scholarly journals Thistledown velvet ants in the Desert Mimicry Ring and the evolution of white coloration: Müllerian mimicry, camouflage and thermal ecology

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. 20200242
Author(s):  
Joseph S. Wilson ◽  
Jeni Sage Sidwell ◽  
Matthew L. Forister ◽  
Kevin A. Williams ◽  
James P. Pitts
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Spectral Reflectance ◽  
Larrea Tridentata ◽  
Thermal Ecology ◽  
Creosote Bush ◽  
Müllerian Mimicry ◽  
Multiple Hypotheses ◽  
Mullerian Mimicry

Adaptive coloration among animals is one of the most recognizable outcomes of natural selection. Here, we investigate evolutionary drivers of white coloration in velvet ants (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae), which has previously been considered camouflage with the fruit of creosote bush ( Larrea tridentata ). Our analyses indicate instead that velvet ants evolved white coloration millions of years before creosote bush was widespread in North America's hot deserts. Furthermore, velvet ants and the creosote fruit exhibit different spectral reflectance patterns, which appear distinct to potential insectivorous predators. While the white coloration in velvet ants likely did not evolve as camouflage, we find that white-coloured species remain cooler than their red/orange relatives, and therefore we infer the white coloration likely evolved in response to Neogene desertification. This study shows the importance of cross-disciplinary investigation and of testing multiple hypotheses when investigating evolutionary drivers of adaptive coloration.

scholarly journals THE EXISTENCE OF MÜLLERIAN MIMICRY

Evolution ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 452-453
Author(s):  
P. M. Sheppard ◽  
J. R. G. Turner
Keyword(s):  
Müllerian Mimicry ◽  
Mullerian Mimicry

scholarly journals Signals, cues and the nature of mimicry

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1849) ◽  
pp. 20162080 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel A. Jamie
Keyword(s):  
Fitness Cost ◽  
Aggressive Mimicry ◽  
Müllerian Mimicry ◽  
Ecological Literature ◽  
Mullerian Mimicry ◽  
Logical Extension

‘Mimicry’ is used in the evolutionary and ecological literature to describe diverse phenomena. Many are textbook examples of natural selection's power to produce stunning adaptations. However, there remains a lack of clarity over how mimetic resemblances are conceptually related to each other. The result is that categories denoting the traditional subdivisions of mimicry are applied inconsistently across studies, hindering attempts at conceptual unification. This review critically examines the logic by which mimicry can be conceptually organized and analysed. It highlights the following three evolutionarily relevant distinctions. (i) Are the model's traits being mimicked signals or cues? (ii) Does the mimic signal a fitness benefit or fitness cost in order to manipulate the receiver's behaviour? (iii) Is the mimic's signal deceptive? The first distinction divides mimicry into two broad categories: ‘signal mimicry’ and ‘cue mimicry’. ‘Signal mimicry’ occurs when mimic and model share the same receiver, and ‘cue mimicry’ when mimic and model have different receivers or when there is no receiver for the model's trait. ‘Masquerade’ fits conceptually within cue mimicry. The second and third distinctions divide both signal and cue mimicry into four types each. These are the three traditional mimicry categories (aggressive, Batesian and Müllerian) and a fourth, often overlooked category for which the term ‘rewarding mimicry’ is suggested. Rewarding mimicry occurs when the mimic's signal is non-deceptive (as in Müllerian mimicry) but where the mimic signals a fitness benefit to the receiver (as in aggressive mimicry). The existence of rewarding mimicry is a logical extension of the criteria used to differentiate the three well-recognized forms of mimicry. These four forms of mimicry are not discrete, immutable types, but rather help to define important axes along which mimicry can vary.

scholarly journals The evolution of Müllerian mimicry

2008 ◽  
Vol 95 (8) ◽  
pp. 681-695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas N. Sherratt
Keyword(s):  
Müllerian Mimicry ◽  
Mullerian Mimicry

scholarly journals Prey community structure affects how predators select for Müllerian mimicry

2012 ◽  
Vol 279 (1736) ◽  
pp. 2099-2105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eira Ihalainen ◽  
Hannah M. Rowland ◽  
Michael P. Speed ◽  
Graeme D. Ruxton ◽  
Johanna Mappes
Keyword(s):  
Prey Species ◽  
Generalization Test ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Warning Signal ◽  
Specific Model ◽  
Müllerian Mimicry ◽  
Effective Community ◽  
Mullerian Mimicry ◽  
Specialist Predators ◽  
Signal Accuracy

Müllerian mimicry describes the close resemblance between aposematic prey species; it is thought to be beneficial because sharing a warning signal decreases the mortality caused by sampling by inexperienced predators learning to avoid the signal. It has been hypothesized that selection for mimicry is strongest in multi-species prey communities where predators are more prone to misidentify the prey than in simple communities. In this study, wild great tits ( Parus major ) foraged from either simple (few prey appearances) or complex (several prey appearances) artificial prey communities where a specific model prey was always present. Owing to slower learning, the model did suffer higher mortality in complex communities when the birds were inexperienced. However, in a subsequent generalization test to potential mimics of the model prey (a continuum of signal accuracy), only birds that had foraged from simple communities selected against inaccurate mimics. Therefore, accurate mimicry is more likely to evolve in simple communities even though predator avoidance learning is slower in complex communities. For mimicry to evolve, prey species must have a common predator; the effective community consists of the predator's diet. In diverse environments, the limited diets of specialist predators could create ‘simple community pockets’ where accurate mimicry is selected for.

The effect of dominance on polymorphism in Müllerian mimicry

2013 ◽  
Vol 337 ◽  
pp. 101-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Llaurens ◽  
S. Billiard ◽  
M. Joron
Keyword(s):  
Müllerian Mimicry ◽  
Mullerian Mimicry

scholarly journals Can experienced birds select for Müllerian mimicry?

2008 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 362-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eira Ihalainen ◽  
Leena Lindström ◽  
Johanna Mappes ◽  
Sari Puolakkainen
Keyword(s):  
Müllerian Mimicry ◽  
Mullerian Mimicry

A new species of Brethesiella (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) from California, USA, a parasitoid of Steatococcus tabernicolus (Hemiptera: Margarodidae)

Zootaxa ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 1167 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
VLADIMIR A. TRJAPITZIN ◽  
SERGUEI V. TRIAPITSYN
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Mojave Desert ◽  
New World ◽  
Larrea Tridentata ◽  
Creosote Bush ◽  
Type Series ◽  
A New Species

A new species of the encyrtid wasp genus Brethesiella Porter, 1920 is described from the Mojave Desert in California, USA. The type series of B. mojave sp. n. was reared from the margarodid scale Steatococcus tabernicolus Ferris on creosote bush, Larrea tridentata. The genus Aztecencyrtus Timberlake, 1926 is synonymized under Brethesiella and its two described species are transferred to the latter as B. flava (Timberlake, 1926) comb. n. and B. iceryae (Howard, 1892) comb. n. A brief review of the encyrtid parasitoids of Margarodidae, a diagnosis of Brethesiella, and an annotated key to its six described species with known females in the New World are provided.

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