Brown Bottle Beetles, Red Dresses, and innate behavior patterns.
Why do we choose what we choose? Evolutionary instincts may be involved.
Modern life isn’t just hard on humans, other species also have to cope with innate behavior patterns that may no longer be helpful for survival. The brown bottle beetles (real name Jewel Beetles) are a funny example - and which led to an Ig Nobel award - a funny award for a science article that seems most unnecessary.
The science team, “David Rentz from Kuranda, Australia, and Darryl Gwynne of the University of Toronto,” was studying a different topic when the team observed that the males of a species of shiny brown beetles were trying to mate with brown beer bottles that had a particular dimpled base to reduce slippage while holding it possibly. (1)
In looking further into the species, the scientists discovered that the females were not fooled by the look alike bottles, but the males consistently were confused. Their instinctual behavior seemed to be about size the scientists determined - larger female beetles lay more eggs. (1)
“Darryl Gwynne: We did this study in Australia 20-plus years ago. David and I have been waiting by the phone for two decades for the phone to ring, and it finally happened. [regarding winning the 2011 Ig Nobel award.]
I study sex differences theory, Darwinian sexual selection, and one of the clear glaring patterns about animals is that there are a number of examples of males making mating errors. Females never — I've never heard an example of a female making an error. So here's a male making a clear mating error and the theory behind it is that sperm's cheap. Males can afford to, once in a while, you know, basically make a mistake. Females no, because reproduction is much more expensive for females.“ (1)
The dimpled texture seemed to be part of the shiny brown instinct for the male beetles to mate with the very largest brown shiny dimpled item they could find. This could have led to fewer and fewer baby brown bottle beetles as the males weren’t mating with females. The males were also frequently being consumed by predatory ants while they were focused on the large shiny bottles. But, the Ig Nobel hero scientists had contacted the beer company and while they were not notified of a change due to their work, the beer brand no longer has the dimpled base - problem solved for the female beetles.
So, what’s the scoop with red dresses? Male humans and other primate species can be attracted to the color red on a female, as it may indicate a female who is also interested in mating and is near peak ovulation - the ideal time to conceive. (3)
Men seem to be more attracted to women wearing red, indicated by a willingness to spend more money and sit closer to a woman in an image with a red background or red outfit. They may also assume that she is more sexually receptive. (3)
This is not a new phenomenon as suggested by a very early color photograph series, 1913.
The color red also seems involved in our internal energy fields, matching the pelvic region most closely within our internal rainbow of Chakra centers. Viewing the wavelength of red light can be healing as well as possibly promoting passion.
Follow up question - are human males smarter than brown bottle beetle males? Maybe, hopefully, but “Waste not, want not,” is an old saying that still has wisdom.
Knowing about our innate behavior patterns can help us say Whoa, when odd feelings occur instead of trying to verbally rationalize - Yes, that woman must be hitting on me because I am feeling aroused by her smile, or hair, or that red scarf she is wearing. Instead, try verbally stating (mentally) - Yes, my feelings are aroused because of an attractive woman with a red scarf and maybe she is interested and maybe she isn’t. Proceed from that place of not knowing - instead of assuming that a shiny brown bottle (metaphorically) is the best mating prospect in the place.
Our genetics are a starting point that can be changed by whether the gene is being activated or not - biology can be up to us and what we believe is probable. The placebo effect and positive messaging from ourselves or others can be healing and the nocebo effect and negative beliefs may determine a negative outcome. That is a bigger topic but to get a head start watch Bruce Lipton in a long seminar regarding his theories about The Biology of Belief. (5) *addition - I get back to this video on another site: Modern Life Syndrome - It’s not all in our heads, but that counts too!.
Joy, touch, passion, and spending time in nature, are all part of health. Maybe the attractive woman is interested and did smile at you on purpose - just ask politely if she would like to meet you. And maybe she didn’t, but maybe she would feel complimented if approached politely.
Reference List
Why Beetles Have Sex with Beer Bottles: Q&A with Scientists | Live Science
Beetles mistake beer bottles for females and try to mate with them. Herald Tribune.
Elliot AJ, Pazda AD. Dressed for sex: red as a female sexual signal in humans. PLoS One. 2012;7(4):e34607. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0034607, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3326027/
Men vs. Women: Our Key Physical Differences Explained, LiveScience. 2011
Bruce Lipton, The Biology of Belief Full Lecture, Channel: Vekmehel Ofkirr, youtube.com https://youtu.be/82ShSNuru6c