High detectability costs select weak warning signals in chemically defended gregarious prey Why do some chemically defended prey use weak visual signals when conspicuous aposematic coloration seems more effective for predator avoidance? Using weak

@koskenpato.bsky.social @caritalindstedt.bsky.social
Why stay cryptic if chemically defended?

In pine sawfly (Neodiprion sertifer) larvae, higher conspicuousness reduced survival.

Weak warning signals may rely on behavior and grouping.

academic.oup.com/beheco/advan...

#Aposematism

Been making an adopt a day.~ Each one is $20. Of you are interested, message me here or on discord(AliciaD)
(Sorry you'll be seeing this a lot)

#adopt #mlp #pony #mylittlepony #art #sale #chatacter #characterdesign #horse #changeling #evil #bug #aposematism

Photo of a very large caterpillar on a tree trunk. A hand for scale shows the caterpillar is bigger than the middle finger. The insect has alternating black and yellow stripes and an orange head. Photo by Scott Zona CC BY-NC 2.0.

Plumeria caterpillars (Pseudosphinx tetrio) feed on Plumeria & other Apocynaceae. They look bad-ass aposematic, but it may be false advertising. Some research shows that they excrete, rather than sequester, the toxins of the host plant. #TeamMoth #Apocynaceae #Aposematism #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Photo of an orange-and-black butterfly nectaring on the purple flowers of Stachytarpheta jamaicensis.

Monarch butterfly larvae (Danaus plexippus) sequester toxic cardiac glycosides (cardenolides) from their host plants (Asclepias spp.). The toxins are passed to the adult butterfly, which is fearlessly aposematic. 📷: Mary Keim CCYBNCSA2. #Apocynaceae #Aposematism #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Close-up photo of a brown caterpillar with bright orange horns and bumps.

Aristolochia spp are loaded with toxic aristolochic acids. Caterpillars can’t & don't feed on them EXCEPT for the larvae of the pipevine swallowtail (Battus philenor), which turn the plant’s defense into their own defense. 📷: Cecelia Alexander CC0. #Aristolochiaceae #Aposematism #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

This handsome beast is the larva of the spurge hawkmoth (Hyles euphorbiae) of Europe, Asia & N. America. It feeds on Ephorbia spp., sequestering toxic diterpenes from its host. 📷: Wolfgang Ahlmer CCBY4. #Euphorbiaceae #Aposematism #TeamMoth #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Photo of a butterfly (black with yellow stripes) hovering over a plant that is climbing up the trunk of a tree. Photo by Scott Zona CC BY-NC 2.0.

Let’s not forget the cyanogenic glycosides that the Zebra longwing butterfly (Heliconius charithonia) gets from its host, Passiflora spp. Here it is ovipositing on P. suberosa. #Passifloraceae #Aposematism #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Close-up photo of an infestation of yellowish aphids on the back of an oleander leaf.

Oleander aphids (Aphis nerii) sequester cardenolides (oleandrin) from Nerium oleander (& other hosts in the milkweed family). These bright orange aphids can form large colonies & have nothing to fear from most potential predators. 📷: Clive Freedman CCBY4 #Asclepiaceae #Aposematism #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Close-up photo of an orange and black bug perched on the orange flowers of a milkweed.

The large milkweed bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus) feeds on Asclepias spp. (milkweeds) & sequesters their cardenolides, making itself distasteful to predators. 📷: Martin LaBar CCBYNC2 #Asclepiaceae #Aposematism #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Photo of two caterpillars (one partially hidden behind a leaflet), which are orange with yellow spots, on a Zamia leaflet.

Photo of the adult butterfly, which is mostly black with blue spots, but the abdomen and immediately adjacent wings are orange-red. Photo by Scott Zona CC BY-NC 2.0.

Zamia spp. is the host plant for Eumaeus atala caterpillars. Both larvae & adults are aposematic. Zamia contains cycasin, a carcinogenic & neurotoxic glucoside. This toxin is not to be trifled with! 📷: larvae by Judy Gallagher CCBY2 #Zamiaceae #Aposematism #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Photo of the erect stems of E. capillifolium with fine, hairlike foliage. Photo by Scott Zona CC BY-NC 2.0.

A clearwing moth on a Bidens alba flower. The moth’s body is red. The tip of the abdomen is black with blue spots. The wings are black with large clear sections. Photo by Mary Keim CCBYNCSA2

Many herbivorous insects sequester plant toxins & use them for defense. They have aposematic (warning) coloration. The scarlet-bodied wasp moth, Cosmosoma myrodora, adult ♂ feeds on Eupatorium capillifolium to get pyrrolizidine alkaloids. 📷: M Keim #TeamMoth #Asteraceae #Aposematism #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Larger frogs are better mimics but are more risk-averse in a nontoxic poison frog
#Aposematism #WarningSignals #Ampibian

doi.org/10.1093/behe...

