Abstract
This paper integrates genetical studies of variation in the wing patterns of Lepidoptera with experimental investigations of developmental mechanisms. Research on the tropical butterfly,Bicyclus anynana, is described. This work includes artificial selection of lines with different patterns of wing eyespots followed by grafting experiments on the lines to examine the phenotypic and genetic differences in terms of developmental mechanisms. The results are used to show how constraints on the evolution of this wing pattern may be related to the developmental organisation. The eyespot pattrn can be envisaged as a set of developmental homologues; a common developmental mechanism is associated with a quantitative genetic system involving high genetic correlations. However, individual genes which influence only subsets of the eyespots, thus uncoupling the interdependence of the eyespots, may be important in evolutionary change. The postulated evolutionary constraints are illustrated with respect to differences in wing pattern found among other species ofBicyclus.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Bard, J.B.L. and V. French (1984). Butterfly wing patterns: how good a determining mechanism is the simple diffusion of a single morphogen? J. Embryol. exp. Morphol. 84: 225–274.
Bowers, M.D., I.L. Brown and D. Wheye (1985). Bird predation as a selective agent in a butterfly population. Evolution 39: 93–105.
Brakefield, P.M. (1984). The ecological genetics of quantitative characters inManiola jurtina and other butterflies. In: R.I. Vane-Wright and P.R. Ackery, eds., The Biology of Butterflies, pp. 167–190. London, Academic Press.
Brakefield, P.M. (1987a). Industrial melanism: do we have the answers? Trends Ecol. & Evol. 2: 117–122.
Brakefield, P.M. (1987b). Tropical dry and wet season polyphenism in the butterflyMelanitis leda (Satyridae): phenotypic plasticity and climatic correlates. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 31: 175–191.
Brakefield, P.M. and T.B. Larsen (1984). The evolutionary significance of dry and wet season forms in some tropical butterflies. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 22: 1–12.
Brakefield, P.M. and A.J. van Noordwijk (1985). The genetics of spot pattern characters in the meadow brown butterflyManiola jurtina (Lepidoptera: Satyridae). Heredity 54: 275–284.
Brakefield, P.M. and N. Reitsma (1991). Phenotypic plasticity, seasonal climate and the population biology ofBicyclus butterflies (Satyridae) in Malawi. Ecol. Entomol. 16: 291–303.
Collier, A.E. (1950). A note on the genetics ofAphantopus hyperantus ab.crassipuncta andManiola jurtina ab.semialba. Entomologist 83: 25–26.
Collier, A.E. (1956). A successful rearing ofAphantopus hyperantus Linn. ab.lanceolata Shipp. Entomologist's Rec. J. Var. 68: 1–2.
Collier, A.E. (1967). A new aberration ofAphantopus hyperantus. Ent. Rec. 79: 4.
Ford, E.B. (1945). Butterflies. London, Collins.
French, V. and P.M. Brakefield (1992). The development of eyespot patterns on butterfly wings: morphogen sources or sinks? Development 116: 103–109.
Holloway, G.J., P.M. Brakefield and S. Kofman (1992). The genetics of wing pattern elements in the polyphenic butterfly,Bicyclus anynana. Heredity 70: 179–186.
Kingsolver, J.G. and D.C. Wiernasz (1991a). Development, function, and the quantitative genetics of wing pattern melanin inPieris butterflies. Evolution 45: 1480–1492.
Kingsolver, J.G. and D.C. Wiernasz (1991b). Seasonal polyphenism in wing-pattern and thermoregulatory adaptation inPieris butterflies. Am. Nat. 137: 816–830.
Koch, P.B. (1992). Seasonal polyphenism in butterflies: a hormonally controlled phenomenon of pattern formation. Zool. Jb. Physiol. 96: 227–240.
Kuhn, A. and M. von Engelhardt (1933). Über die Determination des Symmetriesystems auf dem Vorderflügel vonEphestia kuhniella. W. Roux' Arch. f. Ent. Mech. der Organ 130: 660–703.
