Rule-breaking mimics: palatability of the butterflies Hypolimnas bolina and Hypolimnas misippus, a sister species pair
1989
Clarke, C.A. | Clarke, F.M.M. | Gordon, I.J. | Marsh, N.A.
Sibling species are, by definition, closely related and Hypolimnas bolina and Hypolimnas misippus are good examples. It has been known for some years that H. misippus often breaks the rules of mimicry, being polymorphic in the female and retaining the mimetic patterns even where no models are present. Hypolimnas bolina is here shown to follow a similar course, with no models present in Madagascar. The toxicity of both butterflies seems usually to be largely dependent on the foodplant but this is irrelevant to mimicry in the absence of models. The evidence suggests that in both species mimicry at the present time is of little or no importance to the survival of these butterflies.
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