Iridescence

Ebony Jewelwing Male

This was my first shot of this insect the other morning.  I had not switched on the flash.  I noticed something about the blue color of the insect.  Without the flash the blue, iridescent blue, shows up much better.  It is a quality of the light.

Ebony Jewelwing Male

The flash, coming from the wrong direction to show the iridescence, washes out the blue.  A closer look shows a like of the blue running down the abdomen. 

Birds, in particular I am thinking of the Tree Swallow, have feathers which appear blue.  They are not blue they are iridescent.  Like a rainbow or light shining through a prism, they break the light and show blue as in this case.

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