Individuals in the left column are H. melpomene and those in the right column are H. erato.
Each row contains one race from each species, each collected from the same region in South America (from the top, the seven localities are: upper Rio Urubamba, Peru; southeastern Brazil; the Guianas; eastern Ecuador; Choco, Colombia; Rio Madre de Dios, Bolivia; Rio Huallaga, Peru).
Butterfly populations of H. melpomene and H. erato that live in the same places convergently evolve to form adaptive mimicry pairs.
Each population, by using the same color pattern as the other species in the area, reinforces its "warning" to potential bird predators that it is toxic to consume and should be avoided.
