Teaching You the Threats, Pt. 3 - _TNY_7220
There are different kinds of mimicry. The most common among insects is probably Batesian mimicry (after Henry William Bates) where a harmless insect like a hoverfly mimics an insect which can be dangerous like a bee or wasp.
This beauty is a postman butterfly - the Heliconius genus. I am not entirely sure which exact species it is (most likely H. erato or H. melpomene). The reason I am not sure is because of another kind of mimicry - Müllerian.
Müllerian mimicry (named after Fritz Müller) is when two or more species use the same warning signals to tell predators they are unpalatable. Since both species are harmful, the predators can learn this from a specimen of either one that they should be avoided - this way there are more "teachers".
Heliconius butterflies are quite variable, but the Müllerian mimicry means that if you find a H. erato and a H. melpomene in one region they are more likely to look the same than like one of the same species from a different region (where the other species of course will resemble its local counterpart).
On top of all this, there is actually another kind of (even more clever!) mimicry involving Heliconius butterflies. Ecologist Lawrence E. Gilbert has given name to Gilbertian mimicry which is where the host/prey drives away the predator by mimicking it!
Heliconius butterfly caterpillars feed on the leaves of Passiflora plants - but they don't hesitate to eat butterfly eggs if they find them on the leaves. This means that if a Heliconius female lands on a Passiflora leaf to lay eggs and see that there already are eggs there - her eggs will hatch later and most likely be eaten by the other caterpillars so she chooses another leaf instead. Here's where the mimicry comes in. Passiflora leaves have evolved to have stipules on top of the leaves, looking like butterfly eggs that are about to hatch - thereby fooling the butterfly that if it lays its eggs there, they will be eaten!
All of this is obviously not conscious strategies - it's like all of evolution just the result of accidental mutations and those that are helpful gives the specimen a better chance of survival.
This was shot using a tripod which enabled me to use an aperture as small as f/6.7 because I shot it as 1/4s (not very bright in this butterfly house coupled with a no-flash policy).
Part one showing the entire butterfly here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52046619312/
Part two (closer) here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52141172836/
Teaching You the Threats, Pt. 3 - _TNY_7220
There are different kinds of mimicry. The most common among insects is probably Batesian mimicry (after Henry William Bates) where a harmless insect like a hoverfly mimics an insect which can be dangerous like a bee or wasp.
This beauty is a postman butterfly - the Heliconius genus. I am not entirely sure which exact species it is (most likely H. erato or H. melpomene). The reason I am not sure is because of another kind of mimicry - Müllerian.
Müllerian mimicry (named after Fritz Müller) is when two or more species use the same warning signals to tell predators they are unpalatable. Since both species are harmful, the predators can learn this from a specimen of either one that they should be avoided - this way there are more "teachers".
Heliconius butterflies are quite variable, but the Müllerian mimicry means that if you find a H. erato and a H. melpomene in one region they are more likely to look the same than like one of the same species from a different region (where the other species of course will resemble its local counterpart).
On top of all this, there is actually another kind of (even more clever!) mimicry involving Heliconius butterflies. Ecologist Lawrence E. Gilbert has given name to Gilbertian mimicry which is where the host/prey drives away the predator by mimicking it!
Heliconius butterfly caterpillars feed on the leaves of Passiflora plants - but they don't hesitate to eat butterfly eggs if they find them on the leaves. This means that if a Heliconius female lands on a Passiflora leaf to lay eggs and see that there already are eggs there - her eggs will hatch later and most likely be eaten by the other caterpillars so she chooses another leaf instead. Here's where the mimicry comes in. Passiflora leaves have evolved to have stipules on top of the leaves, looking like butterfly eggs that are about to hatch - thereby fooling the butterfly that if it lays its eggs there, they will be eaten!
All of this is obviously not conscious strategies - it's like all of evolution just the result of accidental mutations and those that are helpful gives the specimen a better chance of survival.
This was shot using a tripod which enabled me to use an aperture as small as f/6.7 because I shot it as 1/4s (not very bright in this butterfly house coupled with a no-flash policy).
Part one showing the entire butterfly here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52046619312/
Part two (closer) here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52141172836/