Research suggests jewel beetle cells come from spontaneous arrangement of glucose-like particles called chitin molecules that form as cones. When these cones solidify, they preserve their structures and produce different colors as light hits them from different angles.

Credit: Zina Deretsky, National Science Foundation

Look inside a beetle's shell in this audio slideshow, to see the secrets of its shimmer. To start the slideshow, click on the screen or on the play arrow in the lower left. Alternatively, you can navigate with the arrow keys or view the whole set of pictures at once using the buttons in the lower right.

Credit: Lisa Raffensperger, National Science Foundation

Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta recently discovered jewel beetles, Chrysina gloriosa, change color because of the light-reflecting properties of the cells that make up their external skeletons, not because of unique, light-absorbing properties in their pigment.

Credit: Georgia Tech, Gary W. Meek

The researchers' findings appear in the July 24, 2009, issue of Science magazine.

Credit: Copyright 2009 AAAS