Gallery: Gorgeous Jeweled Beetle Reveals Its Tricks
01japanese-jewel-beetle-2
The Japanese jewel beetle has been a prized ornament since ancient times, and now researchers have revealed the secret to its scintillating good looks. Brilliant metallic purples and greens run the length of each beetle's body. Each color band corresponds to varying numbers of stacked chitin layers in its wing covers. These nanoscale layers scramble light and reflect an iridescent sheen, reported a team from the Netherlands and Japan in the Mar. 12 issue of [*The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B*](http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/366/1565/709.abstract). “This surprises me. I’ve always assumed they had the same number of layers throughout the body,” said Dave Kavanaugh, curator of the insect collection at the California Academy of Sciences, who was not involved with the study. “It makes the color change much less accidental.” For many iridescent insects, color seems incidental, a quirk of the cuticle surface. In the insects Kavanaugh studies, surface ridges cause visible iridescence, but their primary job is to deflect water or mud. Many are active at night, when their colors can’t be seen. But the Japanese jewel beetle's surface is smooth, and the study's authors suspect that iridescence helps these insects recognize each other and find mates. If you find yourself in Japan, on a summer walk through the woods, you might find one yourself. If you can’t make it to Japan, enjoy these photographs. *Image: [Takehiko Sato](http://tefutefulife.blog107.fc2.com/).* *Citation: “Polarized iridescence of the multilayered elytra of the Japanese jewel beetle,* Chrysochroa fulgidissima.” *Doekele G. Stavenga, Bodo D. Wilts, Hein L. Leertouwer, Takahiko Hariyama,* Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, *Mar. 11, 2011. DOI:10.1098/rstb.2010.0197.*
02japanese-jewel-beetle
Japanese Jewel Beetle --------------------- Their name in Japanese, *tamamushi-no-zushi*, is from the old Japanese “tama,” meaning beautiful things, and “mushi,” meaning small animals. *Image: [chidorian](http://www.flickr.com/photos/chidorian/3737664998/)/Flickr*
03tamamushi-shrine
Tamamushi Shrine ---------------- In ancient Japan, the beetles were used ornamentally. Visitors to the Hôryûji Temple near Osaka, Japan should stop by the [Tamamushi shrine](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysochroa_fulgidissima/). This miniature shrine, dating from the mid-seventh century, is decorated with gilt bronze, oil paintings -- possibly the oldest in the world -- and the inlaid wings of Japanese jewel beetles. *Image: [ReijiYamashina](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tamamushi_Shrine.JPG)/Wikimedia Commons*
04beetle-vernacular
Beetle Vernacular ----------------- The insects also appear in Japanese vocabulary. *Tamamushi-iro*, or tamamushi color, conveys equivocation or shiftiness, as the insect's exact color changes by angle of view. The term is used to describe politicians whose speech makes it hard to know their position. *Image: [Damon Mckinlay](http://www.flickr.com/photos/lunchboxo/5243801072/in/gallery-55343037@N00-72157626041102262/)/Flickr*
05up-close
Up Close -------- The wing covers, or elytra, of the Japanese jewel beetle,*Chrysochroa fulgidissima.* *Image: [Damon Mckinlay](http://www.flickr.com/photos/lunchboxo/5243801072/in/gallery-55343037@N00-72157626041102262/)/Flickr*
06jewelry
Jewelry ------- A handmade necklace advertised on [Etsy](http://www.etsy.com/) is made from the elytra of green jewel beetles, a relative of Japanese jewel beetles. *Image: [OliviasOubliette](http://www.etsy.com/listing/48596261/jeepers-creepers-real-green-jewel-beetle)/Etsy*
