of the scale. Here, we present a time-resolved, comparative developmental study of hierarchical wing scale nanostructure in Parides eurimedes and other papilionid species. Our results uphold the putative conserved role of F-actin bundles in acting as spacers between developing ridges as previously documented in several nymphalid species. While ridges are developing, the plasma membrane manifests irregular crossribs, characteristic of Papilionidae, which delineate the accretion of cuticle into rows of planar disks in between ridges. Once ridges have grown, Arp2/3 appears to re-organize disintegrating F-actin bundles into a reticulate network that supports the extrusion of the membrane underlying the disks into honeycomb-like tubular lattices of air pores in cuticle. Our results uncover a previously undocumented role for F-actin in the morphogenesis of wing scale nanostructures prominently found in Papilionidae. They are also relevant to current challenges in engineering of mesophases, since understanding the diversity and biological basis of hierarchical morphogenesis may offer facile, biomimetic solutions.

scholarly journals Species Diversity and Structure of Wing Scales of Euploea and Papilio Butterflies from Phromlaeng, Nam Nao National Park, Phetchabun Province

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 167-180
Author(s):  
Sukhum RUANGCHAI ◽  
Sirikamon PHLAI-NGAM ◽  
Nisarat TUNGPAIROJWONG
Keyword(s):  
Species Diversity ◽  
National Park ◽  
General Structure ◽  
Structural Coloration ◽  
Reticular Pattern ◽  
Wing Scale ◽  
Stereo Microscope ◽  
One Year ◽  
Scanning Electron ◽  
Wing Scales

This study focuses on species diversity of butterflies in the genera Euploea and Papilio in Nam Nao National Park. The butterflies were investigated every month for one year using insect nets. A total of 11 species, belonging to 2 genera and 2 families, were found. These were E. algea, E. camaralzeman, E. core, E. midamus, E. mulciber, E. radamanthus, E. sylvester, P. helenus, P. memnon, P. nephelus, and P. paris. The structure of the wing scales in different colour areas of 9 species was studied using a stereo microscope and a scanning electron microscope. The general structure of the wing scales of the butterflies of genus Euploea, independent of the colour it produces, is of longitudinal ridges, composed of tilted scutes, cross ribs that connect the ridges, and trabeculae, which link the cross ribs to the membrane of the wing scale’s upper lamina. In the Papilio species, there are 2 types of wing scales: one that exhibits blue-green iridescence and has wide-spaced ridges with concavities in between; and one displaying white, black, yellow, and red and has smaller widths between the ridges, with the space in between them containing a reticular pattern of cross ribs. The study of the wing scale microstructure of the butterflies in the Euploea and Papilio genera indicates that the patterns of the wing scale structure are genus-specific and that, despite showing similar colours, the wing scales are equipped with different mechanisms exemplifying diversity in structural coloration in nature.

scholarly journals Thin-film structural coloration from simple fused scales in moths

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 20180044 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cédric Kilchoer ◽  
Ullrich Steiner ◽  
Bodo D. Wilts
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Incident Light ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Structural Coloration ◽  
Scale Thickness ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
Wing Scale ◽  
Wing Patterns ◽  
Colour Changes ◽  
Wing Scales

The metallic coloration of insects often originates from diverse nanostructures ranging from simple thin films to complex three-dimensional photonic crystals. In Lepidoptera, structural coloration is widely present and seems to be abundant in extant species. However, even some basal moths exhibit metallic coloration. Here, we have investigated the origin of the vivid metallic colours of the wing scales of the basal moth Micropterix aureatella by spectrophotometry and scanning electron microscopy. The metallic gold-, bronze- and purple-coloured scales share a similar anatomy formed of a fused lower and upper lamina resulting in a single thin film. The optical response of this thin-film scale can be attributed to thin-film interference of the incident light, resulting in the colour variations that correlate with film thickness. Subtle variations in the wing scale thickness result in large visible colour changes that give Micropterix moths their colourful wing patterns. This simple coloration mechanism could provide a hint to understand the evolution of structural coloration in Lepidoptera.

Phylogeny of Utetheisa s. str. (Lepidoptera:Noctuidae:Arctinae) with comments on the evolution of colour, hind wing scales and origin of New World species

2010 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 113 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. DaCosta
Keyword(s):  
Posterior Probability ◽  
Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids ◽  
New World ◽  
Hind Wing ◽  
Data Matrix ◽  
Bayesian Analyses ◽  
World Species ◽  
Male Wing ◽  
Defence Strategy ◽  
Wing Scales

Species of Utetheisa Hübner incorporate pyrrolizidine alkaloids into their defence strategy where they are protective against both invertebrate and vertebrate predators, and courtship behaviours by males incorporate the alkaloids into their pheromones. Although Utetheisa’s chemical ecology is well understood, the systematics is less clear. A phylogeny of Utetheisa was constructed based on adult morphology. The final data matrix consisted of 29 species and 105 characters (268 states) from adults scored from both nongenitalic and genitalic characters as follows: 3 head (8 states), 4 leg (8 states), 21 wing (49 states), 44 male abdominal and genitalic characters (124 states), and 33 female abdominal and genitalic characters (79 states). The resulting parsimony and Bayesian analyses demonstrated that Utetheisa s. str. is monophyletic and sister to U. Pitasila (Moore). UtetheisaAtasca (Swinhoe) is more closely related to outgroup taxa than it is to other Utetheisa species. Monophyly of Utetheisa s. str. is strongly supported by a posterior probability of 0.98. Colour was lost once and male wing androconia evolved independently in several species, all of which feed on hosts in Boraginaceae. Forbes’ hypothesis of an Old World origin for the genus is corroborated and two origins for New World species are supported.

