Subject: What is the evolutionary value of the beautiful colors we see during fall?

I am a firm believer in evolutionary theory. Howevever, I have been puzzled 
by the presence of fall colors. Why do plants spend precious energy turning  
into these stunning colors only to fall and die? Flowers have colors to 
attract insects and animals have colors and patterns to escape predators 
and so on... They may just as well turn brown, shrivel and die... as the 
leaves of many other plants do. (I hope this question made sense ... but 
this IS something that has bothered me for a while). Thanks
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Re: What is the evolutionary value of the beautiful colors we see during fall?