Bicyclus anynana
| Squinting bush brown | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Tribe: | Elymniini |
| Genus: | Bicyclus |
| Species: | B. anynana |
| Binomial name | |
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Bicyclus anynana (Butler, 1879) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Bicyclus anynana (squinting bush brown) is a small brown butterfly in the family Nymphalidae, the most globally diverse family of butterflies. It is primarily found in eastern Africa from southern Sudan to Swaziland. It is found mostly in woodland areas and flies close to the ground. Male wingspans are 35–40 mm and female wingspans are 45–49 mm.
The bush brown is helpful for research because of its ideal size and breeding time. In addition to this, the bush brown is one of many insect species to vary its coloration depending on the season, making it a valuable tool in studying phenotypic plasticity. Wet seasons produce butterflies with large eyespots, while dry seasons have butterflies dull in color.
Male butterflies engage in mud-puddling, which involves taking up nutrients by aggregating on wet soil and dung. Males use pheromones to attract females during courtship. However, courtship in the bush brown is notable for its plasticity: temperature during adult development plays a large role in determining the rate of male courtship as well as the roles of males and females during the courtship process. The bush brown uses its eyespots as a defense against avian predators. In addition, females choose male mates based on their eyespots; in a process known as stabilizing selection, eyespots that are too large or too small are selected against.
The bush brown is a small brown butterfly with a wingspan of 35–40 mm for males and 45-49 for females. Males have sexual traits on their wings called androconia that release pheromones during courtship. The butterflies is characterized by their unusually short front legs and their rather non-descript brown wings. Bush browns, however, are known for having several large eyespots in the wet season. There are two extended generations per year. The wet-season form is on wing in spring and summer and the dry-season form in autumn and winter
Originally the bush brown was collected to study evolutionary and ecological genetics. This research is now primarily used to see how the environment shapes the phenotypic evolution of the butterfly.
The squinting bush brown is an ideal butterfly for conducting research. Its relative small size makes it easy to breed and care for, while it is large enough to place tags on and surgically manipulate. Their phenotypic plasticity in life history traits, wing patterns, and seasonal habits combined with the fact that their entire genome has been sequenced makes them ideal subjects in understanding how the environment effects genes.
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Wikipedia