Lande, R. and G.F. Barrowclough (1987). Effective population size, genetic variation, and their use in population management. In: M.E. Soulé, ed., Viable Populations for Conservation, pp. 87–123. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Mallet, J. (1989). The genetics of warning colour in Peruvian hybrid zones ofHeliconius erato andH. melpomene. Proc. Roy. Soc., Lond., ser. B 236: 163–185.
Mallet, J. and Barton, N. (1989). Strong natural selection in a warning-color hybrid zone. Evolution 43: 421–431.
Monteiro, A.F., P.M. Brakefield and V. French (1994). The evolutionary genetics and developmental basis of wing pattern variation in the butterflyBicyclus anynana. Evolution (in press).
Nijhout, H.F. (1978). Wing pattern formation in Lepidoptera: A model. J. Exper. Zool. 206: 119–136.
Nijhout, H.F. (1980). Pattern formation on Lepidopteran wings: determination of an eyespot. Develop. Biol. 80: 267–274.
Nijhout, H.F. (1990). A comprehensive model for colour pattern formation in butterflies. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 239: 81–113.
Nijhout, H.F. (1991). The Development and Evolution of Butterfly Wing Patterns. Washington, Smithsonian Institution Press.
Nijhout, H.F. and G. Wray (1988). Homologies in the colour patterns of the genusHeliconius (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 33: 345–365.
Nijhout, H.F., G. Wray and L.E. Gilbert (1990). An analysis of the phenotypic effects of certain color pattern genes inHeliconius (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 40: 357–372.
Oosterhout, C. van, P.M. Brakefield and R.E. Kooi. (1993). Phenotypic plasticity and life history traits in selection lines ofBicyclus anynana. Proc. Exper. & Appl. Entomol. 4: 163–168.
Paulsen, S.M. and H.F. Nijhout (1993). Phenotypic correlation structure among elements of the color pattern inPrecis coenia (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Evolution 47: 593–618.
Revels, R. (1975). Notes on breeding the ringlet:Aphantopus hyperantus ab.pallens and ab.lanceolata. Ent. Rec. 87: 283–285.
Robinson, R. (1990). Genetics of European butterflies. In: O. Kudrna, ed., Butterflies of Europe: Introduction to Lepidopterology, pp. 234–306. Wiesbaden, AULA-Verlag.
Schwanwitsch, B.N. (1924). On the groundplan of wing-pattern in nymphalids and certain other families of rhopalocerous Lepidoptera. Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. B. 34: 509–528.
Schwanwitsch, B.N. (1956). Color-pattern in Lepidoptera. Entomologeskoe Obozrenie 35: 530–546.
Shapiro, A.M. (1976). Seasonal polyphenism. Evol. Biology 9: 259–333.
Sheppard, P.M., J.R.G. Turner, K.S. Brown, W.R. Benson and M.C. Singer (1985). Genetics and the evolution of Mullerian mimicry inHeliconius butterflies. Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc., Lond., ser. B 308: 33–613.
Suffert, F. (1927). Zur vergleichende Analyse der Schmetterlingszeichnung. Biol. Zentralblatt 47: 385–413.
Toussaint N. and V. French (1988). The formation of pattern on the wing of the moth,Ephestia kühniella. Development 103: 707–718.
Turner, J.R.G. (1984). Mimicry: the palatability spectrum and its consequences. In: R. I. Vane-Wright and P.R. Ackery, eds., The Biology of Butterflies, pp. 141–161. London, Academic Press.
Via, S. and R. Lande (1985). Genotype-environment interaction and the evolution of phenotypic plasticity. Evolution 39: 505–522.
Watt, W.B., C. Kremen and P. Carter (1989). Testing the ‘mimicry’ explanation for theColias ‘alba’ polymorphism: patterns of co-occurrence ofColias and Pierine butterflies. Func. Ecol. 3: 193–199.
Windig, J. (1992). Seasonal polyphenism inBicyclus safitza: A continuous reaction norm. Neth. J. Zool. 42: 583–594.
Windig, J. (1993). The genetic background of plasticity in wing pattern ofBicyclus butterflies. PhD. Thesis, University of Leiden.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Brakefield, P.M., French, V. Butterfly wing patterns. Acta Biotheor 41, 447–468 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00709376
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00709376