Global selection on insect antipredator coloration Natural selection has repeatedly led to the evolution of two alternative antipredator color strategies—camouflage to avoid detection and aposematism to advertise unprofitability—but we lack understand...

🦋 How do ecosystem characteristics influence the effectiveness of antipredator colour strategies, such as camouflage and aposematism? 🎨

Find out in a new study, with huge contributions from researchers at
@sciencecharles.bsky.social 🤩

#science #aposematism #camouflage #antipredator

Is camouflage better than warning colors? For insects, it depends The effectiveness of camouflage or warning colors for insect defense depends on conditions such as light levels and how many predators are around.

“A global study comparing defensive coloration in insects reveals that camouflage and warning colors each excel under certain environmental conditions.”

#scicomm
#sensoryecology
#camouflage
#aposematism
#luminosity

www.sciencenews.org/article/inse...
🧪 🦉

A bright orange, white, and black patterned gulf fritillary butterfly (Dione vanillae).

A bright orange, white, and black patterned gulf fritillary butterfly (Dione vanillae).

A gulf fritillary (Dione vanillae), a member of the longwing #butterfly family. The bright orange color is an example of #aposematism, a “Warning: do not eat” sign for birds, as defensive odor glands make them unpalatable. 🧵

This insect shoots peppermint at predators from a pair of canons behind its head The peppermint stick insect has a weird name, but trust me, it gets even weirder.

“Armed with chemical weapons (a pair of glands just behind its head), the stick insect shoots an irritating spray out of these glands, which smells exactly like peppermint, when threatened.”

#scicomm
#sensoryecology
#aposematism
#camouflage

www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/wildl...
🧪 🦗 🐙

Text: Aposematism, Monarch Butterfly. Top image is a Monarch Butterfly with both wings open. Below text: Camouflage, Viceroy Butterfly. A side view of a Viceroy Butterfly.

#Aposematism is when the #MonarchButterfly uses a bright orange pattern as a defense mechanism to announce how dangerous it would be for a predator to eat it. The #ViceroyButterfly, is bright orange because it is trying to #camouflage itself as if it were a Monarch Butterfly for protection.

One of our ongoing unpublished projects led by Mariana Leyva involved measuring quills from museum skins and has shown that species with more robust quills have stronger warning coloration and experience greater risk from mammal predators than bird predators. #aposematism

Color shifting crystals with iridescent biohazard symbol.

#Aposematism: In nature, bright colors are often associated with toxins or unpalatable qualities, acting as warning signals to predators.

#vart

There’s method in a firefly’s flashes Fireflies use their flashing lights for mating and maybe even to ward away predators.

“When the researchers exposed a new set of bats to the darkened fireflies, the bats took about twice as long to learn that the bugs had an awful taste.”

#scicomm
#sensoryecology
#aposematism

www.sciencenews.org/article/fire...
🧪 🐞 🦑

Complex signals, complex defences: there’s more to defences than meets the eye. New from @amatageorgeii.bsky.social &
@liisahamalainen.bsky.social @kateumbers.bsky.social @mherberstein.bsky.social @jmappes.bsky.social @mpic.de

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

#aposematism #chemecol

thanks for being edgy #aposematism

Chromodoris quadricolor #nudibranch is a classic example of #aposematism - where its bright #colours and patterns warn predators that it is #toxic or unpalatable ⚠️

📍 Pulau Tenggol, Terengganu, Malaysia

Alexander J.A Cortes: Unnatural hair colors in woman are a warning signal to stay away, lts an example Aposematism-the phenomenon of poisonous animals in nature advertising their toxicity and lethality. JulieG Replying: "Aposematism is there to warn predators, not sexual partners. If you're repelled by it's working."

#pwnd #darkwoke #aposematism #predators

#haircolour #aposematism

Cute clumsy critters!

We went scorpion hunting last night using blacklights. Didn't see any (too cold, wrong season), but we found some other friends!

#Inverts #Glow #Ecology #Aposematism #Bugsky #Cute

I often think about this interaction, it is lovely.

#aposematism

Evolutionary potential and constraints in an aposematic species: Genetic correlations between warning coloration and fitness components in wood tiger moths Abstract. Variability in warning signals is common but remains puzzling since deviations from the most common form should result in a higher number of pred

New study from @jmappes.bsky.social et al shows that wood tiger moths show variable warning colors, but genetic constraints don't limit their efficiency. Faster development reduces fecundity, highlighting complex trait interactions. academic.oup.com/evolut/artic... #aposematism #EvolutionaryBiology