Comparison of wing patterns from butterflies (Bicyclus anynana) produced during dry and wet seasons.

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This photograph compares the ventral wings of two individual butterflies of the same species (Bicyclus anynana) that matured during different seasons of the year. The wing on the left is produced during dry seasons, when hiding from predators is important. It has few eyespots and is more cryptic in coloring. The wing on the right is produced during wet seasons, and the eyespots serve as deflective targets for predator attacks during that time of year. Which phenotype is produced depends on the temperature at which a butterfly is reared. This photograph originally appeared on the cover of Ecology (84:7) in July 2003.

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Primary or BEN resource type	Photograph
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Format	jpeg
Temporal and geographic description	Africa
Ecological Core Concept	Interspecific interactions -- Predation and herbivory Interspecific interactions Individuals -- Morphology Individuals
Drought & Water-Ecosystem Services Collection	Off
Conservation Targets Under Global Change Collection	Off
Big Data Collection	Off
Editor's Choice	No
Audience	Undergraduate upper division 15-16 Undergraduate lower division 13-14
Pedagogical Use Description	This photograph is a good example of phenotypic plasticity, or the ability for the same alleles to lead to varying physical traits, depending on the environment that individuals develop in. In this example, butterflies that mature during different times of year can have different wing patterns (many eyespots or few). Each pattern helps butterflies remain undetected by bird predators, but which pattern is better depends on the time of year. The temperature range which the butterfly experiences while it is pupating affects how many eyespots it will have as an adult.
Keywords	eyespot, camouflage, predator, cryptic, coloration, phenotypic plasticity
Key taxa	Bicyclus anynana, Lepidoptera, butterfly
Life science discipline (subject)	Ecology
Primary Author Controlled Name	Paul Brakefield Kenneth Klemow
Primary Author Affiliation	Institute of Biology, Leiden University Wilkes University
Primary Author email	Brakefield@rulsfb.leidenuniv.nl, kklemow@wilkes.edu
Rights	Copyright 2003 by the Ecological Society of America.
Resource Editor	Unknown
Reviewer A	Unknown
Reviewer B	Unknown
Date Of Record Submission	2008-03-18

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