Thistledown velvet ants in the Desert Mimicry Ring and the evolution of white coloration: Mullerian mimicry, camouflage and thermal ecology.

ABSTRACT: Adaptive coloration among animals is one of the most recognizable outcomes of natural selection. Here, we investigate evolutionary drivers of white coloration in velvet ants (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae), which has previously been considered camouflage with the fruit of creosote bush (Larrea tridentata). Our analyses indicate instead that velvet ants evolved white coloration millions of years before creosote bush was widespread in North America's hot deserts. Furthermore, velvet ants and the creosote fruit exhibit different spectral reflectance patterns, which appear distinct to potential insectivorous predators. While the white coloration in velvet ants likely did not evolve as camouflage, we find that white-coloured species remain cooler than their red/orange relatives, and therefore

SUBMITTER: Wilson JS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7423050 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature