Behavioral Batesian Mimicry Involving lntraspecific Polymorphism in the Butterfly<i>Papilio polytes</i>

Kitamura, Tasuku; Imafuku, Michio

doi:10.2108/zsj.27.217

Cited by 19 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Papilio polytes is a female-limited Batesian mimic butterfly (refer to [24] for a picture of the species and morphs being investigated). Females of this butterfly show polymorphism in coloration.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioural mimicry in flight path of Batesian intraspecific polymorphic butterflyPapilio polytes

Kitamura

Imafuku

2015

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Batesian mimics that show similar coloration to unpalatable models gain a fitness advantage of reduced predation. Beyond physical similarity, mimics often exhibit behaviour similar to their models, further enhancing their protection against predation by mimicking not only the model's physical appearance but also activity. In butterflies, there is a strong correlation between palatability and flight velocity, but there is only weak correlation between palatability and flight path. Little is known about how Batesian mimics fly. Here, we explored the flight behaviour of four butterfly species/morphs: unpalatable model Pachliopta aristolochiae, mimetic and non-mimetic females of female-limited mimic Papilio polytes, and palatable control Papilio xuthus. We demonstrated that the directional change (DC) generated by wingbeats and the standard deviation of directional change (SDDC) of mimetic females and their models were smaller than those of non-mimetic females and palatable controls. Furthermore, we found no significant difference in flight velocity among all species/morphs. By showing that DC and SDDC of mimetic females resemble those of models, we provide the first evidence for the existence of behavioural mimicry in flight path by a Batesian mimic butterfly.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioural mimicry in flight path of Batesian intraspecific polymorphic butterflyPapilio polytes

Kitamura

Imafuku

2015

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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“…Waldbauer 1970), lepidopteran complexes (e.g. Srygley 1994Kitamura and Imafuku 2010) as well as intra-specific sexual mimics (Forbes et al 1997) and masqueraders such as leaf or twig mimics (Bradburne 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Relationship between Morphological and Behavioral Mimicry in Hover Flies (Diptera: Syrphidae)

Penney

Hassall

Skevington

et al. 2014

The American Naturalist

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Palatable (Batesian) mimics of unprofitable models could use behavioral mimicry to compensate for the ease with which they can be visually discriminated, or to augment an already close morphological resemblance. We evaluated these contrasting predictions by assaying the behavior of 57 field-caught species of mimetic hover flies (Diptera: Syrphidae), and quantifying their morphological similarity to a range of potential hymenopteran models. A purpose-built phylogeny for the hover flies was used to control for potential lack of independence due to shared evolutionary history. Those hover fly species that engage in behavioral mimicry (mock stinging, leg waving, wing wagging) were all large wasp mimics within the genera Spilomyia and Temnostoma. While the behavioral mimics assayed were good morphological mimics, not all good mimics were behavioral mimics. Therefore, while the behaviors may have evolved to augment good morphological mimicry, they have not been selected in all hover fly species.

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“…Wallace (1865) proposed that female butterflies experience more predation than their male counterparts when searching for host plants while laden with eggs and while hovering over plants during oviposition. The evolution of flight mimicry in P. polytes supports this idea; wing beat and flight path are significantly different between mimetic and nonmimetic individuals, and mimetic individuals fly like the toxic Pachliopta aristolochiae model (Kitamura & Imafuku, 2010, 2015). Ohsaki (1995) proposed that females disproportionately benefit from evolving mimicry and indeed found that wild‐caught nonmimetic P. polytes females had nearly double the proportion of beak marks on their wings compared to P. polytes males (which are always nonmimetic).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…Uésugi (1996) conducted feeding trials with seven wild‐caught birds ( Hypsipites amaurotis ) in a laboratory setting and found that after an initial training session where birds were fed P. aristolochiae the birds reduced their consumption of mimetic P. polytes , consistent with a learned aversion to the wing pattern. In addition, analyses of flight kinematics suggest that mimicry extends beyond wing patterning to behavioral similarity between P. polytes and P. aristolochiae in wing movements and flight path (Kitamura & Imafuku, 2010, 2015). Taken together, these studies are highly suggestive of an adaptive resemblance between mimetic P. polytes and P. aristolochiae resulting in predator avoidance, but there exist no direct tests of Batesian mimicry using natural populations of these species and free‐ranging bird predators.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental field tests of Batesian mimicry in the swallowtail butterfly Papilio polytes

Palmer

Tan

Finkbeiner

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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The swallowtail butterfly Papilio polytes is known for its striking resemblance in wing pattern to the toxic butterfly Pachliopta aristolochiae and is a focal system for the study of mimicry evolution. Papilio polytes females are polymorphic in wing pattern, with mimetic and nonmimetic forms, while males are monomorphic and nonmimetic. Past work invokes selection for mimicry as the driving force behind wing pattern evolution in P. polytes. However, the mimetic relationship between P. polytes and P. aristolochiae is not well understood. In order to test the mimicry hypothesis, we constructed paper replicas of mimetic and nonmimetic P. polytes and P. aristolochiae, placed them in their natural habitat, and measured bird predation on replicas. In initial trials with stationary replicas and plasticine bodies, overall predation was low and we found no differences in predation between replica types. In later trials with replicas mounted on springs and with live mealworms standing in for the butterfly's body, we found less predation on mimetic P. polytes replicas compared to nonmimetic P. polytes replicas, consistent with the predator avoidance benefits of mimicry. While our results are mixed, they generally lend support to the mimicry hypothesis as well as the idea that behavioral differences between the sexes contributed to the evolution of sexually dimorphic mimicry.

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Behavioral Batesian Mimicry Involving lntraspecific Polymorphism in the ButterflyPapilio polytes

Cited by 19 publications

References 25 publications

Behavioural mimicry in flight path of Batesian intraspecific polymorphic butterflyPapilio polytes

Behavioural mimicry in flight path of Batesian intraspecific polymorphic butterflyPapilio polytes

The Relationship between Morphological and Behavioral Mimicry in Hover Flies (Diptera: Syrphidae)

Experimental field tests of Batesian mimicry in the swallowtail butterfly Papilio polytes

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