Mimicry of hymenoptera by beetles with unconventional flight.

Flower-visiting beetles of the genus Acmaeodera (Buprestidae) bear a striking resemblance to Hymenoptera in flight. Unlike most other beetles, they fly with their membranous hindwings only, and their forewings, which are inseparably coupled and permanently held over the abdomen, bear color markings commonly found on the abdomens of bees and wasps.

Disruptive Coloration in Butterflies: Lack of Support in Anartia fatima.

Experimental obliteration of high-contrast wing stripes of the neotropical butterfly Anartia fatima affected neither survival nor wing damage in a natural population over a 5-month period. There is no direct evidence supporting the hypothesis that so-called disruptive wing patterns function as protective coloration in butterflies.

Plant taxonomy: ultraviolet patterns of flowers visible as fluorescent patterns in pressed herbarium specimens.

Pressed flowers, in herbarium specimens, show visible fluorescent patterns matching the invisible ultraviolet patterns that the flowers show in life. The technique is taxonomically applicable since it makes an important but usually neglected floral character readily demonstrable.

Ultraviolet reflection of a male butterfly: interference color caused by thin-layer elaboration of wing scales.

Males of the butterfly Eurema lisa, like many other members of the family Pieridae, reflect ultraviolet light. The color is structural rather than pigmentary, and originates from optical interference in a microscopic lamellar system associated with ridges on the outer scales of the wing. The dimensions and angular orientation of the lamellar system conform to predictions based on physical measurement of the spectral characteristics, including "color shifts" with varying angles of incidence, of the reflected ultraviolet light. The female lacks such scales and is consequently nonreflectant. The ultraviolet dimorphism supposedly serves as the basis for sexual recognition in courtship.

Ultraviolet video-viewing: the television camera as an insect eve.

A television camtiera, like the eyes of some insects, is sensitive to ultraviolet light. When equipped with an appropriate ultraviolet-transmitting lens, such a camera can be used for the direct examtiination of ultraviolet reflectiont patterns (for example, on flowers, butterflies) that are invisible to us, but visible to inisects.