Imaging polarimetry of glass buildings: why do vertical glass surfaces attract polarotactic insects?

Applied Optics
Péter MalikGábor Horváth

Abstract

Recently it was observed that the Hydropsyche pellucidula caddis flies swarm near sunset at the vertical glass surfaces of buildings standing on the bank of the Danube river in Budapest, Hungary. These aquatic insects emerge from the Danube and are lured to dark vertical panes of glass, where they swarm, land, copulate, and remain for hours. It was also shown that ovipositing H. pellucidula caddis flies are attracted to highly and horizontally polarized light stimulating their ventral eye region and thus have positive polarotaxis. The attraction of these aquatic insects to vertical reflectors is surprising, because after their aerial swarming, they must return to the horizontal surface of water bodies from which they emerge and at which they lay their eggs. Our aim is to answer the questions: Why are flying polarotactic caddis flies attracted to vertical glass surfaces? And why do these aquatic insects remain on vertical panes of glass after landing? We propose that both questions can be partly explained by the reflection-polarization characteristics of vertical glass surfaces and the positive polarotaxis of caddis flies. We measured the reflection-polarization patterns of shady and sunlit, black and white vertical glass surfac...Continue Reading

Citations

May 23, 2012·Journal of Insect Physiology·Balázs BernáthVictor Benno Meyer-Rochow
May 12, 2010·Conservation Biology : the Journal of the Society for Conservation Biology·Gábor HorváthBruce Robertson

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