I think of the color effect somewhat like the fire in opals and/or the spectral effect of thin coats of oil on water. All that adds up to the fact that they change color with different angles. A really fascinating effect, but like the oil film on water thing it is pretty subtle until you work at optimizing it with light sources etc. Which goes together to render what we perceive as a plain homely creature into a bejeweled one.
I understand that in some species the male suspends its sperm packets on a thin filament. Kind of like Christmas tree lights.
newtoyou wrote:
Cool and damp and dark. That is the preferred habitat. Males leave sperm packets that the females pick up. Whoopee. They are, as you said, doing a boy girl thing. Usually on rotten logs and bark, your garage side is sheltered and must be the equivalent of a shopping mall concourse for insects.
In reality, the scales are drab, no color. The color is 'refracted' light. Facets on the scales. A trait shared with grackles and starlings walking in the sun. A rainbow effect.
Bill