Figure 1. The five patterns of bumblebee, each constituting a mimicry ring containing several species, found in northwest Europe. In North America there is an analogous set of mimicry rings also, but with patterns that are different from those in Europe. From Turner (1995), based on work by Plowright and Owen.

Figure 2. The six very distinct rings of long-winged butterflies in South America. After Turner (1984).

Figure 3. An example of a species switching into a new mimicry ring, using a single gene mutation. H. hermathena (top right, red circles) does not normally mimic other Heliconius like H. erato (top left, green area of map), but along the lower Amazonas it occurs alongside races of H. erato (bottom left, orange parts of map) that already somewhat resemble H. hermathena in having a red bar across the forewing. In one of its populations in this area H. hermathena (bottom right, black square on map) has switched to mimicking H. erato, using a single gene mutation that removes nearly all the yellow marks on its wings. After Turner (1984), based on work by K.S. Brown and P.M. Sheppard.

Figure 4. The genetics of three of the parallel races of H. melpomene and H. erato. The black bars represent chromosomes, and each letter or pair of letters is a gene controlling a major part of the colour pattern. Note that most of the genes are on separate chromosomes. Modified from Turner (1984) using data from Mallet (1989) and Jiggins and McMillan (1997).

Figure 5. ‘Breakdown of mimicry’ in P. dardanus. The butterfly in the centre is one of the many mimetic forms of the female: it closely resembles the pattern of its model, a mimicry ring of Amauris butterflies. The butterfly on the left shows the result of back-crossing this form into the west African race, where neither it, nor its model, occurs. The mimicry is ‘spoiled’ by the appearance of the whitish-yellow bar across the tip of the forewing. The butterfly to the right shows the result of crossing the mimetic form into the population of P. dardanus from Madagascar, where there are no mimetic forms. Now the resemblance to the model is completely destroyed. Based on work by Clarke and Sheppard )(1960a).

Figure 6. The large-windowed form of P. memnon (with its model Troides helena, left), to illustrate the way most elements of the pattern are controlled by a tightly linked cluster of genes on one chromosome (the long bar with geometrical symbols to indicate the genes), while the yellow colour of the hindwing is controlled by a gene on a separate chromosome (diamond symbol). The genes in the supergene, in order from the top down: (1) remove the ‘tail’ on the hindwing and control (2) the amount of white on the hindwing, (3) the pattern of the forewing, (4) the colour of the bright triangle at the base of the forewing and (5) the colour of the tip of the abdomen. Note the coloured mark on the base of the forewing of P. memnon that mimics a colour on the body of the model. From Turner (1995), based on work of Clarke and Sheppard (1971).