There are more to the pretty colors than imagined. This is not about the opal covered for color (green) beetle.
Iridescence and gloss are usually associated with display, but can they also defend? In new research, scientists at the University of Bristol have tested naïve birds’ willingness to attack glossy and iridescent prey.
“One of the challenges when studying the functions of such highly reflective structural coloration has been to separate the effects of the changeability of colors, the hallmark of iridescence, from the effects of simply having multiple colors at the same time, and also to separate the effects of gloss from the effects of iridescence,” Dr. Kjernsmo said."
Importantly, they found that the main factor explaining this aversion is iridescence, not multiple colors per se, with surface gloss also having an independent effect.
http://www.sci-news.com/biology/beetle- ... 10774.html