[extropy-chat] FWD [forteana] Re: Looking for examples of naturally evolved X-ray vision?

[Terry W. Colvin]

Terry W. Colvin fnarded:

> Those white flowers are only white to us. To bees, they're a palette  
> of the most beautiful colours in the world. The flowers evolved to be  
> pollinated by insects, not to benefit human aesthetics.

That was something interesting that I think came up in David 
Attenborough's recent series Life in the Undergrowth (watch it if it 
gets to the US!) looking at invertebrates.  It turned out that, seen 
from a bee's pov, a crab spider on a white flower (white on white to our 
eyes) stands out like a sore thumb as the spider still glows in UV while 
the flower is a lot dimmer.   You'd think this would mean the bee would 
avoid that flower but they don't.  Quite an odd one.

Another thing that show indicated to me is either that the extremely 
complex relationships and behaviours between insects and plants evolved 
over millions of years or gawd has WAY too much time on its pseudopods.

Stew
-- 
Stewart Smith

"The monks of science dwell in smuggeries that are walled away from 
event-jungles"
	-Charles H. Fort, Wild Talents, Chapter 13.



-- 
"Only a zit on the wart on the heinie of progress." Copyright 1992, Frank Rice


Terry W. Colvin, Sierra Vista, Arizona (USA) < fortean1 at mindspring.com >
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