Prey survival by predator intimidation: an experimental study of peacock butterfly defence against blue tits

Abstract

Long-lived butterflies that hibernate as adults are expected to have well-developed antipredation devices as a result of their long exposure to natural enemies. The peacock butterfly, Inachis io, for instance, is a cryptic leaf mimic when resting, but shifts to active defence when disturbed, performing a repeated sequence of movements exposing major eyespots on the wings accompanied by a hissing noise. We studied the effect of visual and auditory defence by staging experiments in which wild-caught blue tits, Parus caeruleus, were presented with one of six kinds of experimentally manipulated living peacock butterflies as follows: butterflies with eyespots painted over and their controls (painted on another part of the wing), butterflies with their sound production aborted (small part of wings removed) and their controls, and butterflies with eyespots painted over and sound production aborted and their controls. The results showed that eyespots alone, or in combination with sound, constituted an effective defence; only 1 out of 34 butterflies with intact eyespots was killed, whereas 13 out of 20 butterflies without eyespots were killed. The killed peacocks were eaten, indicating that they are not distasteful. Hence, intimidation by bluffing can be an efficient means of defence for an edible prey.