Visible beyond Violet: How Butterflies Manage Ultraviolet
Ultraviolet (UV) means ‘beyond violet’ (from Latin ‘ultra’, meaning ‘beyond’), whereby violet is the colour with the highest frequencies in the ‘visible’ light spectrum. By ‘visible’ we mean human vision, but, in comparison to many other organisms, human visual perception is rather limited in terms...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Insects |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/13/3/242 |
| _version_ | 1797470709935505408 |
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| author | David Stella Karel Kleisner |
| author_facet | David Stella Karel Kleisner |
| author_sort | David Stella |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Ultraviolet (UV) means ‘beyond violet’ (from Latin ‘ultra’, meaning ‘beyond’), whereby violet is the colour with the highest frequencies in the ‘visible’ light spectrum. By ‘visible’ we mean human vision, but, in comparison to many other organisms, human visual perception is rather limited in terms of the wavelengths it can perceive. Still, this is why communication in the UV spectrum is often called hidden, although it most likely plays an important role in communicating various kinds of information among a wide variety of organisms. Since Silberglied’s revolutionary Communication in the Ultraviolet, comprehensive studies on UV signals in a wide list of genera are lacking. This review investigates the significance of UV reflectance (and UV absorption)—a feature often neglected in intra- and interspecific communication studies—mainly in Lepidoptera. Although the text focuses on various butterfly families, links and connections to other animal groups, such as birds, are also discussed in the context of ecology and the evolution of species. The basic mechanisms of UV colouration and factors shaping the characteristics of UV patterns are also discussed in a broad context of lepidopteran communication. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:39:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e420ca0dcb434510b5c32cf98311017e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4450 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:39:53Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Insects |
| spelling | doaj.art-e420ca0dcb434510b5c32cf98311017e2023-11-24T01:43:15ZengMDPI AGInsects2075-44502022-02-0113324210.3390/insects13030242Visible beyond Violet: How Butterflies Manage UltravioletDavid Stella0Karel Kleisner1Global Change Research Institute, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Bělidla 986/4a, 603 00 Brno, Czech RepublicDepartment of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University, 128 44 Prague, Czech RepublicUltraviolet (UV) means ‘beyond violet’ (from Latin ‘ultra’, meaning ‘beyond’), whereby violet is the colour with the highest frequencies in the ‘visible’ light spectrum. By ‘visible’ we mean human vision, but, in comparison to many other organisms, human visual perception is rather limited in terms of the wavelengths it can perceive. Still, this is why communication in the UV spectrum is often called hidden, although it most likely plays an important role in communicating various kinds of information among a wide variety of organisms. Since Silberglied’s revolutionary Communication in the Ultraviolet, comprehensive studies on UV signals in a wide list of genera are lacking. This review investigates the significance of UV reflectance (and UV absorption)—a feature often neglected in intra- and interspecific communication studies—mainly in Lepidoptera. Although the text focuses on various butterfly families, links and connections to other animal groups, such as birds, are also discussed in the context of ecology and the evolution of species. The basic mechanisms of UV colouration and factors shaping the characteristics of UV patterns are also discussed in a broad context of lepidopteran communication.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/13/3/242matingcommunicationUVreproductionlepidoptera |
| spellingShingle | David Stella Karel Kleisner Visible beyond Violet: How Butterflies Manage Ultraviolet Insects mating communication UV reproduction lepidoptera |
| title | Visible beyond Violet: How Butterflies Manage Ultraviolet |
| title_full | Visible beyond Violet: How Butterflies Manage Ultraviolet |
| title_fullStr | Visible beyond Violet: How Butterflies Manage Ultraviolet |
| title_full_unstemmed | Visible beyond Violet: How Butterflies Manage Ultraviolet |
| title_short | Visible beyond Violet: How Butterflies Manage Ultraviolet |
| title_sort | visible beyond violet how butterflies manage ultraviolet |
| topic | mating communication UV reproduction lepidoptera |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/13/3/242 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT davidstella visiblebeyondviolethowbutterfliesmanageultraviolet AT karelkleisner visiblebeyondviolethowbutterfliesmanageultraviolet |