<i>Danaus chrysippus</i> (IMAGE)

Tata Institute of Fundamental Research

<i>Danaus chrysippus</i>

Caption

Wing color patterns of butterflies must perform different signalling functions to avoid predators and attract potential mates. Such conflicting natural and sexual selection pressures may compromise the efficacy of a signal. A team of researchers used physiological models of avian visual systems to test how bird predators have influenced wing color evolution in butterfly mimicry rings. They report in their paper that signal efficacy of butterfly wing patterns is evolutionarily honed in a sex- and wing surface-specific manner such that naturally- and sexually selected signal components are partitioned on the two wing surfaces, with females being better mimics.

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Krushnamegh Kunte

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