ArticleJournal of insect science (Online)2019
Male Bicyclus anynana Butterflies Choose Females on the Basis of Their Ventral UV-Reflective Eyespot Centers.
Article in Journal of insect science (Online), 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Pooled it
- DNA methylation dynamics associated with seasonal wing plasticity of Bicyclus anynana butterflies.Molecular biology and evolution · 2026Article
- The Coevolution of Colour Patterns and Hindwing Shapes on a Large Phylogenetic Scale Reveals Predation-Driven Adaptive Syndromes in Swallowtail Butterflies.Ecology letters · 2026Article
- Evolutionary Drivers of Conspicuous Spots in Velvet Ants (Hymenoptera:Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Natural and sexual selection and functional roles influence colouration but not the amount of variation in butterfly wing colour patterns.BMC ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Article
- Detection and measurement of butterfly eyespot and spot patterns using convolutional neural networks.PloS one · 2023Article
- TheProceedings. Biological sciences · 2022Article
- Review
- Dissections of Larval, Pupal and Adult Butterfly Brains for Immunostaining and Molecular Analysis.Methods and protocols · 2021Article
- Predation favoursProceedings. Biological sciences · 2021Article
- Interacting Effects of Eyespot Number and Ultraviolet Reflectivity on Predation Risk in Bicyclus anynana (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae).Journal of insect science (Online) · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Butterflies often use their dorsal and ventral wing color patterns for distinct signaling functions. Color patterns on hidden dorsal wing surfaces are often used in sexual signaling, while exposed ventral patterns are often used to ward off predator attacks. At rest, however, part of the ventral forewings are often hidden by the hindwings, allowing individuals to also use the patterns on this wing surface for sexual signaling. Here, we test this hypothesis in Bicyclus anynana (Butler, Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae) butterflies by first determining the degree of sexual dimorphism in ventral forewing patterns, focusing on the eyespots, from both wet and dry season forms, and then testing the role of the larger ventral forewing eyespots of dry season females in male mate choice. We also test male investment in reproduction. We show that ventral forewing UV-reflective eyespot centers, in addition to dorsal forewing eyespot centers previously examined in this species, play a role in sexual signaling as males preferentially mated with females with their ventral eyespot centers intact instead of blocked with black paint. This male preference, however, did not translate into a detectable higher reproductive investment via a single mating toward ornamented females. This study provides an example of how ventral forewing patterns, often hidden by hindwings, are used in sexual communication, in this case by females to attract males.
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