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:
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.
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