on wing patterns

[Jean-Michel MAES]

Dear Woody,

I do not recognize the species but in Nicaragua we have Heliconius doris
which has green forms, blue forms and red forms. All fly together. I think
that somewhere there is a genetic switch which permit in the same egg group
having those individual forms. How to call that ? : "morphs". What is
important in the phenomenon is not the color or the name we can give, I
think that the important point in a species who can change so easily is the
possibility of survive, mimicry will be probably more easy to get than in
other butterfly groups.

In the case you related, I think it could be a mix of two species. Depends
if your friend breed the butterflies or buy them. Sellers are sometime not
very precise...

Sincerely,

Jean-Michel MAES
MUSEO ENTOMOLOGICO
AP 527
LEON
NICARAGUA
tel 505-3116586
jmmaes at ibw.com.ni
www.insectariumvirtual.com/termitero/termitero.htm#nicaragua
www.insectariumvirtual.com/lasmariposasdenicaragua.htm
www-museum.unl.edu/research/entomology/workers/JMaes.htm
www-museum.unl.edu/research/entomology/database2/honduintro.htm
----- Original Message -----
From: Woody Woods <woody.woods at umb.edu>
To: <drdn at mail.utexas.edu>; <Leps-l at lists.yale.edu>
Sent: Sunday, February 04, 2001 10:00 AM
Subject: Re: on wing patterns


> Yesterday I visited the winter greenhouse facility of the Butterfly Garden
in
> Westboro, MA, operated by George Leslie, whom some of you must know. There
> were many heliconines of the same species, a colony George started with
> animals imported from a British supplier. Uncharacteristically for George,
he
> couldn't think of the species name just then! What was striking was the
range
> of wing patterns; some with red or yellow on a black background, like H.
erato
> or H. clysonymus, others with a more D. iulia coloration (no, they weren't
D.
> iulia, though he has those too).
>
> Chris or anyone, do any light bulbs click on? Do you recognize the species
> from that information alone, and can you tell me anything about this
> (possible) balanced polymorphism (or might it be hybridization)?
>
> Woody
>
> Chris J. Durden wrote:
> >
> > ... Ecotypes are the varieties that occur in balanced
> > polymorphism with the "typical" genotype and can be demonstrated to be
> > genetically determined. They coexist with the "typical"  genotype
because
> > of some bi- or polymodality of the niche. There is not enough separation
of
> > the modalities of selection to disconnect the genetic exchange that
keeps
> > them conspecific, yet the selective peaks are strong enough to keep
pulling
> > them apart.
> > ...............Chris Durden
> >
> *********************************************************
> William A. Woods Jr.
> Department of Biology
> University of Massachusetts Boston
> 100 Morrissey Blvd                      Lab: 617-287-6642
> Boston, MA 02125                        Fax: 617-287-6650
> *********************************************************
>
>
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