We Now Know Why Natural Selection May Favor Iridescence in Some Insects
Myriad animals don the brilliant shifting hues of iridescence, making them stunning to marvel at, but why natural selection so widely favored such structural colors has been somewhat of a mystery.
Shifting metallic sheens have evolved independently many times across the animal kingdom, from dazzling hummingbirds to skinks shining in rainbow to jewel-like flies. In some animals, where the iridescence is more prominent in one sex than the other – as in peacocks – sexual selection has clearly played a role.But in many…