Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB, UMR 7205), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, UA, Paris, France.
Unité Mixte de Recherche Mécanismes Adaptatifs et Evolution (MECADEV, UMR 7179), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Paris, France.
Proc Biol Sci. 2022 May 25;289(1975):20220562. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0562.
Predation is a powerful selective force shaping many behavioural and morphological traits in prey species. The deflection of predator attacks from vital parts of the prey usually involves the coordinated evolution of prey body shape and colour. Here, we test the deflection effect of hindwing (HW) tails in the swallowtail butterfly . In this species, HWs display long tails associated with a conspicuous colour pattern. By surveying the wings within a wild population of , we observed that wing damage was much more frequent on the tails. We then used a standardized behavioural assay employing dummy butterflies with real wings to study the location of attacks by great tits . Wing tails and conspicuous coloration of the HWs were struck more often than the rest of the body by birds. Finally, we characterized the mechanical properties of fresh wings and found that the tail vein was more fragile than the others, suggesting facilitated escape ability of butterflies attacked at this location. Our results clearly support the deflective effect of HW tails and suggest that predation is an important selective driver of the evolution of wing tails and colour pattern in butterflies.
捕食是一种强大的选择力量，塑造了猎物物种的许多行为和形态特征。猎物从捕食者攻击中偏转重要部位通常涉及到猎物身体形状和颜色的协调进化。在这里，我们测试了燕尾蝶 的后翅（HW）尾的偏转效应。在这个物种中，HW 显示出与明显颜色模式相关的长尾。通过调查一个野生 的翅膀，我们观察到翅膀上的损伤在尾部更为频繁。然后，我们使用带有真正 的翅膀的假蝴蝶进行标准化行为测定，以研究大山雀的攻击位置。鸟更经常攻击翅膀的尾部和 HW 的显眼颜色，而不是身体的其他部位。最后，我们描述了新鲜翅膀的机械性能，发现尾脉比其他部位更脆弱，这表明在这个部位受到攻击的蝴蝶有更好的逃脱能力。我们的研究结果清楚地支持了 HW 尾的偏转效应，并表明捕食是蝴蝶的翅膀尾部和颜色模式进化的重要选择驱动力。
