Explore butterfly escape ability and palatability data, then identify camouflage, mimicry, warning colouration, wing traits and speed as prey adaptations in IB Biology HL B4.2.10.
Butterflies have evolved different methods of defence against bird attacks. The relative escaping ability and unpalatability (distastefulness) of different tropical butterfly families and subfamilies was investigated in the presence of wild kingbirds, Tyrannus melancholicus, a natural predator of butterflies. Each symbol on the graph represents a different species within a (sub)family.
State which butterfly (sub)family contains the species with the greatest escaping ability.
Suggest one feature of butterfly wings that might help a butterfly to escape from a predator.
The graph shows that distasteful butterflies tend to have a lower ability to escape from predators than palatable butterflies. Suggest reasons for this trend.