Can I read Significance of Butterfly Eyespots as an Anti-predator Device in Ground-based and Aerial Attacks on EtoBox?

Significance of Butterfly Eyespots as an Anti-predator Device in Ground-based and Aerial Attacks by Anne Lyytinen; Paul M. Brakefield; Johanna Mappes is a Environmental Science article available to read on EtoBox.

What is Significance of Butterfly Eyespots as an Anti-predator Device in Ground-based and Aerial Attacks about?

Many butterfly genera are characterised by the presence of marginal eyespots on their wings. One hypothesis to account for an occurrence of eyespots is that these wing pattern elements are partly the outcome of visual selection by predators. __Bicyclus anynana__ (Satyrinae) has underside spotting on its wings but there is also a seasonal form in which the eyespots are reduced in size or totally absent. This natural variation gives us a useful tool to test the hypothesis that marginal eyespot patterns can decoy the attacking predator by, at least sometimes, diverting attack from vital body parts to the edges of the wings. We used lizards, __Anolis carolinensis__, and pied flycatchers, __Ficedula hypoleuca__, as predators for living spotted and spotless __B. anynana__. The presence of eyespots did not increase the escape probability of resting butterflies once captured (even a form with enlarged eyespots did not add to effective deflection of attacks). There was also no evidence that eyespots influenced the location of strikes by the predators. This study thus provides no support that marginal eyespot patterns can act as an effective deflection mechanism to avoid lizard or avian pred

Who reads Significance of Butterfly Eyespots as an Anti-predator Device in Ground-based and Aerial Attacks?

Author

Anne Lyytinen; Paul M. Brakefield; Johanna Mappes

Publisher

John Wiley and Sons; Wiley (Blackwell Publishing); Blackwell Publishing Inc.; Wiley; JSTOR (ISSN 0030-1299)

Published

2003

Language

EN

Field

Environmental Science (Physical Sciences)