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Science 2 January 2009:
Vol. 323. no. 5910, pp. 130 - 133
DOI: 10.1126/science.1166256
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Reports

Floral Iridescence, Produced by Diffractive Optics, Acts As a Cue for Animal Pollinators

Heather M. Whitney,1* Mathias Kolle,2,3* Piers Andrew,3 Lars Chittka,4 Ullrich Steiner,2,3{dagger} Beverley J. Glover1{dagger}

Iridescence, the change in hue of a surface with varying observation angles, is used by insects, birds, fish, and reptiles for species recognition and mate selection. We identified iridescence in flowers of Hibiscus trionum and Tulipa species and demonstrated that iridescence is generated through diffraction gratings that might be widespread among flowering plants. Although iridescence might be expected to increase attractiveness, it might also compromise target identification because the object's appearance will vary depending on the viewer's perspective. We found that bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) learn to disentangle flower iridescence from color and correctly identify iridescent flowers despite their continuously changing appearance. This ability is retained in the absence of cues from polarized light or ultraviolet reflectance associated with diffraction gratings.

1 Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EA, UK.
2 Department of Physics, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, J. J. Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, UK.
3 Nanoscience Centre, University of Cambridge, 11 J. J. Thomson Avenue, Cambridge, CB3 0FF, UK.
4 School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK.

* These authors contributed equally to this work.

{dagger} To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: u.steiner{at}phy.cam.ac.uk (U.S.); bjg26{at}cam.ac.uk (B.J.G.)

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Evolution of petal epidermal micromorphology in Leguminosae and its use as a marker of petal identity.
I. Ojeda, J. Francisco-Ortega, and Q. C. B. Cronk (2009)
Ann. Bot. 104, 1099-1110
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Comment on "Floral Iridescence, Produced by Diffractive Optics, Acts As a Cue for Animal Pollinators".
N. I. Morehouse and R. L. Rutowski (2009)
Science 325, 1072
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Response to Comment on "Floral Iridescence, Produced by Diffractive Optics, Acts As a Cue for Animal Pollinators".
H. M. Whitney, M. Kolle, P. Andrew, L. Chittka, U. Steiner, and B. J. Glover (2009)
Science 325, 1072
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Iridescence: views from many angles.
M. G Meadows, M. W Butler, N. I Morehouse, L. A Taylor, M. B Toomey, K. J McGraw, and R. L Rutowski (2009)
J R Soc Interface 6, S107-S113
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My favourite flowering image.
B. J. Glover (2009)
J. Exp. Bot.
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