An eye gene colors butterfly wings red
Updated: 2011-07-22 05:04:07
Red may mean STOP or I LOVE YOU! A red splash on a toxic butterfly's wing screams DON'T EAT ME! In nature, one toxic butterfly species may mimic the wing pattern of another toxic species in the area. By using the same signal, they send a stronger message: DON'T EAT US! . Now several research teams that include Smithsonian researchers in Panama, have discovered that Heliconius butterflies mimic each other's red wing patterns through changes in the same gene........