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Rule-Breaking Mimicry: A Tale of Two Butterflies

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Rule-Breaking Mimicry: A Tale of Two Butterflies Authors: , Format: Paperback / softback First Published: Published By: Taylor & Francis Ltd
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Pages: 234 Illustrations and other contents: 18 Tables, black and white; 56 Halftones, color; 56 Illustrations, color Language: English ISBN: 9781041392965 Categories: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Despite the impressive resemblance of four pairs of differently colored mimetic morphs between the putatively distasteful African Queen butterfly and the edible Diadem butterfly, their African distributions and relative frequencies do not match. This has led some biologists to reject the classic hypothesis, i.e., that the mutual resemblance is due to selection for protective mimicry, and others to propose that both species are avoided by predators. This book describes over fifty years of research into this enigma and argues that the protection provided by mimicry is real but short-lived and intermittent, due largely to differences in the population biology of the two species. The Queen is abundant throughout most of the year, while the Diadem is eruptive at the beginning of the rains and scarce thereafter. Other factors reduce selection for mimicry while differences in heterozygote fitness ensure the disparities in the distribution of mimetic forms.

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Author Biography

David A. S. Smith, Eton College, Natural History Museum, UK, Curator (retd.). His research is devoted on the African Queen and other butterflies, as one of a group from the Universities of Edinburgh, Southampton and Exeter, UK, Lübbeck, Germany, University of Rwanda, National Museums of Kenya, the International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology and the African Butterfly Research Institute. He has taught at Brighton College; Eton College and other universities (Durham, UK; Fourah Bay College, Sierra Leone; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Buckingham, UK). He has published 72 scientific papers. Ian J. Gordon, Centre of Excellence in Biodiversity Conservation and Natural Resource Management, University of Rwanda (retd.). He has worked in Africa for 12 years and have taught in the zoology/biology departments of 5 African Universities: University of Cape Coast, Ghana, University of Ghana, University of Zimbabwe, University of Nairobi, Kenya, and Moi University, Kenya.