Warning coloration can be disruptive: aposematic marginal wing patterning in the wood tiger moth
Honma, A., Mappes, J., & Valkonen, J. (2015). Warning coloration can be disruptive: aposematic marginal wing patterning in the wood tiger moth. Ecology and Evolution, 5(21), 4863-4874. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1736
Published in
Ecology and EvolutionDate
2015Discipline
Ekologia ja evoluutiobiologiaBiologisten vuorovaikutusten huippututkimusyksikköEcology and Evolutionary BiologyCentre of Excellence in Biological Interactions ResearchCopyright
© 2015 The Authors. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
Warning (aposematic) and cryptic colorations appear to be mutually incompatible
because the primary function of the former is to increase detectability,
whereas the function of the latter is to decrease it. Disruptive coloration is a
type of crypsis in which the color pattern breaks up the outline of the prey,
thus hindering its detection. This delusion can work even when the prey’s pattern
elements are highly contrasting; thus, it is possible for an animal’s coloration
to combine both warning and disruptive functions. The coloration of
the wood tiger moth (Parasemia plantaginis) is such that the moth is conspicuous
when it rests on vegetation, but when it feigns death and drops to the
grass- and litter-covered ground, it is hard to detect. This death-feigning behavior
therefore immediately switches the function of its coloration from signaling
to camouflage. We experimentally tested whether the forewing patterning of
wood tiger moths could function as disruptive coloration against certain backgrounds.
Using actual forewing patterns of wood tiger moths, we crafted artifi-
cial paper moths and placed them on a background image resembling a natural
litter and grass background. We manipulated the disruptiveness of the wing
pattern so that all (marginal pattern) or none (nonmarginal pattern) of the
markings extended to the edge of the wing. Paper moths, each with a hidden
palatable food item, were offered to great tits (Parus major) in a large aviary
where the birds could search for and attack the “moths” according to their
detectability. The results showed that prey items with the disruptive marginal
pattern were attacked less often than prey without it. However, the disruptive
function was apparent only when the prey was brighter than the background.
These results suggest that warning coloration and disruptive coloration can
work in concert and that the moth, by feigning death, can switch the function
of its coloration from warning to disruptive.
...


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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as © 2015 The Authors. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
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