Abstract
MALE butterflies of the South American genus Antirrhea have up to six scent organs, which interact in pairs to form three functional systems. Two were known nearly 100 years ago1, but the third, which apparently involves pre-courtship activity2 and the production of unique dust scales, analogous to similar phenomena studied in the Danaids3,4, has not been described. This discovery raises doubts concerning the higher taxonomy of the Satyrids, and the validity of hypotheses linking the occurrence of male scent organs with mimicry in butterflies.
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VANE-WRIGHT, R. Pre-courtship Activity and a New Scent Organ in Butterflies. Nature 239, 338–340 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1038/239338a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/239338a0
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