0000000001326551
AUTHOR
Morgan Brain
Can warning signals be honest? : wing colouration and the strength of chemical defence in the female wood tiger moth (Parasemia plataginis)
The warning displays of aposematic organisms signal to predators that they possess a secondary defence and are unprofitable. Within species variation exists in the strength of the signal and defence. As natural selection is expected to favour higher levels of defence, variation in such traits requires explanation. One hypothesis is that the strength of primary and secondary defences are correlated as they reflect the condition of the signaller. This study explores if variation in individual conspicuousness is an honest signal of the level of defence in the wood tiger moth (Parasemia plantaginis). P. plantaginis has conspicuous hind wing warning colouration, which in females varies from yell…
The price of safety: food deprivation in early life influences the efficacy of chemical defence in an aposematic moth
Aposematism is the combination of a primary signal with a secondary defence that predators must learn to associate with one another. However, variation in the level of defence, both within and between species, is very common. As secondary defences influence individual fitness, this variation in quality and quantity requires an evolutionary explanation, particularly as it may or may not correlate with variation in primary signals. The costs of defence production are expected to play a considerable role in generating this variation, yet studies of the cost of chemical defence have focused on species that sequester their defences, while studies in species that produce them de novo are scarce. …
Response of bird predators for female wood tiger moth chemical defences
Multiple behavioural responses of blue tit predators to the defence fluids of wood tiger moth (Arctia plantaginis) females that were either food deprived or fed ad libitum during development.