The causes of colour and colour change in caterpillars of the poplar and eyed hawkmoths (Laothoe populi and Smerinthus ocellata)

Grayson, Joy; Edmunds, Malcolm

doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.1989.tb01904.x

Cited by 30 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…In contrast, the ability to change color more slowly, over periods of hours, days, and even weeks and months is likely to be more common in nature, yet has received relatively little study. Comparatively slow color change for camouflage has been shown to occur in, for example, prawns (Keeble and Gamble, 1900), caterpillars (Grayson and Edmunds, 1989), crabs (Stevens et al, 2013), and fish (Clarke and Schluter, 2011), in addition to seasonal changes in mammals and birds in line with the presence and absence of snow cover in winter and summer, respectively (Mills et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Color change and camouflage in juvenile shore crabs Carcinus maenas

2014

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Camouflage is perhaps the most widespread anti-predator defense in nature, with many different types thought to exist. Of these, resembling the general color and pattern of the background (background matching) is likely to be the most common. Background matching can be achieved by adaptation of individual appearance to different habitats or substrates, behavioral choice, and color change. Although the ability to change coloration for camouflage over a period of hours or days is likely to be widely found among animals, few studies have quantified this against different backgrounds. Here, we test whether juvenile shore crabs (Carcinus maenas) are capable of color change for camouflage by placing them on either black or white (experiment 1) or red and green (experiment 2) backgrounds. We find that crabs are capable of significant changes in brightness, becoming lighter on white backgrounds and darker on black backgrounds. Using models of predator (avian) vision, we show that these differences are large enough in many individuals to lead to perceptible changes in appearance. Furthermore, comparisons of crabs with the backgrounds show that changes are likely to lead to significant improvements in camouflage and potentially reduced detection probabilities. Crabs underwent some changes on the red and green backgrounds, but visual modeling indicated that these changes were very small and unlikely to be detectable. Our experiment shows that crabs are able to adjust their camouflage by changes in brightness over a period of hours, and that this could influence detection probability by predators.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Color change and camouflage in juvenile shore crabs Carcinus maenas

2014

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“…There is evidence that certain arthropods can trace these changes and modify their coloration to optimize their crypsis, e.g., the coloration of hawkmoth caterpillars is determined by the reflection of the background that they perceive soon after hatching. (37) In other lepidopterans, food content and quality are key factors in determining larval color and morphology, which enhance crypsis. (36,38) Green's (38) classic study demonstrated the importance of intra-plant variation in caterpillar coloration.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant coloration undermines herbivorous insect camouflage

Lev‐Yadun

Dafni

Flaishman³

et al. 2004

BioEssays

174

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The main point of our hypothesis "coloration undermines camouflage" is that many color patterns in plants undermine the camouflage of invertebrate herbivores, especially insects, thus exposing them to predation and causing them to avoid plant organs with unsuitable coloration, to the benefit of the plants. This is a common case of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" and a visual parallel of the chemical signals that plants emit to call wasps when attacked by caterpillars. Moreover, this is also a common natural version of the well-known case of industrial melanism, which illustrates the great importance of plant-based camouflage for herbivorous insects and can serve as an independent test for our hypothesis. We claim that the enormous variations in coloration of leaves, petioles and stems as well as of flowers and fruits undermine the camouflage of invertebrate herbivores, especially insects. We assume that the same principle might operate in certain animal-parasite interactions. Our hypothesis, however, does not contrast or exclude other previous or future explanations of specific types of plant coloration. Traits such as coloration that have more than one type of benefit may be selected for by several agents and evolve more rapidly than ones with a single type of advantage.

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“…Grayson & Edmunds (1989) provide good evidence of phytoscopic effects on larval colour in the sphingd L. populi; in other insect systems both nutritional and phytoscopic controls of polymorphism are known. Ingested food quality affects morph determination in aphids (Mittler, 1973;Harrewijn, 1978), grasshoppers (McCaffery & Page, 1978), and many social insects (Hardie & Lees, 1985).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Weismann, 1882; Eliot & Soule, 1902;Bell & Scott, 1937;Sevastopulo, 1938-47;Newman, 1965; Schmidt, 1990), woefully little is known about their ecology or behaviour. Only three polymorphic species have been the subjects of quantitative ecologcal studies: the neotropical Erinnyb ello on the Galapagos and Jamaica (Curio, 1965(Curio, , 1966(Curio, , 1970aSchneider, 1973), and the European poplar and eyed hawkmoths, Laothoe populi and Smerinthus ocellata (Grayson & Edmunds, 1989;Grayson et al, 1991;.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Are there correlations with geography, climate, habitat, population density, or hostplants, as have been demonstrated for such polymorphic invertebrates as snails (Jones, Leith & Rawlings, 1977), butterfly pupae (Sims & Shapiro, 1983), and grasshoppers (Rowell,197 l)? Similarly few studies have investigated the mechanisms controlling morph determination (Schneider, 1973;Safranek & Riddiford, 1975;Grayson & Edmunds, 1989;Grayson et al, 1991), or the functions of the polymorphisms (Curio, 1970a, b;.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Foodplant effects on colour morphs of Eumorpha fasciata caterpillars (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae)

Fink

1995

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society

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Caterpillars of the hawkmoth Eumorpha faciata are highly polymorphic for colour, with green, pink, and pink-and-yellow forms in the second through fourth instars, and green and multicoloured forms in the fifth instar. Four years of field censuses on four foodplant species determined that all morphs were found on all plant species; morph frequencies were homogeneous on each plant species over time; and morph frequencies differed consistently among plant species. When larvae were reared from eggs on three of the hostplant species in the laboratory, differences in morph frequencies paralleled the census results. Thus foodplant quality is one factor affecting larval colour in E. faciata. A literature survey reveals that foodplant effects on larval colouration may be widespread in the family Sphingidae, but most reports are anecdotal rather than experimental. The implications of this mechanism of colour determination are discussed. 0 1995 The Linnean Society of London ADDITIONAL KEY WORDS:-adaptive colouration -hawkmoth caterpillars -Ludwigiaontogenetic colour change -plant-insect interaction -polymorphism -polyphenism.

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The causes of colour and colour change in caterpillars of the poplar and eyed hawkmoths (Laothoe populi and Smerinthus ocellata)

Cited by 30 publications

References 13 publications

Color change and camouflage in juvenile shore crabs Carcinus maenas

Color change and camouflage in juvenile shore crabs Carcinus maenas

Plant coloration undermines herbivorous insect camouflage

Foodplant effects on colour morphs of Eumorpha fasciata caterpillars (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae)

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