Colour pattern regulation after surgery on the wing disks of Precis coenia (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)

Partial ablations were done in situ on the imaginal disks of the hindwing in larvae of Precis coenia at ages between 2 and 9 days prior to pupation. While there was no regeneration of the wing lamina, the cut edge developed normal marginal scales and a marginal colour pattern if the ablation was done more than 3-5 days prior to pupation. The response of elements of the marginal colour pattern to partial ablation of the wing disk indicates that the wing margin has an important role in colour pattern determination and appears to act as a sink for a pattern-inducing signal. While the elements of the marginal colour pattern regulate to the shape and position of the new wing margin, the eyespots changed their shape and size but not their position upon partial ablation of the wing disk. When a cut was positioned near one of the dorsal eyespots, the outer rings of the eyespot opened up so that its central field became contiguous with the new margin. The behaviour of the dorsal eyespots of the hindwing in response to ablation of the wing disk, as well as to other developmental disturbances, appears to be the reverse of those on the forewing and ventral hindwing. We conclude that the central field of a dorsal eyespot and the wing margin share similar controlling properties with respect to pattern, and that both appear to act as sinks or as the inverse of the sources of pattern-inducing signal found in the eyespots of the forewing.

Duke Scholars

Author H. Frederik Nijhout Biology