BIRD PREDATION AS A SELECTIVE AGENT IN A BUTTERFLY POPULATION

@article{Bowers1985BIRDPA,
  title={BIRD PREDATION AS A SELECTIVE AGENT IN A BUTTERFLY POPULATION},
  author={M. Deane Bowers and Irene L. Brown and Darryl Wheye},
  journal={Evolution},
  year={1985},
  volume={39}
}
In a population of the checkerspot butterfly, Euphydryas chalcedona, the detached wings of 309 individuals that had been attacked and eaten by birds were collected during a single flight season. During this time period a representative sample of 296 live butterflies in this population was photographed. Comparison of sex ratio and coloration of those butterflies that had been attacked with those that had not showed, first, that birds attacked slightly more females than males; and second, that… 

Differential Bird Predator Attack Rate on Seasonal Forms of the Map Butterfly (Araschnia levana L.): Does the Substrate Matter?

The European map butterfly (Araschnia levana L.) is a striking example of seasonal plasticity and static visual signals provide a promising first step to test the functional significance of this striking seasonal polyphenism.

Butterfly visual characteristics and ontogeny of responses to butterflies by a specialized tropical bird

  • P. Chai
  • Environmental Science, Biology
  • 1996
A single butterfly morphological parameter termed body shape (body length/thoracic diameter ratio) can adequately predict the feeding responses of jacamars and resulted in a bimodal acceptability distribution of sympatric butterflies.

INTERSEXUAL COMPARISON OF MIMETIC PROTECTION IN THE

The high degree of bird-to-bird variability in response to P. polyxenes mimics suggests that there is a spectrum in ability or willingness of predators to discriminate among mimics of varying similarity to the model.

Interpretation of Wing Pattern Elements in Relation to Bird Predation on Adult Hyalophora (Saturniidae)

Patterns of wing damage and behavior of adults when threatened were evaluated in the context of formal models of wing markings as anti-predator mechanisms and certain markings are highly conserved and concordant with DNA-based saturniid phylogeny.

Predation, thermoregulation, and wing color in pierid butterflies

It is suggested that Pieris butterflies are relatively unpalatable to visual predators, supporting the idea that the white wing pigment of Pieris represents aposematic coloration, and the degree of palatibility may vary among Pieris species.

INTERSEXUAL COMPARISON OF MIMETIC PROTECTION IN THE BLACK SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLY, PAPILIO POLYXENES: EXPERIMENTS WITH CAPTIVE BLUE JAY PREDATORS

The high degree of bird‐to‐bird variability in response to P. polyxenes mimics suggests that there is a spectrum in ability or willingness of predators to discriminate among mimics of varying similarity to the model.

Lizards as Predators of Butterflies: Shape of Wing Damage and Effects of Eyespots

The data provide evidence that butterfly eyespots can be an effective defence against lizards, and thus that predation by lizards can select for eyespots in butterflies.

Field observations and feeding experiments on the responses of rufous‐tailed jacamars (Galbula ruficauda) to free‐flying butterflies in a tropical rainforest

The captive jacamars were able to discriminate between the very similar colour patterns of some Batesian mimics and their models, and could memorize the palatability of a large variety of butterflies.

In the Eyes of the Beholders: Female Choice and Avian Predation Risk Associated with an Exaggerated Male Butterfly Color

Evidence is provided that more chromatic male cabbage white butterflies (Pieris rapae) are more attractive to females but should also be more conspicuous to predators, and models of avian color vision suggest that preferred males should beMore conspicuous to known avian predators.

Spider traps amphibian in northeastern Madagascar

It is speculated that the retreat serves as a targeted trap that deceives frogs seeking shelter during daytime, and is the second report of vertebrate predation by spiders in Madagascar.
...

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 53 REFERENCES

Batesian Mimicry: Selective Advantage of Color Pattern

Field studies of releases and recaptures of diurnal moths painted with yellow to resemble the edible tiger swallowtail and of black moths that resemble a toxic species of swallowtail are interpreted as showing a greater predation pressure on the yellow-painted than on the black moth and, therefore, as confirming the Batesian theory of mimicry.

Mortality of the Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus L.): Avian Predation at Five Overwintering Sites in Mexico

Observations of monarch overwintering sites in Mexico and observations of birds foraging in mixed flocks indicate that individual birds of several species have learned to penetrate the monarch's cardenolide-based chemical defense.

Predation on Aposematic Ithomiine Butterflies by Tanagers (Pipraeidea melanonota)

Tanagers (Pipraeidea melanonota) have been found preying heavily and selectively on winter concentrations of 22 species of ithomiine butterflies in the region of Sumare, Sao Paulo, and have never been reported to have been eaten by vertebrate predators.

Mimicry in North American checkerspot butterflies: Euphydryas phaeton and Chlosyne harrisii (Nymphalidae)

Charrisii seems to be an effective Batesian mimic of E.phaeton, which is a potential mimic of the unpalatable Euphydryas phaeton and both species are inhabitants of wet meadow habitats where they may fly together.

Does bird predation influence the spot‐number variation in Maniola jurtina (Lepidoptera)?

For six years samples of the satyrine butterfly Maniolajurtina L. jurtina were collected on small islands in southern Sweden and scored for beak marks and it was suggested that birds act as a selective factor influencing the spot-number variation.

Field Observations of Bird Predation on Neotropical Moths

Observations of a group of moth-eating birds, viewed over a period of several months in northern Venezuela, found that cryptically colored moths are assumed to be highly palatable while the more brilliantly colored species are thought to be unpalatable.

Natural Selection for Miillerian Mimicry in Heliconius erato in Costa Rica

The results indicate that M�llerian mimicry was functioning to protect the butterflies from predation.

The significance of beak marks on the wings of an aposematic, distasteful and polymorphic butterfly

It is found that large individuals of both sexes are more frequently beak marked than small ones in a population of Danaus chrysippus (L.) (Danaidae), a well known distasteful species.

Birds can overcome the cardenolide defence of monarch butterflies in Mexico

It is reported here that the Mexican butterflies are weakly emetic, and that taste discrimination by orioles and cardenolide insensitivity of grosbeaks allow these birds to feed freely on monarch butterflies.

Beak-Mark Frequency as an Index of Seasonal Predation Intensity on Common Butterflies

  • A. Shapiro
  • Environmental Science
    The American Naturalist
  • 1974
Despite its pitfalls, beak-mark scoring is the only method (other than direct observation) currently available for estimating the frequency of predator-prey contacts in most butterfly populations and must be interpreted with caution.
...