Green Scarab Beetle, Chiloloba acuta, munching on a fresh rose flower in Vernegues, France. I would check the roses every morning to see what new critters the floribunda roses had attracted for me to photograph! I was never disappointed! Ironically, it was just this one particular floribunda rose bush. Perhaps it was the fragrance that attracted the insects. In any case, the large-flowered hybrid tea roses did not get anywhere near as much insect traffic.
Now for the really mind-boggling part. The amazing, glossy green color results, not from green pigment, but from the prismatic microstructure in layers of chitin in the beetles outer shell. The beetle is essentially a glossy green mirror. Thus, while normal organic pigments would fade over time and exposure to the sun, the prismatic green of the scarab beetles is remarkably durable.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Green Scarab Beetle, Chiloloba acuta, in Vernegues, France
Green Scarab Beetle, Chiloloba acuta, munching on a fresh rose flower in Vernegues, France. I would check the roses every morning to see what new critters the floribunda roses had attracted for me to photograph! I was never disappointed! Ironically, it was just this one particular floribunda rose bush. Perhaps it was the fragrance that attracted the insects. In any case, the large-flowered hybrid tea roses did not get anywhere near as much insect traffic.
Now for the really mind-boggling part. The amazing, glossy green color results, not from green pigment, but from the prismatic microstructure in layers of chitin in the beetles outer shell. The beetle is essentially a glossy green mirror. Thus, while normal organic pigments would fade over time and exposure to the sun, the prismatic green of the scarab beetles is remarkably durable.
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