Objective evaluation of colour variation in the sand‐burrowing beetle <i>Chaerodes trachyscelides</i> White ( <i>Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae</i> ) by instrumental determination of CIELAB values

Abstract

Abstract The objective evaluation of the different colours of individual sand‐burrowing beetles Chaerodes trachyscelides White illustrates that instrumental techniques may replace visual assessments and subjective descriptions of colour variation. Colour measurements based on the principles established by the Commission Intemationale d'Eclairage (CIE) provide quantitative specifications of colours as their coordinates in the 1976 CIE L*,a*,b* (CIELAB) uniform colour space. The established precision of the method enables rapid and reliable determination of the distribution of colours within collections made for studies on cryptic melanism.