Behaviour before beauty: signal weighting during mate selection in the butterfly Papilio polytes.

ABSTRACT: Mating displays often contain multiple signals. Different combinations of these signals may be equally successful at attracting a mate, as environment and signal combination may influence relative signal weighting by choosy individuals. This variation in signal weighting among choosy individuals may facilitate the maintenance of polymorphic displays and signalling behaviour. One group of animals known for their polymorphic patterning are Batesian mimetic butterflies, where the interaction of sexual selection and predation pressures are hypothesized to influence the maintenance of polymorphic wing patterning and behaviour. Males in the female-limited polymorphic Batesian mimetic butterfly Papilio polytes use female wing pattern and female activity levels when determining whom to cour

SUBMITTER: Westerman EL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7938376 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature