Researchers have recently noticed that certain butterflies wings are more than just decoration. On July 13, researchers in the National Museum of Natural History in Paris discovered that Swallowtail butterflies use their “tails” to help them escape from predators.
The tail-like wings on a Swallowtail butterfly may have evolved over time to stop the hungry predators to grab the head. “A lot of these butterflies display tails,” said evolutionary biologist Ariane Chotard. “And we don’t really know why.”
Since birds are known to attack eyespots or head-shaped patterns on a butterfly’s wings, Chotard and her workers have wondered if the predators would target a Swallowtail butterfly’s “tails”.
To find out, they collected more than 138 Swallowtail butterflies and found out that 65 butterflies out of the 138 they collected had at least one damaged “tail”, proving that predators may actually target the eye-catching wings.
The team decided to test their idea by capturing dozens of songbirds called Great Tits. The team then made fake insects by gluing the real Swallowtail wings onto a cardboard piece and put them with the Great Tits. Finally, they recorded videos of how the birds responded.
Their data showed that the tails distract predators away from the prey’s most important body parts, and since the “tails” tear off easily, the attacked butterflies can often escape and fly away.
“You survived. You escaped from a predator, but maybe there’s a trade-off,” said Chotard. It is possible that losing the tails might slow down a butterfly’s flight but it is unclear.
The next step Chotard and her workers might be taking is studying how the Swallowtail butterflies can survive without their “tails”.
“It would be helpful,” Rubin said, “to see how live swallowtail butterflies — both with and without tails — fare against bird predators.”
Source: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1658072175794x306968093055744800/Butterfly%20%E2%80%98tails%E2%80%99%20might%20be%20part%20of%20an%20escape%20tactic%20_%20Science%20News%20for%20Students.pdf
The tail-like wings on a Swallowtail butterfly may have evolved over time to stop the hungry predators to grab the head. “A lot of these butterflies display tails,” said evolutionary biologist Ariane Chotard. “And we don’t really know why.”
Since birds are known to attack eyespots or head-shaped patterns on a butterfly’s wings, Chotard and her workers have wondered if the predators would target a Swallowtail butterfly’s “tails”.
To find out, they collected more than 138 Swallowtail butterflies and found out that 65 butterflies out of the 138 they collected had at least one damaged “tail”, proving that predators may actually target the eye-catching wings.
The team decided to test their idea by capturing dozens of songbirds called Great Tits. The team then made fake insects by gluing the real Swallowtail wings onto a cardboard piece and put them with the Great Tits. Finally, they recorded videos of how the birds responded.
Their data showed that the tails distract predators away from the prey’s most important body parts, and since the “tails” tear off easily, the attacked butterflies can often escape and fly away.
“You survived. You escaped from a predator, but maybe there’s a trade-off,” said Chotard. It is possible that losing the tails might slow down a butterfly’s flight but it is unclear.
The next step Chotard and her workers might be taking is studying how the Swallowtail butterflies can survive without their “tails”.
“It would be helpful,” Rubin said, “to see how live swallowtail butterflies — both with and without tails — fare against bird predators.”
Source: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1658072175794x306968093055744800/Butterfly%20%E2%80%98tails%E2%80%99%20might%20be%20part%20of%20an%20escape%20tactic%20_%20Science%20News%20for%20Students.pdf
