"The evolutionary ecologist and lecturer at Yale started investigating why both males and females have eyespots. She and co-author Antonia Monteiro hypothesized that temperature could play a role in the development of the showy ornamentation. They tested this theory allowing one set of caterpillars to be reared at around 63 degrees Fahrenheit (mimicking the cool, dry season) and another set at around 81 degrees Fahrenheit (mimicking the warm, wet season).
'We didn’t expect to see a behavioral difference,' Prudic said. 'We knew there was a difference in wing morphology, but this was an unpredicted result.'
With this being the first species in which a change like this was observed, questions arise about what other behaviors could be modified based on developmental influences. Also the temperature-specific parameter begs the question about what could happen with climate change affecting organisms with developmental body features and behaviors based on environmental context." Read More
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