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(Upper) Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)
(Center, left) Io Moth (Automeris io)
(Center, right) Bulls Eye Moth (Automeris egeus)
(Bottom, left) Owl Butterfly (Caligo teucer)
(Bottom, right) Polyphemus Moth (Antheraea polyphemus)
2012 |
Utrecht, The Netherlands |
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Evolution was at work when eyespots eventually appeared on the wings of butterflies and moths. This trick was so successful, that it was repeated over and over again. Eyespots are a form of mimicry in which a spot on an animal body resembles an eye of a different animal, helping to deceive potential predators. This is evolution following evolution: eyespots developed only when the evolution of eyes themselves was well underway. Depicted is a selection of eye-spotted Lepidoptera. They sit on an ancient oak tree that, as a symbol of the evolutionary tree, was borrowed from Ernst Haeckel, Darwin’s ardent German propagandist.
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keywords (defined):
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keywords (additional): |
Haeckel, history, Lepidoptera |
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