Chemical signals act as the main reproductive barrier between sister and mimetic Heliconius butterflies.

ABSTRACT: Colour pattern is the main trait that drives mate recognition between Heliconius species that are phylogenetically close. However, when this cue is compromised such as in cases of mimetic, sympatric and closely related species, alternative mating signals must evolve to ensure reproductive isolation and species integrity. The closely related species Heliconius melpomene malleti and H. timareta florencia occur in the same geographical region, and despite being co-mimics, they display strong reproductive isolation. In order to test which cues differ between species, and potentially contribute to reproductive isolation, we quantified differences in the wing phenotype and the male chemical profile. As expected, the wing colour pattern was indistinguishable between the two species, while the che

SUBMITTER: Gonzalez-Rojas MF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7282924 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature