The Ecology and Evolution of Heliconius Butterflies Chris D. Jiggins

Abstract

If you were asked to name three famous butterflies, Heliconius would likely be one of them. Chris Jiggins explains why: from early voyages through the Amazon to the confines of a laboratory, these butterflies have been indubitably important for research in ecology and evolution. Topics covered in Jiggins’ book unfold in a crescendo of complexity. Opening with a background of biological concepts accessible to a well-informed general audience, it proceeds to an introduction of Heliconius and related genera, and the researchers who studied them. To some extent, chapters are organized in a historical sequence, and the first half of the book reviews those elements of the natural history and behavior that lured many budding researchers into becoming Heliconius biologists. For example, when explaining the coevolution of Heliconius and their Passiflora larval hosts, Jiggins provides an overview of how the initial interpretations of this interaction have changed with the advances in our knowledge of host plant use and phylogenetic relationships of both butterflies and plants. This is done with a measured level of detail; enough to be informative, but also enticing us to read outside the book. e progression of topics—pollen-feeding, communal roosting, traplines, dispersal, learning, sexual and social selection—correspond to hallmark research that took off in the 1970s and ‘80s. Although there are many more Heliconius biologists now than ever before, the majority of current work spawned from two key attributes: aposematism and mimicry. e second half of the book reveals that we are presently witnessing a shift from field to lab work, from community ecology to the genetic and developmental processes that give rise to wing color pattern diversification. In that respect, Heliconius is no different from other organisms: our colleagues want to hear sexy natural history stories that have a strong footing in nature, but research is being progressively driven toward technical laboratory approaches. Jiggins recognizes this trend.