"Likewise, prairie rattlesnakes may have evolved to get rid of their UV colorations on a landscape where reflecting UV would make them stand out like a neon sign in a diner window"
This apt simile adds to the meaning of the article. Scientists have been wondering why so many animals glow under UV light, and one theory is that predators can see UV light, so in dense jungles and forests where plants themselves reflect UV light, snakes emit UV light as a sort of camouflage. However, out in the open, in the prairie, this wouldn't be a useful feature, and so the comparison to a neon sign at a diner window brings to attention how easy prey prairie snakes would be if they glowed under UV light.