Distantly related butterflies converged on the transparent pattern (IMAGE)

Marine Biological Laboratory

Distantly related butterflies converged on the transparent pattern

Caption

A group of distantly related butterflies that have all converged on the transparent pattern. The top two (Methona and Lycorea) and the bottom one (Notophyson) are unpalatable, but the Patia and Parides are palatable. Each is more closely related to other species that are not transparent. The Notophyson is a moth, the Parides is a swallowtail, and the Patia is a sulphur butterfly (each is very different looking from the “typical” butterflies of that group).

Credit

Aaron Pomerantz and Nipam Patel

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