Abstract
Sexual dimorphism in the colouration and colour pattern of butterfly wings plays a significant part in the initial recognition of the opposite sex. In the 1970s, a number of authors had reported the absorption or reflection of UV rays by the wings of butterflies (1). In some kinds of butterfly, their wing patterns, which are normally invisible to vertebrates, appeared when photographic techniques were used to isolate UV images, and these patterns frequently differed in closely related species and between the sexes (2).
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Nakagoshi, M., Kondo, R., Sawada, H., Takikawa, S., Yoshida, A. (2002). Pteridines and Pigment Granules of Wing Scales Concerned with Sexual Difference in Wing's Capability Reflecting Near-UV Rays in the Japanese Cabbage Butterfly Pieris Rapae Crucibora . In: Milstien, S., Kapatos, G., Levine, R.A., Shane, B. (eds) Chemistry and Biology of Pteridines and Folates. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0945-5_38
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0945-5_38
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