PDF
FLIP
Authors
Abstract
Heliconiini are a tribe of largely Neotropical butterflies whose key innovation is the ability to ingest and process cyanogens from plants of the family Passifloraceae. They are unpalatable to predators and have distinctive warning colour patterns. Some species in the group are widespread, whereas others are highly range restricted. The combination of unpalatability and a feeding ecology specialised to Passifloraceae and success in predator evasion has enabled the group to expand geographically in the Neotropics. Adaptive radiation has occurred as Heliconiini have specialised to different ecological regions in the Neotropics. Various groups of the tribe have radiated through Miillerian (mutualistic) mimicry processes. Conservation of range-restricted species is important not only for that species but for the mimetic rine and evolutionary processes they support.
