Multicomponent structures in camouflage and mimicry in butterfly wing patterns. (17th December 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Suzuki, Takao K.; Tomita, Shuichiro; Sezutsu, Hideki
• Is Part Of: Journal of morphology. Volume 280:Number 1(2019)
• Page Start: 149
• Page End: 166
• Publication Date: 2018-12-17
• Subjects: building logic -- nymphalid ground plan -- ripple patterns -- structural components -- venous patterns; Morphology -- Periodicals; Physiology -- Periodicals; Anatomy -- Periodicals; 571.3
• DOI: 10.1002/jmor.20927
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0362-2525

Abstract

Abstract: Understanding how morphological structures are built is essential for appreciating the morphological complexity and divergence of organisms. One representative case of morphological structures is the camouflage and mimicry of butterfly wing patterns. Some previous studies have questioned whether camouflage and mimicry are truly structures, considering that they rely on coloration. Nevertheless, our recent study revealed that the leaf pattern of Kallima inachus butterfly wings evolved through the combination of changes in several pigment components in a block‐wise manner; it remains unclear whether such block‐wise structures are common in other cases of camouflage and mimicry in butterflies and how they come about. Previous studies focused solely on a set of homologous components, termed the nymphalid ground plan. In the present study, we extended the scope of the description of components by including not only the nymphalid ground plan but also other common components (i.e., ripple patterns, dependent patterns, and color fields). This extension allowed us to analyze the combinatorial building logic of structures and examine multicomponent structures of camouflage and mimicry in butterfly wing patterns. We investigated various patterns of camouflage and mimicry (e.g., masquerade, crypsis, Müllerian mimicry, Batesian mimicry) in nine species and decomposed them into an assembly of multiple components. These structural component analyses suggested that camouflage and mimicry in butterfly wing patterns are built up by combining multiple types of components. We also investigated associations between components and the kinds of camouflage and mimicry. Several components are statistically more often used to produce specific types of camouflage or mimicry. Thus, our work provides empirical evidence that camouflage and mimicry patterns of butterfly wings are mosaic structures, opening up a new avenue of studying camouflage, and mimicry from a structural perspective. Abstract : We examined nine butterfly species representing crypsis, masquerade, Müllerian mimicry, and Batesian mimicry. Our structural component analyses revealed that camouflage and mimicry in wing patterns are built up by the assembly of multiple components.