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Unpalatability of viceroy butterflies (Limenitis archippus) and their purported mimicry models, Florida queens (Danaus gilippus)

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Summary

Understanding the dynamics of defensive mimicry requires accurately characterizing the comparative palatability of putative models and mimics. The Florida viceroy butterfly (Limenitis archippus floridensis) is traditionally considered a palatable Batesian mimic of the purportedly distasteful Florida queen (Danaus gilippus berenice). I re-evaluated this established hypothesis by directly assessing palatability of viceroys and queens to red-winged blackbirds in a laboratory experiment. Representative Florida viceroys were surprisingly unpalatable to red-wings; only 40% of viceroy abdomens were entirely eaten (compared to 98% of control butterfly abdomens), and nearly one-third were immediately tasterejected after a single peck. In fact, the viceroys were significantly more unpalatable than representative Florida queens, of which 65% were eaten and 14% taste-rejected. Thus, viceroys and queens from the sampled populations exemplify Müllerian rather than Batesian mimicry, and the viceroy appears to be the stronger model. These findings prompt a reassessment of the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of this classic mimicry relationship.

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  1. Department of Zoology, University of Florida, 32611, Gainesville, FL, USA

    David B. Ritland

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Ritland, D.B. Unpalatability of viceroy butterflies (Limenitis archippus) and their purported mimicry models, Florida queens (Danaus gilippus). Oecologia 88, 102–108 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00328409

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00328409

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