Why would a diurnal beetle in a hot sunny desert be black in color? This has been a paradoxical question for many years because being black would seemingly absorb much solar radiation and make the beetle very hot. We found that the sub-elytral insulating layer and convection together combine to prevent black beetles from overheating in hot sunny deserts. Black coloration, in fact any surface color, has little effect on a beetle’s body temperature, consequently the “black beetle paradox is no longer a conundrum”.
Prof. Berry Pinshow
The Black Desert Beetle Paradox Resolved
Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
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