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1 March 2010 Behavioral Batesian Mimicry Involving lntraspecific Polymorphism in the Butterfly Papilio polytes
Tasuku Kitamura, Michio Imafuku
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Abstract

Batesian mimics gain protection from predation by their similarity to distasteful models. In butterflies, it has been thought that distasteful species and Batesian mimics fly slowly and in a straight line, but few studies have demonstrated their behavioral similarity, and no studies have been conducted on behavioral mimicry Involving Batesian intraspecific polymorphism. Here, we compared the wing stroke among various butterflies: palatable non-mimetic Papilio xuthus, unpalatable Pachliopta aristolochiae, and palatable polymorphic Papilio polytes (cyrus form, non-mimetic females; polytes form, Batesian mimetic females) to clarify whether the wing stroke of unpalatable butterflies is different from that of palatable species, whether that of the non-mimetic females of Pap. polytes is different from the mimetic females, and whether that of the mimetic females resembles that of the model. We found that the minimum positional angle (fi01_217.gifmin) of Pach. aristolochiae and mimetic females of Pap. polytes was significantly larger than that of Pap. xuthus and non-mimetic females. We did not detect significant differences between that of Pach. aristolochiae and mimetic females of Pap. polytes. These results show that fi01_217.gifmin differed between the mimicry group and palatable butterflies. In addition, the wingbeat frequency (WBF) of Pach. aristolochiae and mimetic females tended to differ from that of Pap. xuthus and non-mimetic females. This result suggests that there may be convergence of WBF in Batesian mimicry groups, as in the case of Müllerian mimicry groups, and serves as the first evidence of behavioral mimicry in Batesian intraspecific polymorphism.

© 2010 Zoological Society of Japan
Tasuku Kitamura and Michio Imafuku "Behavioral Batesian Mimicry Involving lntraspecific Polymorphism in the Butterfly Papilio polytes," Zoological Science 27(3), 217-221, (1 March 2010). https://doi.org/10.2108/zsj.27.217
Received: 23 July 2009; Accepted: 30 October 2009; Published: 1 March 2010
KEYWORDS
Batesian mimicry
behavioral mimicry
butterfly
flight behavior
intraspecific polymorphism
Pachliopta aristolochiae
Papilio polytes
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