The Function of Eyespot Patterns in the Lepidoptera

Blest, A. D.

doi:10.1163/156853956x00048

Cited by 290 publications

(214 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Many studies have proved that conspicuous markings are effective in causing an avoidance reaction in passerine birds [4,20,21,33], but in our system, conspicuousness itself does not seem to provide a detectable advantage. It is possible that the sudden appearance of a large butterfly masked the feeble effect provided by the presence of reversed eyespots.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 64%

Predator mimicry, not conspicuousness, explains the efficacy of butterfly eyespots

et al. 2015

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Large conspicuous eyespots on butterfly wings have been shown to deter predators. This has been traditionally explained by mimicry of vertebrate eyes, but recently the classic eye-mimicry hypothesis has been challenged. It is proposed that the conspicuousness of the eyespot, not mimicry, is what causes aversion due to sensory biases, neophobia or sensory overloads. We conducted an experiment to directly test whether the eye-mimicry or the conspicuousness hypothesis better explain eyespot efficacy. We used great tits (Parus major) as model predator, and tested their reaction towards animated images on a computer display. Birds were tested against images of butterflies without eyespots, with natural-looking eyespots, and manipulated spots with the same contrast but reduced resemblance to an eye, as well as images of predators (owls) with and without eyes. We found that mimetic eyespots were as effective as true eyes of owls and more efficient in eliciting an aversive response than modified, less mimetic but equally contrasting eyespots. We conclude that the eye-mimicry hypothesis explains our results better than the conspicuousness hypothesis and is thus likely to be an important mechanism behind the evolution of butterfly eyespots.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 64%

Predator mimicry, not conspicuousness, explains the efficacy of butterfly eyespots

et al. 2015

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“…This suggested anti-predator utility of eyespots described by Poulton later became known as the 'deflection hypothesis' [3,8,9]. The main idea of this hypothesis is that marginal eyespots draw predator attacks towards the less vital parts of the prey's body or towards the opposite direction of the escape trajectory of the prey, thus increasing the chance of prey survival.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Eyespots ( previously also called ocelli) are colour patterns which consist of roughly concentric rings of contrasting colours and have received their name because they, at least to humans, more or less resemble the vertebrate eye. Eyespots are found in many terrestrial animals such as insects ( particularly in the order Lepidoptera), birds and reptiles, but they are also common in aquatic taxa such as molluscs, flatworms and fishes [2][3][4][5][6][7]. Because these markings occur in such a wide range of animal taxa, they have been intriguing biologists for a long time; indeed Poulton [2] was among the first to suggest that eyespots are likely to have an anti-predator function.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…against birds [10,11], lizards [12] and against fish predators [13]). Blest [3] argued that when painted onto mealworms, spots directed the attacks of avian predators towards them, but his study suffered heavily from pseudo-replication and thus the results were not statistically reliable. However, some empirical evidence for the divertive effect of eyespots has been revealed only recently.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A further hypothesis which has been invoked to explain the anti-predator function of eyespots is the predator intimidation hypothesis [2][3][4]16,17]. According to this hypothesis, some eyespots, for example some relatively large eyespots in Lepidoptera, would intimidate potential predators by resembling the eyes of the predator's own enemy [2,18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Eyespots divert attacks by fish

Kjernsmo

Merilaita

2013

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Eyespots (colour patterns consisting of concentric rings) are found in a wide range of animal taxa and are often assumed to have an anti-predator function. Previous experiments have found strong evidence for an intimidating effect of eyespots against passerine birds. Some eyespots have been suggested to increase prey survival by diverting attacks towards less vital body parts or a direction that would facilitate escape. While eyespots in aquatic environments are widespread, their function is extremely understudied. Therefore, we investigated the protective function of eyespots against attacking fish. We used artificial prey and predator-naive three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) as predators to test both the diversion (deflection) and the intimidation hypothesis. Interestingly, our results showed that eyespots smaller than the fish' own eye very effectively draw the attacks of the fish towards them. Furthermore, our experiment also showed that this was not due to the conspicuousness of the eyespot, because attack latency did not differ between prey items with and without eyespots. We found little support for an intimidating effect by larger eyespots. Even though also other markings might misdirect attacks, we can conclude that the misdirecting function may have played an important role in the evolution of eyespots in aquatic environments.

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Delayed plasticity of an instinct: Recognition and avoidance of 2 facing eyes by the jewel fish

Coss

1979

Developmental Psychobiology

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A model depicting 2 horizontally positioned black spots resembling facing eyes, as compared with models depicting other spot arrangements, elicits intense flight activity in young African jewel fish (Hemichromis bimaculatus) under 5 months of age and 7-month-old subadults reared apart from conspecifics with eyeless cave fish (Anoptichthys jordani). In contrast, subadults permitted to observe or interact fully with conspecifics during development exhibited attenuated discriminative flight activity. These findings suggest that visual experience with facing conspecifics, irrespective of physical contact, modifies the flight-eliciting properties of the innat mechanism subserving eye-schema recognition, but only during later maturation.

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The Function of Eyespot Patterns in the Lepidoptera

Cited by 290 publications

References 10 publications

Predator mimicry, not conspicuousness, explains the efficacy of butterfly eyespots

Predator mimicry, not conspicuousness, explains the efficacy of butterfly eyespots

Eyespots divert attacks by fish

Delayed plasticity of an instinct: Recognition and avoidance of 2 facing eyes by the jewel fish

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