The Ecology and Evolution of Heliconius Butterflies Chris D. Jiggins

BOOK REVIEW The Ecology and Evolution of Heliconius Butterflies 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. The progression of topics—pollen-feeding, communal roosting, traplines, dispersal, learning, sexual and social selection—correspond to hallmark research that took off in the s and ‘s. Although there are many more Heliconius biologists now than ever before, the majority of current work spawned American Entomologist • Volume 63, Number 3 close attention to the references throughout the text will realize that while work on Heliconius genetics and development is moving ahead at a fast pace, research on ecology is lagging behind. The next generation of butterfly biologists should definitely be aware of this. The Ecology and Evolution of Heliconius Butterflies is a timely book that summarizes decades of research stemming from broadly diverse camps. Butterfly scholars will find it useful to have such a compilation at their fingertips. It will also appeal to entomologists in search of charismatic topics to take to the classroom, or as reading assignments for graduate courses. This book is a must for graduate students should they join a Heliconius lab: written in an accessible way, it provides a manageable amount of information and highlights areas where further research should be fruitful. Because topics are made simple and follow a logical sequence, I would expect that any educated person who has a keen interest in the natural world might understand a great deal of this book’s contents. The idea of writing a book about Heliconius floated through the minds of at least three butterfly biologists in the past  years, and I could not have picked a better person to make it happen. References Cited Molleman, F., J. Ding, J.L. Wang, B.J. Zwaan, J.R. Carey, and P.M. Brakefield. . Adult diet affects lifespan and reproduction of the fruit-feeding butterfly Charaxes fulvescens. Entomol. Exp. Appl. : -. Tufto, J., R. Lande, T.H. Ringsby, S. Engen, B.E. Sæther, T.R. Walla, and P.J. DeVries. . Estimating Brownian motion dispersal rate, longevity and population density from spatially explicit mark-recapture data on tropical butterflies. J. Anim. Ecol. : -. Carla M. Penz Department of Biological Sciences University of New Orleans New Orleans, LA 70148 [email protected] DOI: ./ae/tmx E-1 Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/ae/article/63/3/E1/4139690 by guest on 04 February 2023 Chris D. Jiggins ;  pages,  color plates Oxford University Press, UK ISBN: ---- $. (hardcover) from two key attributes: aposematism and mimicry. The 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. Thirty-five years flashed through my mind while reading the book—I was recalling myself as a bright-eyed butterfly biology student. My reaction stemmed from learning about Heliconius biology from the primary literature long ago, and also from being drawn in by Jiggins’ writing style—thoughtful and sprinkled with personal anecdotes and historical vignettes (my favorite is on page ). His narrative flows from one topic to the next, jointly addressing early and recent work and, in every instance, providing a vision for future studies. Jiggins put into words his commitment to a long tradition of Heliconius research, but the appeal of early studies can be a double-edged sword. For example, as a student I learned that Heliconius live much longer than other butterflies, and that nutrients acquired through pollen-feeding played a key role in their unusually long life span. Can they really grow much older than other taxa? Although to this day butterfly life spans are generally unknown (including those of most Heliconius species), recent studies indicated some fruit-feeding nymphalid species can live up to  days in the field, likely owing to their nitrogen-rich diet (Molleman et al. ). But alas, not all fruit-feeding nitrogen-fanciers have such a long lifespan, as estimates range from six to  days for a sample of Amazonian species (Tufto et al. ). My point: some generalizations made -some years ago and reiterated in this book might require better empirical support. Readers who pay