Sunny Garden

by Nava Thompson

Title

Sunny Garden

Artist

Nava Thompson

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

A photo taken by Nava Thompson of a black and yellow Swallowtail Butterfly landing on a sunny yellow Zinnia in the garden.................................To defend against predators, swallowtail butterflies practice Batesian mimicry, a behavior in which the butterflies' appearance closely resemble that of distasteful species to ward off predators. Swallowtails differ from many animals that practice mimicry as certain species, such as the tiger swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus), exhibit a female-limited polymorphism for Batesian mimicry and others, such as the Canadian tiger swallowtail (Papilio canadensis) do not display any form of mimicry..............................Predators of the swallowtail butterfly include the Red-winged blackbird, Pennsylvania firefly, Five-lined skink, Green darner, Goldenrod spider, Chinese mantid, Fiery Searcher, and Striped Skunk.......................Biological Basis for Polymorphisms in Mimicry[edit]In Papilio glaucus (Eastern Tiger swallowtail), Y-linkage determines whether the females are either wild-type (yellow and black) or melanic (dark melanin replaces the yellow background)...................This genetic difference stems from the fact that melanism is controlled by a single gene, which controls the level of dopamine in the organism. During development, the enzyme BAS, which assists dopamine in producing the yellow pigmentation, normally found on the wings' background, is suppressed. Without the pigmentation, the butterfly appears mostly black (the melanic form) and is a Batesian mimic of Battus philenor, the Pipevine swallowtail. There are also Papilio glaucus that are not wholly black; several possess an intermediate "sooty" color and are sensitive to temperature...........................The different polymorphisms (wild-type, melanic, and the 'sooty' intermediate) depend upon the geographical distribution and abundance of its mimic, the Battus philenor, whose wing color varies depending on its geographical location............... In order to be successfully confused for the B. philenor by predators, the Papilio glaucus's background wing color matches that of the B. philenor residing in the same regional area. Studies support this theory; in the southeastern United States, the relative abundance of melanic females has been found to geographically correlate with B. philenor.

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August 21st, 2014

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