Introduction
Mimicry is an innovative defense mechanism that developed in response to natural selection pressures. It involves a species copying another species that may already be successful in defending itself with the help of unique characteristics. An example of mimicry, called Batesian mimicry, is observed in butterflies, in which different species have similar wing coloration. Viceroy butterflies have developed wings that are similar to those of the Monarch and Queen butterflies. Viceroy butterflies have long been considered palatable butterfly species that participate in Batesian mimicry to protect themselves from predators, by copying the less palatable Monarch and Queen butterflies. However, not enough studies have been conducted to further assess this claim.
This study provides insight into whether the Viceroy is indeed a Batesian mimic, in comparison the Queen and Monarch butterfly species. In the experiment, …show more content…
1). Additionally, since all the birds received the same treatment (same number and types of butterflies), the data was paired. Therefore, non-parametric tests were used to analyze the data (Table 1). To test whether the Viceroy, Monarch and Queen butterflies were collectively less palatable than the Control species, the Paired Wilcoxon signed rank test was used, with the null hypothesis being that they were all equally palatable (n = 24). The Sign Test was performed to test if the Monarch and Queen butterflies were equally palatable (n = 8). To analyze whether the Viceroy was more palatable than the Monarch butterfly, the Sign Test was used again, due to the small sample size (n = 8). Finally, the Sign Test was performed to test whether Viceroy butterflies more palatable, than the Monarch (n =