The Tiger Complex amongst different Butterflies of the World

The last article I posted about aposematism in certain colorful butterflies and the purpose behind their tiger like colors and patterns on neotropical butterflies. This time I'm going to go in a little further and discuss how the Tiger complex patterns works in Neotropical butterflies and why it is so important for their survival. 

The Tiger Complex is a group of tiger like patterned butterflies that are all part of a larger mimicry ring system. If you'd like to know how mimicry works, please refer to my articles:

Butterfly Mimicry among Heliconius Butterflies

There are about 200 known species that belong to this circle mostly unpalatable and the rest are clever copy cats. When birds view the coloration and patterns on the wings of these butterflies, they stay far away knowing that a bite into one of these tiger complex butterflies, they'd receive a very unpleasant surprise. Aposematically colored butterflies are unpalatable and toxic, having an extremely bitter taste.

The Tiger Complex can be found in many most Nymphalidae butterfly subfamilies such as, Papilionidaes, Ithomiinaes, Heliconius, Pieridaes and Rodinidaes. The example above is one of the largest examples of Tiger Complex butterflies, the beautiful Papilio zagreus butterfly.

Butterflies that belong to the Tiger Complex circles are known to come together in large groups, creating safe havens that a visual deterrants for other butterflies in the vicinity. Basically, strength and defense in numbers. These butterflies are known to show off their warning colors proudly, flaunting their "you can't mess with me" attitude. 

This particular butterfly is also a great part of The Tiger Complex Collection Mounted Butterfly Set and can be purchased as a set or an individual Papilio Zagreus Framed Butterfly.

In the Butterfly World, Beauty and Self-Defense are One and the Same

Hi, my name is Ben. There is no country in the world with more species of butterflies than Peru and I live here. It's been cool seeing so many unique and rich sub-cultures in one country, but what has really gotten to me is the Amazon rainforest. It's a whole other planet to say the least, with it's own heirarchy, laws, one political party under "Survival of the Fittest" catering to thousands of different yet equally important demographics and a community where every role is chained to a constantly strained link holding up it's very own future!!!

The butterflies are quite the celebrities on this planet in many different ways. One of the most important ways is their resilience against predation through aposematic patterns. Their complex glamour is a testament to the exotic nature of their world where what seems as elegance to us is merely self-defense and protection for them. Aposematic colouration is the term for colors and patterns that emit visual warning cues to predators, letting them know that they are not palatable species. In some cases the colouration is truth, in others it's a bold camouflage. The heliconius butterflies are especially known for this.

Take for instance this mounted tigerwing heliconius butterfly:

This butterfly is unpalatable and his wings are bright billboards warning birds about this fact. There's a much more common butterfly that displays a similar pattern to give the same warning, the world famous Danaus plexippus or Monarch butterfly.

Front

Back

The Monarch butterfly is unpalatable and toxic from the chemicals inherited by their hostplant, milkweed. These intricate and detailed aposematic patterns are associated with toxicity so they are not eaten by predators.

So that is it, for my first post on my new blog about Butterfly Art and Home Decor.

Click the following to order the:

Tigerwing Heliconius Butterfly in White Frame

Monarch Butterfly Art in White Frame