TexasScholarWorks
    • Login
    • Submit
    View Item 
    •   Repository Home
    • UT Faculty/Researcher Works
    • UT Faculty/Researcher Works
    • View Item
    • Repository Home
    • UT Faculty/Researcher Works
    • UT Faculty/Researcher Works
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Natural History Note Differential Response To Circularly Polarized Light By The Jewel Scarab Beetle Chrysina Gloriosa

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    NaturalHistoryNoteDifferential.pdf (1.545Mb)
    Date
    2010-05
    Author
    Brady, Parrish
    Cummings, Molly
    Share
     Facebook
     Twitter
     LinkedIn
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract
    Circularly polarized light is rare in the terrestrial environment, and cuticular reflections from scarab beetles are one of the few natural sources. Chrysina gloriosa LeConte 1854, a scarab beetle found in montane juniper forests of the extreme southwestern United States and northern Mexico, are camouflaged in juniper foliage; however, when viewed with right circularly polarizing filters, the beetles exhibit a stark black contrast. Given the polarization-specific changes in the appearance of C. gloriosa, we hypothesized that C. gloriosa can detect circularly polarized light. We tested for phototactic response and differential flight orientation of C. gloriosa toward different light stimuli. Chrysina gloriosa exhibited (a) positive phototaxis, (b) differential flight orientation between linear and circularly polarized light stimuli of equal intensities, and (c) discrimination between circularly polarized and unpolarized lights of different intensities consistent with a model of circular polarization sensitivity based on a quarter-wave plate. These results demonstrate that C. gloriosa beetles respond differentially to circularly polarized light. In contrast, Chrysina woodi Horn 1885, a close relative with reduced circularly polarized reflection, exhibited no phototactic discrimination between linear and circularly polarized light. Circularly polarized sensitivity may allow C. gloriosa to perceive and communicate with conspecifics that remain cryptic to predators, reducing indirect costs of communication.
    Department
    Integrative Biology
    Subject
    circularly polarized light
    scarab beetles
    polarization sensitivity
    phototaxis
    vision
    communication
    coleoptera
    animals
    channel
    cuticle
    signal
    ecology
    evolutionary biology
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/2152/31068
    Citation
    Parrish Brady, Molly Cummings. Natural History Note Differential Response To Circularly Polarized Light By The Jewel Scarab Beetle Chrysina Gloriosa. The American Naturalist, Vol. 175, No. 5 (May., 2010), pp. 614-620. DOI: 10.1086/651593
    Collections
    • UT Faculty/Researcher Works

    University of Texas at Austin Libraries
    • facebook
    • twitter
    • instagram
    • youtube
    • CONTACT US
    • MAPS & DIRECTIONS
    • JOB OPPORTUNITIES
    • UT Austin Home
    • Emergency Information
    • Site Policies
    • Web Accessibility Policy
    • Web Privacy Policy
    • Adobe Reader
    Subscribe to our NewsletterGive to the Libraries

    © The University of Texas at Austin

     

     

    Browse

    Entire RepositoryCommunities & CollectionsDate IssuedAuthorsTitlesSubjectsDepartmentsThis CollectionDate IssuedAuthorsTitlesSubjectsDepartments

    My Account

    Login

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics

    Information

    About Contact Policies Getting Started Glossary Help FAQs

    University of Texas at Austin Libraries
    • facebook
    • twitter
    • instagram
    • youtube
    • CONTACT US
    • MAPS & DIRECTIONS
    • JOB OPPORTUNITIES
    • UT Austin Home
    • Emergency Information
    • Site Policies
    • Web Accessibility Policy
    • Web Privacy Policy
    • Adobe Reader
    Subscribe to our NewsletterGive to the Libraries

    © The University of Texas at Austin