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Heliconius butterflies exhibit Müllerian mimicry, in which two or more unpalatable species share a mutual advantage from having a common conspicuous colour pattern. These tropical butterflies have impressive visual signals, which are under conflicting selection pressures, as they are used in choosing potential mates and defending against visual predators through aposematic coloration. As both selection pressures are likely to be strong, different elements of the signal might be adapted for different receivers. Here, I combine sensory ecology with behavioural ecology to explain Heliconius colours signals of different co-mimic pairs. I explore how mimicry in Heliconius is perceived both from the perspective of predators and conspecifics, using visual abilities of both butterflies and birds. The different visual sensitivities of avian predators, H. erato females and males make them to perceive Heliconius coloration in different ways. My work suggests that having the ability to see in the ultra-violet light range enables higher discrimination between co-mimics both for birds and butterflies. Heliconius warning colours transmit a consistent signal across time of the day and habitat in a tropical forest for avian vision. In contrast through Heliconius vision there is evidence that patterns are more conspicuous in their own habitats. All these traits could facilitate communication between co-mimics and reduce the cost of confusion in courtship while still maintaining the advantages of Müllerian mimicry against predation. I conducted a field experiment to show that attack rates on a novel distasteful butterfly reduced over time, suggesting that Heliconius wing colouration can enhance aversion among predators. Finally, I have shown that Heliconius butterflies use leaf shape as a cue to approach their host plants, demonstrating the potential for Heliconius to drive negative frequency dependent selection on the leaf shape of their Passiflora host plants. Overall these results highlight ecological interactions between Heliconius butterflies, their predators and host plants., CAPES Brazil Cambridge Trust

Adaptive coloration is under conflicting selection pressures: choosing potential mates and warning signaling against visually guided predators. Different elements of the color signal may therefore be tuned by evolution for different functions. We investigated how mimicry in four pairs of Heliconius comimics is potentially seen both from the perspective of butterflies and birds. Visual sensitivities of eight candidate avian predators were predicted through genetic analysis of their opsin genes. Using digital image color analysis, combined with bird and butterfly visual system models, we explored how predators and conspecifics may visualize mimetic patterns. Ultraviolet vision (UVS) birds are able to discriminate between the yellow and white colors of comimics better than violet vision (VS) birds. For Heliconius vision, males and females differ in their ability to discriminate comimics. Female vision and red filtering pigments have a significant effect on the perception of the yellow forewing band and the red ventral forewing pattern. A behavioral experiment showed that UV cues are used in mating behavior; removal of such cues was associated with an increased tendency to approach comimics as compared to conspecifics. We have therefore shown that visual signals can act to both reduce the cost of confusion in courtship and maintain the advantages of mimicry.

Male–male competition over territorial ownership suggests that winning is associated with considerable benefits. In the speckled wood butterfly,Pararge aegeria, males fight over sunspot territories on the forest floor; winners gain sole residency of a sunspot, whereas losers patrol the forest in search of females. It is currently not known whether residents experience greater mating success than non-residents, or whether mating success is contingent on environmental conditions. Here we performed an experiment in which virgin females ofP. aegeriawere allowed to choose between a resident and a non-resident male in a large enclosure containing one territorial sunspot. Resident males achieved approximately twice as many matings as non-residents, primarily because matings were most often preceded by a female being discovered when flying through a sunspot. There was no evidence that territorial residents were more attractiveper se, with females seen to reject them as often as non-residents. Furthermore, in the cases where females were discovered outside of the sunspot, they were just as likely to mate with non-residents as residents. We hypothesize that the proximate advantage of territory ownership is that light conditions in a large sunspot greatly increase the male's ability to detect and intercept passing receptive females.