Sexual dichromatism in snakes: support for the flicker-fusion hypothesis

1996 ◽  
Vol 74 (12) ◽  
pp. 2254-2256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Erik Lindell ◽  
Anders Forsman
Keyword(s):  
Colour Pattern ◽  
Sexual Dichromatism ◽  
Colour Morph ◽  
Visually Guided ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Capture Recapture ◽  
Colour Patterns ◽  
Flicker Fusion ◽  
Fusion Hypothesis ◽  
Better Than

In a recent review of the distribution and evolution of sexual dichromatism in the Old World viperid snakes of the genus Vipera, Shine and Madsen proposed that males in sexually dichromatic taxa had evolved bright contrasting colour patterns because these function to confuse visually guided predators by inducing a "flicker-fusion" illusion and thus enhance survival of males that move about rapidly in search of mates. Here we provide support for the flicker-fusion hypothesis obtained from a capture – recapture study of a colour polymorphic population of the adder, V. berus, that consists of a sexually dichromatic zigzag colour morph and a monochromatic melanistic colour morph. We used mark – recapture data to estimate and compare annual capture and survival probabilities of melanistic and zigzag male and female individuals. Our results revealed that in any given year zigzag males survived significantly better than did melanistic males, whereas melanistic females survived better than zigzag females. This is consistent with the flicker-fusion hypothesis and suggests that selection from visually guided predators acts on the interaction between colour pattern and behaviour.

scholarly journals Sexual Dichromatism of the Damselfly Calopteryx japonica Caused by a Melanin-Chitin Multilayer in the Male Wing Veins

PLoS ONE ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. e49743 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doekele G. Stavenga ◽  
Hein L. Leertouwer ◽  
Takahiko Hariyama ◽  
Hans A. De Raedt ◽  
Bodo D. Wilts
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Dichromatism ◽  
Male Wing ◽  
Wing Veins

scholarly journals Classical lepidopteran wing scale colouration in the giant butterfly-moth Paysandisia archon

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doekele G. Stavenga ◽  
Hein L. Leertouwer ◽  
Andrej Meglič ◽  
Kazimir Drašlar ◽  
Martin F. Wehling ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Light And Electron Microscopy ◽  
Visual Signals ◽  
Wing Colour ◽  
White Spots ◽  
Wing Scale ◽  
Thin Film Interference ◽  
Scale Types ◽  
Wing Scales

The palm borer moth Paysandisia archon (Castniidae; giant butterfly-moths) has brown dorsal forewings and strikingly orange-coloured dorsal hindwings with white spots surrounded by black margins. Here, we have studied the structure and pigments of the wing scales in the various coloured wing areas, applying light and electron microscopy and (micro)spectrophotometry, and we analysed the spatial reflection properties with imaging scatterometry. The scales in the white spots are unpigmented, those in the black and brown wing areas contain various amounts of melanin, and the orange wing scales contain a blue-absorbing ommochrome pigment. In all scale types, the upper lamina acts as a diffuser and the lower lamina as a thin film interference reflector, with thickness of about 200 nm. Scale stacking plays an important role in creating the strong visual signals: the colour of the white eyespots is created by stacks of unpigmented blue scales, while the orange wing colour is strongly intensified by stacking the orange scales.

scholarly journals Agonistic character displacement of genetically based male colour patterns across darters

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1884) ◽  
pp. 20181248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel L. Moran ◽  
Rebecca C. Fuller
Keyword(s):  
Common Garden ◽  
Character Displacement ◽  
Colour Pattern ◽  
Signal Evolution ◽  
Interspecific Aggression ◽  
Mating Preferences ◽  
Aggressive Interactions ◽  
Allopatric Populations ◽  
Colour Patterns ◽  
Female Mating Preferences

Agonistic character displacement (ACD) occurs when selection to avoid maladaptive interspecific aggression leads to the evolution of agonistic signals and/or associated behavioural biases in sympatry. Here, we test for a pattern consistent with ACD in male colour pattern in darters (Percidae: Etheostoma ). Male colour pattern has been shown to function in male–male competition rather than female mating preferences in several darter species. Additionally, males bias their aggression towards conspecific over heterospecific males in sympatry but not in allopatry, consistent with divergent ACD in male behavioural biases. We use a common garden approach to show that differences in male colour pattern among four closely related darter species are genetically based. Additionally, we demonstrate that some aspects of male colour pattern exhibit enhanced differences in sympatric compared to allopatric populations of two darter species, consistent with ACD. However, other male colour traits are more similar between species in sympatry compared with allopatry, indicating that not all signal components are under strong divergent selection in sympatry. This study provides evidence that interspecific male–male aggressive interactions alone can promote elaborate male signal evolution both between and within species. We discuss the implications this has for male-driven ACD and cascade ACD.

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