Mimicry in Common Mormon Butterflies
Mimicry in Common Mormon Butterflies Today, I happened to spot two male Common Mormon butterflies trying to mate with what looked like a Crimson Rose butterfly - which piqued my interest! Short video It turns out that the females of the Common Mormon ( Papilio polytes romulus ) are masters of disguise - for some unknown reasons, males haven't quite adopted this as a survival technique. Source: National Geographic Some females look like regular black-and-white males, but others have evolved - using a so-called supergene - to embellish their wings with white brushstrokes and red curlicues that visually mimic the distantly related Crimson Rose Butterflies that are highly toxic. By mimicking the wing pattern, the female Mormons fool predators into thinking that they are to be likewise avoided. Male Common Mormon (photo: Internet) The definition of mimicry for biology is: “ the resemblance of one organism to another or to an object in its surroundings for concealment an...