Theory predicts strong stabilizing selection on warning patterns within species and convergent evolution among species in Müllerian mimicry systems yet Heliconius butterflies exhibit extreme wing pattern diversity. One potential explanation for the evolution of this diversity is that genetic drift occasionally allows novel warning patterns to reach the frequency threshold at which they gain pro...

Plants can recruit parasitic wasps in response to egg deposition by herbivorous insects-a sophisticated indirect plant defense mechanism. Oviposition by the Large Cabbage White butterfly Pieris brassicae on Brussels sprout plants induces phytochemical changes that arrest the egg parasitoid Trichogramma brassicae. Here, we report the identification of an elicitor of such an oviposition-induced p...

We observed meadow brown (Maniola jurtina) and gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus) butterflies at habitat boundaries and observed spontaneous movements out of suitable habitat in order to investigate such movements in relation to dispersal. We found that butterflies of both species were aware of the position of a highly permeable habitat boundary without needing to cross it. Nevertheless, a considera...

Knowledge of the effects of thermal conditions on animal movement and dispersal is necessary for a mechanistic understanding of the consequences of climate change and habitat fragmentation. In particular, the flight of ectothermic insects such as small butterflies is greatly influenced by ambient temperature. Here, variation in body temperature during flight is investigated in an ecological mod...

BACKGROUND In the course of evolution butterflies and moths developed two different reproductive behaviors. Whereas butterflies rely on visual stimuli for mate location, moths use the 'female calling plus male seduction' system, in which females release long-range sex pheromones to attract conspecific males. There are few exceptions from this pattern but in all cases known female moths possess ...

For many conservationists, butterflies are some of the key species that can indicate the quality of an environment not only for themselves but for many other, often less visible, species. Some of their specific needs are often well known, but movements around their habitat and important factors within it are less understood. To help address this issue, a new study reports for the first time the...

Plasticity in the development and expression of behavior may allow organisms to cope with novel and rapidly changing environments. However, plasticity itself may depend on the developmental experiences of an individual. For instance, individuals reared in complex, enriched environments develop enhanced cognitive abilities as a result of increased synaptic connections and neurogenesis. This sugg...

For nocturnal insects, predation by bats can turn a moonlight flight into a nightmare. Moths have a way of avoiding bats, however, in the form of ultrasonic hearing. Because they have 'tympanal' ears, they can hear the echolocation calls of incoming bats and take evasive action. Butterflies, which are mainly diurnal, have not been known to have ultrasonic hearing. But these images from an unusu...

The daylily (Hemerocallis fulva) and nightlily (H. citrina) are typical examples of a butterfly-pollination system and a hawkmoth-pollination system, respectively. H. fulva has diurnal, reddish or orange-colored flowers and is mainly pollinated by diurnal swallowtail butterflies. H. citrina has nocturnal, yellowish flowers with a sweet fragrance and is pollinated by nocturnal hawkmoths. We eval...

The dispersal patterns of animals are important in metapopulation ecology because they affect the dynamics and survival of populations. Theoretical models assume random dispersal but little is known in practice about the dispersal behaviour of individual animals or the strategy by which dispersers locate distant habitat patches. In the present study, we released individual meadow brown butterfl...