Two heads are better than one: false head allows<i>Calycopis cecrops</i>(Lycaenidae) to escape predation by a Jumping Spider,<i>Phidippus pulcherrimus</i>(Salticidae)

Sourakov, Andrei

doi:10.1080/00222933.2012.759288

Cited by 35 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Several studies support the effectiveness of false head features -including behaviours that apparently mimic antennal movement (López-Palafox et al 2015) -at deflecting attacks and increasing prey escape likelihood (Wourms & Wasserman 1985;Sourakov 2013). A recent study by Bartos & Minias (2016) provides the first experimental evidence of the effectiveness of false heads in moving prey.…”

Section: Which Taxa Deflect Their Predators' Attacks and By What Mechmentioning

confidence: 95%

What is known and what is not yet known about deflection of the point of a predator’s attack

Humphreys

Ruxton

2018

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society

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Deflection occurs in predator-prey interactions where prey possess traits that influence the position of the predator's initial contact with the prey's body in a way that enhances the prey's probability of survival when attacked. As an anti-predatory defence occurring late in the sequence of an attack, deflection is an understudied but fascinating strategy involving a range of unusual adaptations in diverse prey species. Deflective traits have been postulated to be important to the defensive strategies of a range of organisms, but while evidence for its existence is quite variable among groups, we argue that previous research neglects some promising taxa. As a defence, deflection will probably play a crucial role in the behavioural ecology and evolution of both prey species and their predators; as such it warrants greater interest from zoologists. Here, we first summarise what is known about deflection from the current literature. We next offer predictions about the coevolutionary possibilities surrounding deflection, based on the benefits and costs experienced by prey and their predators. Finally, we outline the most interesting outstanding avenues for future research in the field of deflection and make novel suggestions as to how they could be usefully explored.

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Section: Which Taxa Deflect Their Predators' Attacks and By What Mechmentioning

confidence: 95%

What is known and what is not yet known about deflection of the point of a predator’s attack

Humphreys

Ruxton

2018

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society

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“…These functions are the false-head (''loselittle-to-save-much'' ref. (Sourakov, 2013)) and deimatic strategies (Umbers, Lehtonen & Mappes, 2015); however, in the case of the deimatic function it remains uncertain whether the eyespots deter attack because they appear as eyes (often of a larger, more intimidating animal) or due to their conspicuousness (Skelhorn et al, 2016). The false-head hypothesis for click beetles with eyespots atop their pronotum seems unlikely since the thorax houses vital organs such as the dorsal vessel and thoracic ganglia.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structure and pigment make the eyed elater’s eyespots black

Wong

Marek

2020

PeerJ

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Surface structures that trap light leading to near complete structural absorption creates an appearance of “super black.” Well known in the natural world from bird feathers and butterfly scales, super black has evolved independently from various anatomical structures. Due to an exceptional ability to reduce specular reflection, these biological materials have garnered interest from optical industries. Here we describe the false eyes of the eyed elater click beetle, which, while not classified as super black, still attains near complete absorption of light partly due to an array of vertically-aligned microtubules. These cone-shaped microtubules are modified hairs (setae) that are localized to eyespots on the dorsum of the beetle, and absorb 96.1% of incident light (at a 24.8° collection angle) in the spectrum between 300–700 nm. Filled with melanin, the setae combine structure and pigment to generate multiple reflections and refractions causing light to travel a greater distance. This light-capturing architecture leaves little light available to receivers and the false eyes appear as deep black making them appear more conspicuous to predators.

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“…The ventral surface of many butterflies is seasonally polymorphic, where the relatively inactive dry season form lacks eyespots and is cryptic, while the wet season form has putative marginal eyespots that are thought to be deflective (Brakefield and Larsen 1984). Evidence from several studies support predictions of the deflection hypothesis (Wourms and Wasserman 1985;Lyytinen et al 2004, Olofsson et al 2010, 2013bVallin et al 2011;Sourakov 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Deflective and intimidating eyespots: a comparative study of eyespot size and position in Junonia butterflies

Kodandaramaiah

Lindenfors

Tullberg

2013

Ecology and Evolution

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Eyespots are conspicuous circular features found on the wings of several lepidopteran insects. Two prominent hypotheses have been put forth explaining their function in an antipredatory role. The deflection hypothesis posits that eyespots enhance survival in direct physical encounters with predators by deflecting attacks away from vital parts of the body, whereas the intimidation hypothesis posits that eyespots are advantageous by scaring away a potential predator before an attack. In the light of these two hypotheses, we investigated the evolution of eyespot size and its interaction with position and number within a phylogenetic context in a group of butterflies belonging to the genus Junonia. We found that larger eyespots tend to be found individually, rather than in serial dispositions. Larger size and conspicuousness make intimidating eyespots more effective, and thus, we suggest that our results support an intimidation function in some species of Junonia with solitary eyespots. Our results also show that smaller eyespots in Junonia are located closer to the wing margin, thus supporting predictions of the deflection hypothesis. The interplay between size, position, and arrangement of eyespots in relation to antipredation and possibly sexual selection, promises to be an interesting field of research in the future. Similarly, further comparative work on the evolution of absolute eyespot size in natural populations of other butterfly groups is needed.

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Two heads are better than one: false head allowsCalycopis cecrops(Lycaenidae) to escape predation by a Jumping Spider,Phidippus pulcherrimus(Salticidae)

Cited by 35 publications

References 16 publications

What is known and what is not yet known about deflection of the point of a predator’s attack

What is known and what is not yet known about deflection of the point of a predator’s attack

Structure and pigment make the eyed elater’s eyespots black

Deflective and intimidating eyespots: a comparative study of eyespot size and position in Junonia butterflies

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