Protective Eyes on butterfly wings

Protective Eyes on butterfly wings

To survive, butterflies have learned to protect themselves from enemies. In the process of evolution, on their wings appeared images that resemble eyes of predators, scientists believe. Every person, at least once in his life, has seen patterns on butterfly wings resembling the eye. These patterns serve a very useful function — they provide butterflies with protection from birds of prey. First British scientists believed that the patterns on the wings of butterflies scare predators, because such protective eyes on butterfly wings represent a specific combination of colors and shapes deterrent to the predator. However, scientists from the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland do not agree with this.

In their study, they proved that the “eyes” on the wings of butterflies mimic the eyes of predators threatening enemies of insects. Finnish scientists have conducted an interesting experiment. On the floor of a birdcage they placed a computer monitor on which was placed the image of beetle larvae (mealworms). Then they brought a predator into the cage – the great tit (Parus major). When it attacked the image of larvae, the pictures on the monitor changed and was fixed the reaction of a bird. On the display, every time was shown one of the five pictures: owl with open eyes; owl with closed eyes; butterfly with the image on the wings, similar to the open eyes of an owl; the same butterfly with modified, but contrast colors on the wings; the same butterfly without “eyes” on the wings. Birds, as the scientists expected, strongly reacted to the appearance of an owl with open eyes, but they reacted much more to the butterfly with the “owl eyes” on the wings.

Protective Eyes on butterfly wings

On the other images a violent reaction was not observed. The findings of the researchers show that The great tit perceives the image on the wings of butterflies as a threat because they are like the eyes of owls that these birds eat. Thus, the hypothesis of mimicry explains the experimental results better than the hypothesis of visibility of “eye”, the scientists conclude. Based on the findings, the researchers suggest that the image on the wings of butterflies are the result of evolution. In addition to the pattern on the wings, the butterfly has a set of special tools that help them to survive. However, some butterflies are lucky – they do not care about the survival, and the people whom these insects have conquered with their beauty.