Ommochrome pigments are a type of pigment that is present in a large variety of arthropods. The pigment is present in both the eye and the body of the arthropod. The current hypothesis is that the color of the pigment is important to the pathway for color changing insects. Crab-spiders are unusual due to their ability to have reversible color changes. They are able to go from white to yellow and back to white again. The color change in the crab-spiders was originally attributed to the carotenoid pigment (commonly produced by plants which provides the yellow/orange coloration) but the pigments responsible for the spider’s color change was later found to be ommochromes. The color mimetism that the spiders are able to replicate is able to fool the discrimination ability of bees. Bees and other flowering visiting insects are known prey to the spiders and due to the close match between spider and flower, it is suggested that the color change is a predatory adaptation. Data and research is still being gathered and conducted between the spiders and birds to test if the color change may also be the result of a defensive mechanism.
Comments
pp response
The background is very well written and provides a great description of the subject of the expirment. The first half of the paragraph uses the same sentence srtructure/ starting word and gets repetitive but it is only a few sentences.
good detail
This is a great introduction and gives the reader a lot of good information about the Crab-spider. I like that you introduce the original line of thinking and then move into the more recent. Your use of specific scientific words and concepts adds to the validity of your statement. Overall well-written paragraph.