Prey survival by predator intimidation: an experimental study of peacock butterfly defence against blue tits

@article{Vallin2005PreySB,
  title={Prey survival by predator intimidation: an experimental study of peacock butterfly defence against blue tits},
  author={Adrian Vallin and Sven Jakobsson and Johan Lind and Christer Wiklund},
  journal={Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences},
  year={2005},
  volume={272},
  pages={1203 - 1207}
}
Long-lived butterflies that hibernate as adults are expected to have well-developed antipredation devices as a result of their long exposure to natural enemies. The peacock butterfly, Inachis io, for instance, is a cryptic leaf mimic when resting, but shifts to active defence when disturbed, performing a repeated sequence of movements exposing major eyespots on the wings accompanied by a hissing noise. We studied the effect of visual and auditory defence by staging experiments in which wild… 
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