Distractive marks have been suggested to prevent predator detection or recognition of a prey, by drawing
the attention away from recognizable traits of the bearer. The white ‘comma’ on the wings of comma
butterflies, Polygonia c-album, has been suggested to represent such a distractive mark. In a laboratory
experiment using blue tits, Cyanistes caeruleus, as predators, we show that the comma increased survival,
since the blue tits attacked butterfly with overpain coa ore often tha sham-paint butterfly
trunks of two different species and noted their survival. Although survival was higher
on birch trees than on oak trees, there was no effect of treatment, probably because the butterflies were
preyed on by both diurnal and nocturnal predators and the latter are unlikely to attend to small
Distractive marks have been suggested to prevent predator detection or recognition of a prey, by drawing
the attention away from recognizable traits of the bearer. The white ‘comma’ on the wings of comma
butterflies, Polygonia c-album, has been suggested to represent such a distractive mark. In a laboratory
experiment using blue tits, Cyanistes caeruleus, as predators, we show that the comma increased survival,
since the blue tits attacked butterfly with overpain coa ore often tha sham-paint butterfly
trunks of two different species and noted their survival. Although survival was higher
on birch trees than on oak trees, there was no effect of treatment, probably because the butterflies were
preyed on by both diurnal and nocturnal predators and the latter are unlikely to attend to small
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