POISONOUS butterflies that mimic each other’s colouring to deter predators may end up confusing themselves when the time comes to choose a mate.
Two tropical butterfly species, Heliconius erato and H. melpomene, share vivid orange, red and black patterns on their wings. This similarity, known as Müllerian mimicry, benefits the butterflies because it increases the odds that a potential predator will steer clear of such markings because of a previous near-miss.
But Heliconius butterflies also search visually for mates. To see whether males could recognise females of their own species, Catalina Estrada of the University of Texas at…
